Beneath the absurdity, bravado, and showmanship of Phil Hellmuth lies a talented poker player and, every so often, he emerges to remind the folks at home that you don't win 17 WSOP bracelets on a lark.
In the season finale of PokerStars' The Big Game On Tour, Hellmuth provided audiences with one such moment – proving that his "White Magic" remains intact with a fold that most players would never make.
If you want to see the entire episode play out, scroll up and click the play button – or skip to the 42:05 minute mark to see the 'Poker Brat' strut his stuff.
And if you're in the mood to read about other impressive hero folds, we've got you covered.
'These guys are all idiots'
It all started with a time-honored recreational player move: limping aces.
Rob Gronkowski, the four-time Super Bowl Champion, picked up 
first to act and opted to simply call the $200 – likely hoping to trap one of the more aggressive players at the table. Antonio Esfandiari, next to act, obliged instantly as he bumped it up to $1,000 with 
. Hellmuth then peeled 
and three-bet to $2,700, clearing out the players behind.
With the action back on him, Gronkowski clarified his options with the dealer.
"Can I raise that?" Gronkowski inquired. "Alright, I'm going to raise whatever I can raise."
As he failed to announce a specific sizing, the dealer ruled it a pot-sized raise to $5,000. Instantly, the peanut gallery at the table chimed in with needles.
"Suck on that, Phil," said Esfandiari.
"Did you enjoy that, Phil?" asked Phil Laak.
"I mean, I don't think I can show this hand. It's going to be too embarrassing to show to the players," Hellmuth said before announcing a fold.
"I felt like you were going after him on the re-raise," Gronkowski explained.
"No, no. I have ace-king," Hellmuth said, drawing various incredulous responses from the table.
"You're so bad at poker," Laak proclaimed.
"You are hopeless, it's unbelievable how bad you are," Esfandiari asserted.
At the table's request, the dealer ran out the full board of 
.
"You know something... and that's why you're a 17-time world champ, dude," Gronkowski said as he revealed his pocket aces.
Vindicated, Hellmuth told the table: "These guys are all idiots. They're like five steps behind me. Gronk, here's the other thing, they're so dumb that they gave me a lecture about a world-class laydown. These guys are so dumb."
"You just happened to be right, you're still an idiot," Esfandiari countered.
You can watch the entirety of the The Big Game On Tour Season 2 on the PokerStars YouTube channel.
Images courtesy of Joe Giron/Rational Intellectual Holdings
