Phil Hellmuth, like many other poker pros, is currently in Las Vegas for this year’s WSOP series. He hasn’t fared too well at the felt, only reaching has high as 30th in several of the tournaments he has participated. Perhaps his frustration at not performing as well as he hoped has led to showing why the moniker “Poker Brat” is so fitting for the 53-year-old pro.
In his latest outburst, his unnamed opponent didn’t take the verbal assault lying down, and apparently responded in kind. Hellmuth posted about the incident on Twitter, saying, “I was out of line and went Poker Brat for a minute. 100% my fault. Then I was called, loudly, a ‘Bad person,’ a ‘P.O.S.’ (he shouted that one 3x), a wimp, a bad poker player, and more. I took it, as I deserved a little grief, but…Wow! As usual, I apologized for my part…” As usual.
His initial public apology not being enough, Poker Brat returned to Twitter a few minutes later to post, “For the record, I am proud of the person that I am: loyal, true, authentic, honest, fun loving, passionate, [with] perfect ethics and morals. You would enjoy having a beer w me! I am not proud of those ‘Poker Brat’ moments where I lose it at the tables. That is my weakness and flaw.” Yes, Phil, those are the adjectives most people use to describe you.
One Twitter user, The Standard Mope, decided to take the opportunity to get a little dig in on Hellmuth, and tweeted a response to Hellmuth’s latter post. He said, “Congrats good to hear. Hopefully someday someone will tweet these things about you so you don’t have to do it urself.”
A number of the now infamous “blowups” have led to the creation of Hellmuth specials on YouTube, compilations of some of his more popular tantrums. One in particular, from a game against Christian Dragomir, can be seen here.
His tantrums come and go and certainly make for an interesting time in the poker world. While they haven’t helped him win any games lately, perhaps they’ll provide some assistance at the WSOP Main Event. The tournament kicks off on Thursday and the cameras will be on Hellmuth, ready to capture his latest outburst.
