Hellmuth
is Back! Former World Champion
Stages Dramatic Comeback and
Captures Eighth Gold Bracelet
There
are many times, literally hundreds of
times when I am playing poker when I know
exactly what the other guy has. I mean,
I know the exact cards. I don't think
it's clairvoyance, maybe it's something
you just develop over time.
-- -- Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
In
what has become "the battle of the bracelets,"
Phil Hellmuth responded with an epic triumph
in the $2,500 Buy-in Limit Texas Hold'em
event, just two days after Doyle Brunson
suggested to Phil, "catch me if you can."
Hellmuth now has eight wins at the World
Series of Poker, a figure exceeded only
by the legendary poker master Brunson,
with nine. It all started with a dream.
"I've never had visions of winning the
tournament the night before," said Hellmuth.
"The last few times I made the final table,
I had visions of another player winning
it rather than me. This time, I dreamed
I would win it. It just blows my mind
I would win the tournament with a 4 --
and sure enough it was a 4! I'm not saying
I'm clairvoyant, obviously since I've
only won two WSOP titles in the last seven
years, but something is going on, and
I can't explain it."
Indeed,
the zenith of Hellmuth's phantasm came
on the final hand of the night, when Hellmuth's
6-4 dominated his opponent's 6-2, and
scooped the pot when the board showed
A-9-7-4-J. Just as Hellmuth visualized
the night beforein his dream, a pair of
fours was a winner.
Hellmuth's dream almost turned into a
nightmare earlier in the tournament, when
he was "all-in" at one point and dangerously
close to elimination. With seven players
still in the tournament, Hellmuth was
down to his last $10K (and out-chipped
by more than 12-1). He survived an "all-in"
and then proceeded to bulldoze over the
table. 45 minutes later, Hellmuth was
co-chip-leader with $100K.
Kyle
Rickey, Eli Elezra, and Richard Hoffmaster
were the first to be eliminated from the
final table. Then, John Strzemp, who came
in second to Stu Ungar in the 1997 championship
event, went out in 7th place. Chuck McCormick,
a high-stakes player from Oceanside, CA
was the next player to hit the rail which
left six players at the final table.
Greg Alston came into day two with the
chip lead. Unfortunately, he went "card
dead" at the worst possible moment. Alston
was never able to generate any momentum
on this day and finished a disappointing
fifth. "I looked down at J-4, 7-3, and
6-2 all day long," lamented Alston afterward.
Down
to four players, it appeared as if Nick
Frangos from the New York City area would
pose the biggest threat to Hellmuth. Frangos
was second in chips, and had position
on Hellmuth, sitting to his immediate
left. Frangos, a high-stakes player who
frequents Atlantic City and most of the
major tournaments, was poised to try and
isolate Hellmuth with re-raises any time
he saw the 1989 World Champion get out
of line. But the strategy backfired. Each
time Hellmuth made a raise and Frangos
came over the top, Hellmuth really had
a hand. It didn't take long for Frango's
chips to vanish, particularly when he
lost five pots in a row (his diamond flush
losing to a higher diamond flush was the
backbreaker) and he was knocked out in
third place.
Cigar-chomping
Herb Kelso played tough at the final table.
He had a decent-sized stack most of the
day, but gradually lost his momentum about
mid-way through the nine-hour marathon
and was the next player to make an exit.
Kelso was eliminated by Hellmuth -- and
then there were only two.
Young
Phan, from Garden Grove, CA faced Phil
Hellmuth. The chip counts stood as follows:
Phan with $209K vs. Hellmuth with $270K.
From the outset of heads-up play, Phan
punished Hellmuth and had the temperamental
poker pro standing up and talking to himself
at one point. "I have cost myself millions
of dollars with my temper," Hellmuth later
explained in reference to his controversial
behavior. "The only person I've hurt is
myself. Whenever I get negative, I get
unlucky and I start to tilt. Then, I lose
all my chips."
It
appeared the crowd might be treated to
another ballistic outburst when Phan won
several pots in a row, took the chip lead,
and was on the verge of turning Hellmuth
into what he describes as "his own worst
enemy." Hellmuth grumbled to himself that
Phan was getting all the breaks, and wondered
aloud if he would get dealt a few winning
hands. The answer to that question would
be a devastating rush of cards for Hellmuth
that crushed Young Phan's big stack and
completely reversed the chip advantage
in favor of Hellmuth.
Phan watched in horror as Hellmuth won
an astounding 13 hands in a row -- virtually
unheard of in heads-up play. A few of
the hands involved Hellmuth picking up
the blinds, but more often both players
would see the flop, Phan would completely
miss and give up his hand when Hellmuth
applied pressure. At one point, Hellmuth
made a remarkable call with a king-high
(no pair) on the river and won the pot
when he snapped off the stone-cold bluff
by Phan. Whether it was clairvoyance or
great poker playing, that key hand put
Phan down to the felt and primed Hellmuth
for his eighth championship.
The final hand of the night, which closed
a three-hour epic heads-up duel, came
with Hellmuth's 6-4 topping Phan's 6-2,
when a pair of fours came on the turn.
To his credit, Phan remained completely
composed and focused throughout the final
table, never once getting flustered even
though he must have been horrified to
lose 13 hands in a row at one point. He
also fought back multiple times from chip
disadvantages, and gave Hellmuth a serious
run for his money.
But
in the end, the world's best hold'em player
prevailed. Lest there be any doubt as
to Hellmuth's knack for hold'em tournaments,
every single gold bracelet he owns is
for a hold'em event. The victory also
put Hellmuth into a special class -- with
over $3 million in prize money at the
World Series of Poker. "The money's nice,
but this is what I play for," Hellmuth
said afterward as he snapped the gold
bracelet on his wrist.
"I'm
a feel player. Since the 2001 final table
(Hellmuth made the championship finale
two years ago) I haven't had any natural
feel for the game. It's like I lost the
power, or something. Friday, I woke up
and fold my wife -- I have all my power
back. I told Erik (Seidel) I'm playing
with all my power for the first time since
2001. I'm going to get here again this
year, I'm going to make at least two more
final tables."
Interestingly,
Hellmuth's win inspired another person
who was sitting in the audience. With
his wife, Kathleen, at his side -- Hellmuth
closed off the evening by introducing
his friend, Larry -- who recently suffered
a stroke. Larry explained that he was
hospitalized and could not move. He found
Hellmuth to be such an inspiration, that
he recovered somewhat and came down to
Binion's Horseshoe to cheer on his friend
in the tournament.
"You
want to talk about mystical things," said
Hellmuth. "When Larry came and sat down
(in the audience) I won the next 13 hands
in a row, right after that."
It
was the thing dreams are made of.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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