Other sports have their humogous trophies, boxing has its belt. But poker winners earn bracelets.

And not just any other 10-ton stainless steel alloy bracelet, in fact the World Series of Poker bracelet glitter with solid gold. And for many years now the WSOP has awarded these gold bracelets to the poker champions.

The bracelet not only recognizes the achievement of winning a WSOP poker tournament but accumulating a number of them have also become a benchmark of success in the poker community.

The legendary Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan hold the most numebr of WSOP gold bracelets with 10 each, followed by blabbermouth Phil Hellmuth with 9, then Johnny Moss with 8. Other prominent poker players with more than 1 WSOP bracelet to their name are also considered part of the creme dela creme.

For the 2006 WSOP Main Events, Harrah’s and the WSOP peeps have elevated pokerdom’s most beloved piece of bling bling into something…

Read More » New WSOP Bracelets Glitter Not Only With Gold

It’s official that another Phil is taking over the commentator’s seat at Celebrity Poker Showdown.

Of course this has been the speculation ever since Mr. Nice Guy Phil Gordon announced he’s calling it quits. Bravo network wasted no time wooing a replacement in the person of poker bad boy Phil Hellmuth.

 Phil himself wasn’t mum about it even quoted as saying: “Maybe, if the time considerations work, then it’s possible—it’s possible—that I’ll get involved.”

Well a deal was struck and on Wednesday Bravo announced that the 9-time World Series of Poker bracelet holder will be occupying the chair next to Dave Foley when Celebrity Poker Showdown’s new season airs.

"This alone should add a new texture to the program and we’ll see how patient this Phil is with some of the plays (or lack thereof) made by the celebrity participants. Dave Foley will once again hold down the celebrity host seat in the Losers’ Lounge." [Poker News]

Patience is never known to be one of Hellmuth’s virtues. We’ve seen the other Phil lose his cool once or twice during Celebrity Poker episodes, like once commenting on Jeff Gordon’s fold as "Only an idiot would do that!". You can forgive him, viewers like me munching chips and dips comfortably on our couches used words that haven’t yet made its way onto the Oxford dictionary.

Now this other Phil known for badmouthing his co-players right in their…

Read More » Badass Phil Takes Over Celebrity Poker Showdown

It must feel pretty damn good to take a hand off of Johnny Chan in a big tournament. If you’re Phil Hellmuth, you’ll use the hand as an opportunity to let the greater Philly area know exactly how cool you really are. The Philadelphia Daily News lets Hellmuth pump that ego in print:

"The last card was a deuce, and now Chan just checked. At this point, I was fairly sure I had the better hand, but why bet? I mean, what hand could he call me with that I could beat? He wouldn’t be calling me on the end with a busted straight draw, but perhaps he would call me with 3-3 or ace high? I thought not. If he called a bet, then he would most likely have 7-7, 6-6, or 5-5, which I could not beat.

Read More » Phil Hellmuth Loves Phil Hellmuth

Looking for some poker to watch in Thursday’s tryptophan-induced couch time? Full Tilt Poker and Fox Sports will bring you live poker from Monte Carlo, sit and go style. Here’s PokerNews’ report:

Confirmed entries for the event in Monte Carlo include former World Champions Phil Hellmuth and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, who will be joined at the table by fellow professionals John Juanda and David "DevilFish" Ulliot. Three other players have been extended invitations, Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen and Mike Matusow, but we’ll have to wait until showtime (live at 6PM on the East Coast) to see what the actual final lineup will be.

Read More » Live Poker On TV Tomorrow

I think we’d all agree that Phil Hellmuth is a tireless and enthusiastic self-promoter. So you’d think by now he’d be a little bit better at the job. As discovered by Paul Phillips, winner on the World Poker Tour and the patient chronicaler of many bizarre Hellmuthian episodes, this is sadly not the case:

A reader alerts me of the content presently at phil hellmuth’s web site:

Read More » Making Mobney

What’s that word that best describes our gleeful delight in the losing streak of another? Schadenfreude is what we were thinking, but when it’s Phil Hellmuth doing the complaining, it’s even sweeter than that. His words, from The Miami Herald:

"I’m sick of watching everyone else win game after game on ESPN, FSN and the Travel Channel!

Am I jealous of them?

Read More » Schadenphil

Goddammit, does Phil Hellmuth make for interesting TV sometimes. Last night in hour #1 of the WSOP telecast on ESPN, Hellmuth called an amateur’s all-in pre-flop holding Ace King. The amateur was thoroughly dominated, holding King Jack of Hearts. No flush draw going into the river, but do we need to tell you what spiked on fifth? Cribbed post-hand table talk right from the telecast:

This fricking donkey stuck fifteen thousand with King Jack. I mean, the guy can’t even spell "poker." I re-raised to let him know what I had… He peeled a King off - a Jack off for the sucker.

Read More » Hellmuth’s TV Meltdown, In Case You Missed It

Well-known poker loudmouth Phil Hellmuth brings his patented style of griping to the Sunday "Hobbies" page of The Indianapolis Star, proving once again that good things happen to those who whine. Is this the Indy Star’s reaction to the New York Times hiring James McManus? Or is it because Daniel Negreanu is already syndicated elsewhere? You decide. New Columnist(Bottom of Page) [Indy Star]

Read More » Hellmuth’s New Column To Focus on Poker, Bitching

Read More » Fun With Polls: Poker Players