Poker Pro Phil
Philip Courtney Laak (born September 8, 1972) is an Irish–American professional poker player and a poker commentator, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Poker Live poker World Series of Poker. Phil Gordon first entered The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in 2001 and finished 4th, winning $400,000. In 2002, he made two more WSOP final tables.
- Poker Pro Phil Laak
- Pro Poker Players Named Phil
- Pro Poker Player Phil Ivey Net Worth
- Youtube Poker Videos Phil Hellmuth
- Pro Poker Player Phil
- Poker Pro Phil Crossword
Phil Hellmuth is an all-time poker great. With just shy of $24 million in career earnings and a record 15 World Series of Poker bracelets, it is hard to argue that his career won’t be regarded as one of the best in history.
As more time elapses between the current environment and the Chris Moneymaker-inspired poker boom of 2003, however, his ability relative to the game’s best is a point of heated debate.
Given his age and background, high-stakes pro and poker site operator Phil Galfond, tweeted a somewhat controversial opinion of Hellmuth Tuesday evening.
In Galfond’s opinion, Hellmuth actually has some chops.
Before the Moneymaker boom there was less math used in developing strategies. Hellmuth was clearly one of the best in the world while using a much more exploitative, feel-based strategy than many top pros implement today. As the game evolved and high roller events emerged, it became clear that the players in those tournaments had much less respect for his game.
Galfond revealed four screenshots of his phone’s notepad, elaborating on his thoughts of Hellmuth’s recent heads-up play against Antonio Esfandiari on PokerGO’s “High Stakes Duel.” It is one of the rare times that a player of Galfond’s age and caliber has outwardly praised Hellmuth’s poker ability.
We so often criticize the plays we see on TV from the comfort of our couches. I think it’s only fair to also give credit where credit is due.
I recently watched phil_hellmuth</a> on <a href='https://twitter.com/PokerGO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw'>PokerGO’s #HighStakesDuel & wrote down some thoughts. pic.twitter.com/AEOVEeczZQ
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) October 7, 2020
Many of the game’s best base their decisions off what is the correct Game Theory Optimal [GTO] play. GTO is heavily based in mathematics and requires lots of studying. Players who use this strategy generally end up with an understanding how often a certain hand should take specific actions and how to randomize play to prevent getting exploited by their opponents.
A little more than a month ago, six-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu was down nearly $1 million to high-stakes poker pro Doug Polk in their $200-$400 no-limit hold’em. Phil Hellmuth runs into recreational player John during the Live At The Bike cash game leading to an infamous tilt moment. 1 year ago 5,469 PokerTube, Published 1 year ago Legends Collide On Live At.
Hellmuth doesn’t really ascribe to that method. He’s still an old-school, feel player at his core. He infamously described his game as using “white magic” to pinpoint what his opponents’ hole cards were.
“What I saw wasn’t HUNL technical mastery,” wrote the three-time bracelet winner in one of his screenshots. “It was an uncanny ability to assess and adapt to every spot he found himself in. Specifically, in the second match, Phil’s reads on each and every hand were incredible, and he chose lines that, while often unorthodox, intelligently capitalized on his (dead-on) read of each situation.”
The 35-year-old went on to apologize for not recognizing Hellmuth’s game earlier and said that he would “promise” to respect his game moving forward.
“I just recognize that I witnessed greatness, and that Phil Hellmuth knows something I don’t,” Galfond said to close his thoughts.
Galfond is as close to universally loved and respected in the poker world as possible. He’s regarded as one of the best to ever play the game, has played the highest stakes cash games and tournaments in the world, and recently transitioned to the business side of the game, opening his own online poker site.
Poker Pro Phil Laak
However, his tweet drew scrutiny from several high roller regulars.
On your side of the argument, people have some nice things to say. The people on the other side of the argument are willing to bet really big.
Hmm…. https://t.co/FwJDv4SStk
— Dan Smith (@DanSmithHolla) October 7, 2020
He punted every 300k I’ve seen him play in so I don’t share your view I think he’s a clear losing player in tougher lineups and mostly plays a style that exploits vs. tighter weaker opponents and WSOP & oldschool player tendencies.
I find it entertaining to play against him.
— Fedor Holz (@CrownUpGuy) October 7, 2020
Easily 1 of the silliest things I’ve ever read from someone I respect. Misses the point or is flat out wrong on almost every substantive issue and an actual formal apology to the most obnoxious disrespectful, self promoting ego maniac in the industry. It’s like Stockholm syndrome
— Olivier Busquet (@olivierbusquet) October 7, 2020
According to the high-roller crowd, Hellmuth can’t beat those games, which means he can’t possibly be considered one of the best in the world.
Pro Poker Players Named Phil
Poker legend Doyle Brunson chimed in on the issue and said that they were right, but it was irrelevant given how much Hellmuth was able to win off of lesser players. Regardless of how Hellmuth won the money, it still ended up in his pocket. It was that skill set that allowed him to win a WSOP bracelet 15 times.
I thought everybody knew that about Phil. He is the worlds best getting bad players on tilt and throwing their money at him. That's why he has 15 bracelets. Yeah, he has always struggled against tough tables. So what? $$$ https://t.co/y1tPOa568A
— Doyle Brunson (@TexDolly) October 7, 2020
After seeing the pushback, Galfond clarified his thoughts Wednesday morning.
I don't even know if I'm making an argument, & certainly not one that can be bet on.
My opinion is that PH is very talented & that he has abilities that others don't.
I also think @TexDolly is the greatest of all time, but that doesn't mean I want his action in $100k MTTs. https://t.co/VwZPM47lm4
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) October 7, 2020
A little more than a month ago, six-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu was down nearly $1 million to high-stakes poker pro Doug Polk in their $200-$400 no-limit hold’em heads-up grudge match.
Pro Poker Player Phil Ivey Net Worth
In the nearly five weeks since then, Negreanu trimmed that margin by a sizable amount. At one point, he almost cut it in half thanks to a five-session winning streak between Dec. 28 and Jan. 11.
During that timeframe, the Canadian pro and GGPoker ambassador sliced the lead to just $484,073. In the final session before the halfway mark of the match, where he declined the option to quit, Negreanu won about $40,000. Following the match, the two agreed to take a short break to celebrate the new year.
Negreanu won about $27,000 in their first match of the second half on Jan. 4. He continued the heater by winning $98,579 on Jan. 6, $27,945 on Jan. 8, and $132,648 last Monday.
“Just about a 12 [buy-in] downswing now peak to trough,” tweeted Polk after his most recent loss. “Tough stretch but feel good about how we are playing. On the positive side, we did manage to stack him once today.”
Polk, who has three WSOP bracelets of his own, snapped Negreanu’s winning streak with a six-figure win of his own in their most recent session last Wednesday. He won $119,609 over 600 hands, bringing Polk’s total profit to $603,683 through 15,850 of their 25,000-hand match.
Youtube Poker Videos Phil Hellmuth
Polk held the lead for most of Wednesday’s action, but Negreanu climbed out of a hole of nearly $200,000 and was nearly even for the session before Polk went on another run late in the match.
“Not over by a long shot but we stopped the bleeding and if we can get a couple more solid wins, [the match] should be hard to lose,” tweeted Polk after his win on Wednesday.
Polk may think that victory is within his reach, but some data suggests that he is running better than Negreanu. Corey Steel, a former PokerStars sponsored pro has been tracking the expected value from all the all-in pots. According to his data, Negreanu is running $243,635.95 below expectation.
3 more all-in hands for our infamous all-in EV spreadsheet that has RealKidPoker</a> down almost exactly 9 buy-ins now against <a href='https://twitter.com/DougPolkVids?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw'>DougPolkVids
Now with graphs as well, so check it out! https://t.co/bYVo7DcHtwJoeingram1</a> <a href='https://twitter.com/jeffplatt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw'>jeffplatt@DanSmithHollapic.twitter.com/giNtSL41uG
— Corey Steel (@CoreySteel_) January 14, 2021
Pro Poker Player Phil
Before the match started back in November, Polk and Negreanu had a history of public dislike for one another. There was plenty of social media drama between the two. But as the match has progressed, the pair of poker pros seemed to have mended any problems they once had.
Poker Pro Phil Crossword
Tuesday morning, Polk complimented Negreanu on how much his heads-up strategy has improved in just the few months they have been playing each other.
I gotta say @RealKidPoker is playing just night and day better than at the start of the challenge. I still think I have the edge but I wouldn't be surprised if its pretty low at this point. Gotta give credit where credit is due.
— Doug 'Truck Driver' Polk (@DougPolkVids) January 12, 2021
— Matt Glantz (@MattGlantz) January 12, 2021
In post-game interviews on the GGPoker YouTube channel, Negreanu has been open about the work he has put into his game. At the start of the match, Negreanu was only using two different bet sizes. After a few months of almost exclusively playing heads-up no-limit hold’em, and extensive work with his coaches, he currently uses several different sizes, making it a much tougher strategy for Polk to counter.
Polk and Negreanu will continue their match Friday afternoon. They will continue to play sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until the 25,000 hands are completed.