Phil Hellmuth Quotes

Trust me when I tell you that Andy Roddick has the game to win a major poker tournament. I’ve played Hold ’em with him several times and he consistently demonstrates the kind of playing style and competitive drive that gives him a legitimate chance to win.

I’m so much better off when I trust my instincts. But they’re not perfect.

I act the way I act and I’m not proud of it.

Sometimes when you look back, you think I wish I would have played this hand differently or that hand differently. But then you have to understand that you can’t go back and to focus on the present. Whether or not you’re applying the lessons you’ve learned from mistakes you’ve made in the past.

Very few players want to go home wondering if they’ve folded the best hand. They feel humiliated when they’re bluffed out of a pot. As a result, these players make calls with marginal hands that put their entire tournament at risk.

It is very, very difficult to quit when you’re losing. And nobody does it well.

Regrettably, I’ve had more than a few meltdowns on television.

There are times when success doesn’t make sense on a purely mathematical basis. I’ve played absolutely perfectly before, put in a masterful performance, and then my perfect play evaporated because one guy lost his mind and got lucky. Of course, I’ve also won that way.

My favorite poker game is No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em.

Players too often bet too much money when they hit a strong hand. That only serves to drive opponents out of the pot, and that means a lost opportunity to maximize the value of a powerful hand.

If you’re going to just play with patience, you’re going to be at the mercy of the cards.

We have hillbillies with third grade educations and 8th grade educations who have conquered the poker world. There is no telling why someone is great at reading other people. Some people just are.

Poker is supposed to be fun.

I typically don’t bet out on the flop because I’ve been in the business of trapping my ultra-aggressive opponents so much that I’ve simply forgotten the benefits of a simple flop bet!

Everybody knows the World Series of Poker is the biggest stage in the world. This is where you make your name.

I wanted to be famous and I wanted to make a fortune, and I’ve done that.

I’ve studied the way the Internet kids play. I want to know what they’re thinking when they play pots against me.

All I want are titles and nothing less.

Keeping my emotions in check translates to me playing a lot better.

On the road, I have all these celebrity superstars tell me how great I am and how much they like my style.

What gets lost is that half of poker is reading people. When you’re reading well and you’re making counterintuitive plays, a strictly math player will get scared and start making fewer moves, and then the person is even easier to read.

One of my favorite poker shows on television is ‘Poker After Dark.’

Here I am getting $50,000 for personal appearances. Everyone wants a piece of me. But my kids think no one could possibly think Dad is cool.

If you play professionally, you can expect to go broke at some point.

If you read people great then you can become a great No Limit Hold ‘Em player.

I wanted to become good at golf because I saw a lot of really successful people being good at it – and I planned on being successful.

The more records you put up, the longer they talk about you.

When strangers walk up to me and want to play golf for money, I worry. I wonder why they’re coming to me, and I begin asking questions: When did you start playing? What’s your best score? Are you playing your best golf right now? Where do you play? Usually I can tell if they’re lying.

I normally raise pre-flop with K-K or A-A but occasionally I’ll limp in, especially if it appears that the others at the table are playing tight. I don’t want anyone to fold too soon when I’ve got such a big hand.

In 1987, I wrote a goal sheet. I didn’t want to waste my life. I’d dropped out of college, and there was a lot of pressure from my parents. I decided, ‘If you’re going to do this, you’re going to become the best in the world at this.’

All-star lay downs are all about reading your opponents, trusting your instincts, and then making the right move.

Without a doubt, the WSOP in Las Vegas is by far the most prestigious event in the poker world.

I don’t get nervous.

For five or six years, I didn’t play in some of the good games leading up to the World Series of Poker, because with so many below-average players there, I reasoned it messed up my game.

When I started playing, I saw a lot of people who were 45 and unhappy. I told myself I’d never be in a position where I had to play all the time. And I haven‘t been.

Models are interested in me, mostly because of my ‘bad boy of poker’ image.

Look, most players can’t stand to be outplayed by an opponent’s bluff. Quite honestly, though, it doesn’t bother me that much.

Look, No Limit Texas Hold ’em is a game of reads, deduction and logic, and Allen Cunningham excels in each.

Before you decide to play with live straddles in your home game, remember that this twist essentially doubles the size of the game. It’s often used by players who have been losing and are trying to get lucky and win a big pot.

Consistently playing suited connectors like 8c-7c for raises and reraises will cause big chip swings. If that’s what you want, well, strap on your seatbelt, because you’ve got a turbulent ride ahead of you!

Poker is about understanding human behavior and managing emotions – yours and the other guy’s. That’s huge in poker, and it’s huge in business.

I guess you can say that my unwillingness to accept failure is what drives my success.

I’ve been an idiot at the poker table for a long time.

Ultra-aggressive players have a knack of making otherwise sound players commit huge stacks of chips with relatively weak hands, like A-Q.

By folding often, I give other players the false impression that I’m a weak player – a player who can be easily bluffed. Trust me; I’m not a weak player.