Hellmuth Crushing at the WSOP
 

Phil is either one or two in the known pros rankings at the World Series (him or Mortenson).

Maybe he is up for making bolder calls this series.

Phil Hellmuth Builds Stack
Hellmuth raises to $4,500 from mid-position and is re-raised $10,000 more from late position and Hellmuth makes the call. The flop comes K76 and Hellmuth checks, his opponent instantly goes all-in for $18,000. Hellmuth calls quickly and shows JJ, his opponent shows A10. The turn brings a Q and river a 2, Hellmuth takes the pot and is up to $100,000.

Re: Hellmuth Crushing at the WSOP
 

That is an unusual call for Phil. We've seem him play so ultra cautious in many recent events. Hopefully he starts showing a willingness to make calls like this and take a chance. His reading skills are solid, I just wish he'd trust them more.

Re: Hellmuth Crushing at the WSOP
 

With Hellmuth's reading ability, he could become extremely dangerous if he starts trusting his instincts more to pick off pushes like this..

If word gets around that Phil brought his balls to this WSOP and he's picking off bluffs left and right, he might start forcing aggressive players to back off a little and this could make Phil a very dangerous player

Re: Hellmuth Crushing at the WSOP
 

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and this could make Phil a very dangerous player

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Yeah, 'cause he's just a harmless little bunny rabbit right now.

Re: Hellmuth Crushing at the WSOP
 

It's a good call, of course, since the King is a card to be wary of. But, let's not overrate it.

Each player put T14,500 into the pot pre-flop and Phil neds to call T18,000 on the flop By the time he makes the call, there is T47,000 in the pot. He's getting 2.6:1 on that call.

Hellmuth's stack size after the hand was T100,000. So, he must have had T67,500 before the hand began. When the flop call was made, the T18,000 represented about 1/3 of his remaining stack.

Re: Hellmuth Crushing at the WSOP
 

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With Hellmuth's reading ability, he could become extremely dangerous if he starts trusting his instincts more to pick off pushes like this..

If word gets around that Phil brought his balls to this WSOP and he's picking off bluffs left and right, he might start forcing aggressive players to back off a little and this could make Phil a very dangerous player

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I think Phil does trust his reads and make calls like this when he thinks his opponent is on a stone bluff. He has always said he accumulates the most chips by getting opponents to bluff into him.

I think his weakness is he has trouble pressing his advantage when he is +EV, but where his opponent has a decent chance of sucking out...he prefers to feel around and wait until he feels the outcome is more certain. This actually gives his opponents more chance to suck out in situations where they would have folded to a large bet.

Re: Hellmuth Crushing at the WSOP
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
With Hellmuth's reading ability, he could become extremely dangerous if he starts trusting his instincts more to pick off pushes like this..

If word gets around that Phil brought his balls to this WSOP and he's picking off bluffs left and right, he might start forcing aggressive players to back off a little and this could make Phil a very dangerous player

[/ QUOTE ]

I think Phil does trust his reads and make calls like this when he thinks his opponent is on a stone bluff. He has always said he accumulates the most chips by getting opponents to bluff into him.

I think his weakness is he has trouble pressing his advantage when he is +EV, but where his opponent has a decent chance of sucking out...he prefers to feel around and wait until he feels the outcome is more certain. This actually gives his opponents more chance to suck out in situations where they would have folded to a large bet.

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Listening to his commentary during last year's Final Table I had the feeling that, even when he's not involved, he seems to feel personally aggrieved when anything that's better than a 60% favourite doesn't hold up. It's like it offends his sense of universal order.

Re: Hellmuth Crushing at the WSOP
 

If it wasn't for luck he'd win um all I thought [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Hellmuth Crushing at the WSOP
 

I would almost never fold here if I'm Hellmuth.

Re: Hellmuth Crushing at the WSOP
 

There isnt a hand that villian plays this way that Phil doesnt beat.
~Justin