no more dry spell, hellmuth is champeeeen

[Absolute 0]

Surprising how little buzz there has been on this forum about Phil Hellmuth Jr winning the National Heads Up Championship. (Considering almost every single post was about it before the tournament started).But in case you haven't realized, look at the list of opponents he had to defeat to become the Heads Up Champion.Men 'The Master' NguyenPaul PhillipsHuck SeedLyle BermanAntonio EsfandiariChris FergusonNot exactly a walkthrough of heads-up opponents.Congratulations Phil, you whiny bastard.

[NormanHaupt 0]

Yeah I just read it in the blog.Honestly, it doesn't surprise me. Anyone who wouldn't fear Phil headsup is simply a moron. He plays a cerebral game, and he's certainly armed well for it.

[TheIceman05 0]

Yes, but he blows so very, very much

[Guest XXEddie]

...meh, he was due, Im glad NBC decided to broadcast this,

[dna4ever 2]

so much for the specific requests of not putting anything in a topic about who won this as they wanted to wait and see it on tv for the first time.Its kinda like me and Survivor or a football game. I avoid all radio, TV, and internet content until I can watch it so I dont 'accidentally' hear the results

[jayistheman 0]

when i was in elementary school, my grandmother had ordered wrestlemania for me on PPV... the ironman match betweem shawn michaels and brett hart. i managed to avoid anyone who knew the outcome for over a week... (my grandmother lives in dallas, and had to mail it here)the day the package was supposed to arrive......."hey jay... did you know shawn michaels won the ironman match? well thats about it.... just checkin"i wanted to kill.... still was alot of fun to watch though.... i miss the days when wrestling was entertaining.

[chuckf410 0]

Eh, I'm not too impressed. The players he beat play 'correct' tradional poker. Tighter games and better, predictable hands over the 'internet' or 'new' style player with the looser hands and calls/raises. Phil is great with the traditional players, but he seems to not think with any other stratagy.

[Absolute 0]

It sounds like the best-of-3 championship match was pretty good poker though.here is an excert from the second game...

With the board showing 9-5-2-4 with the three hearts on the turn, Chris Ferguson checks, Phil Hellmuth bets $40,000, and Ferguson reraises $80,000 more. Phil Hellmuth pushes all in, and Ferguson stops dead in his tracks to think things over. He ponders the situation for about five long minutes before calling, inducing a loud cheer from the crowd. Ferguson turns over 9-2 for two pair, but Phil has a fantastic hand -- A-3, with the ace of hearts. That gives Phil the nuts on the turn, with the nut flush draw. Ferguson needs a 9 or a 2 on the river to stay alive. The crowd explodes as Ferguson spikes a 9, giving him a full house, and well over $1 million in chips.

I can't wait to see Phil's reaction to this one on TV.

[solo319 0]

way to go phil. Sometimes you cant get credit no matter what you do.

[chuckf410 0]

so much for the specific requests of not putting anything in a topic about who won this as they wanted to wait and see it on tv for the first time.Its kinda like me and Survivor or a football game.  I avoid all radio, TV, and internet content until I can watch it so I dont 'accidentally' hear the results

Well then don't come to a poker related website before a poker game is broadcast three months later. You broke your own rule by coming here, a poker related website. Don't blame us. Blame yourself.It's over and done with and the record book is closed. If you just want to wait for TV to tell you the winner, good luck. A three month moritorium on the deatails of a publicly played game is rather foolish to expect.

[Absolute 0]

Well then don't come to a poker related website before a poker game is broadcast three months later. You broke your own rule by coming here, a poker related website. Don't blame us. Blame yourself. It's over and done with and the record book is closed. If you just want to wait for TV to tell you the winner, good luck. A three month moritorium on the deatails of a publicly played game is rather foolish to expect.word.

[dna4ever 2]

For the record it wasnt me who asked for no one to post who won and I could care less. The reason I come to a poker related website is to learn and talk about poker.My post was pure sarcasm and I dont care one eye-oh-ta of what people post. Word 8)

[Absolute 0]

Another hand I can't wait to see on TV. From game three of the best of 3, after Phil had it stolen from him in game two (see hand above)

Phil Hellmuth still has a substantial chip lead over Chris Ferguson, when they go all in preflop with pocket deuces for Ferguson and 6-4 for Hellmuth. (It may not be as impressive as A-K against pocket queens, but the odds are roughly the same with a pocket pair against two overcards.) Phil immediately improves to a higher pair on the flop of K-Q-6, and Ferguson is down to two outs to avoid elimination. The turn card is a 7, and the river card is a ... no, wait ... it can't be ... but it is ... a ... 2.The reaction was immediate, and it was intense. The audience exploded into a cheering frenzy, Phil was cursing the poker gods, and cameras were swarming everywhere. In the middle of it all, Chris Ferguson was rather composed and relaxed (with a healthy helping of relief). He knew there was still a lot of poker to be played, and he was still behind in the chip count. But Phil Hellmuth has now had victory ripped from his fingers twice, and he must be thinking that he's not just playing against Chris Ferguson, but he's also battling against fate, which seems to be rooting against him.

I think I am starting to sympathize with Phil. If I had to endure these regularly, I'd be screaming at people too.

[Ender142 0]

Eh, I'm not too impressed. The players he beat play 'correct' tradional poker. Tighter games and better, predictable hands over the 'internet' or 'new' style player with the looser hands and calls/raises.  Phil is great with the traditional players, but he seems to not think with any other stratagy.

Men Nguyen, Paul Phillips and Antonio Esfandiari play predictable, traditional poker? HAHA, thats the funniest thing ive heard in a while. These are probibly the most non-traditional and unpredictable players in that whole tournement.Actually, the more predictable and solid players seem to have done the best in this tournement, considering Chris and Phil were the top two players, and TJ was also up there.

[faketree 0]

Eh, I'm not too impressed. The players he beat play 'correct' tradional poker. Tighter games and better, predictable hands over the 'internet' or 'new' style player with the looser hands and calls/raises.  Phil is great with the traditional players, but he seems to not think with any other stratagy.

Thats just dumb. WTF is 'correct, traditional poker'??? Jesus and Huck are both past WSOP winners. Antonio and Men are very loose players. Paul Phillips is highly intelligent and a great poker player. His heads up is pretty weak but still. And Lyle Berman is a regular winner in the big game, which often gets shorthanded.As I have said many times before. Phil is the man. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the boost he needs to get back on the horse and win some big tournaments this year.

[Absolute 0]

I agree, the players he knocked off are far from traditional.Men Nguyen is one of the most aggressive "read-oriented" players around.Antonio Esfandiari is about as traditional as windsurfing.And did you see Paul Phillips' beard?Perhaps the only "traditional" player he bested was Lyle Berman.Your comment was unfounded and silly chuck. =)

[Emptyeye 0]

I think I am starting to sympathize with Phil. If I had to endure these regularly, I'd be screaming at people too.

To be fair, though it doesn't apply to this beat in particular, part of why Phil gets "unlucky" is that part of his style is to slowplay big hands, thus exposing himself to terrible runner-runner losses.In spite of that, though, I'll give him his props, as it were, for this win. That's no easy field of players to go through, and he did it.

[KDawgCometh 2]

the only thing wrong with his win, we're only gonna get like an hour of TV time for it. Only five hours are gonna make it to air for the entire tournament. That's just really weak

[Nugzy 0]

NBC should release a DVD with unedited footage of the tournament. Would be cool to watch the whole thing. Im sure the average fan would find it boring, but I wouldnt mind watching it. I thought the APC at Turning Stone was one of the best poker programs.

[faketree 0]

the only thing wrong with his win, we're only gonna get like an hour of TV time for it. Only five hours are gonna make it to air for the entire tournament. That's just really weak

Hey, its a start. I'm sure they want to see how the format works for TV and if they get decent ratings from it. I think its just an experiment for them to see if poker coverage is viable for network TV. It seems like the tourney was a success and with Hellmuth taking it down, it should make for great TV and hopefully be the start of networked TV poker coverage.I would love to see the day when they cover a poker tournament like they do golf tournaments. Many cameras on different holes (tables). Following around the key players like Tiger, Vijay, and Phil (Daniel, Gus, Phil, etc....) during the tourney as well as the stroke leaders (chip leaders). Cutting from hole to hole (table to table) showing exciting drives, puts, hole outs (all ins, big bluffs, crazy pots). Most of the emphasis on LIVE. Its stupid we have to wait two months for this to be shown on TV. Editing for this isn't nearly as much of a job as editing for say a major motion picture. Yet, they are taking the same amount of time to do it. There is no reason why they could not have live coverage just like a golf tournament. They could delay it to allow for any irrational outbursts and/or cursing but I don't think that would be a problem.Basically, I think this is just the beginning of something big for poker on TV.

[Rob-L 0]

Eh, I'm not too impressed. The players he beat play 'correct' tradional poker. Tighter games and better, predictable hands over the 'internet' or 'new' style player with the looser hands and calls/raises.  Phil is great with the traditional players, but he seems to not think with any other stratagy.

Hmm.. let's see who else was in the tournament and see if they classify as "traditional" players...Gus HansenErick LindgrenSammy FarhaJohn JuandaAmir Vahedi Layne FlackDavid WilliamsCarlos MortensonJosh AriehDaniel NegreanuAntonio EsfandiariPhil IveyScott FischmanMen NguyenPhil drew Men Nguyen - I wouldn't consider Men to be an orthodox or traditional player.He also played Antonio Esfandiari - definitely not a traditional player.That entire field was filled with excellent players, you have to give Phil some credit. Just because the guy has been running bad lately doesn't mean he sucks. Phil still can kick ass and take names!

[Ganador 0]

I don't think any player, regardless of their usual tournament technique, would be considered a "typical" heads up players. If you show me on guy who only played premium hands and mucked everything else while playing heads up, id be quite impressed. I mean look at how phil beat paul phillips, J-5 vs A-8, wow, that is some conservative play right there. Heads up is a completely and entirely different game than a full tournament, and anyone who disagrees with me, i would like to challange to a $1,000,000 heads up match, lol.

[....Ian.... 0]

NBC should release a DVD with unedited footage of the tournament. Would be cool to watch the whole thing. Im sure the average fan would find it boring, but I wouldnt mind watching it. I thought the APC at Turning Stone was one of the best poker programs.

you are so right...unfortunately NBC or even cable like espn and travel channel wont pick up on this.turning stone was great cuz it showed you real grinding out poker.

[jack24bauer24 0]

Phil said that he was going to focus much more time on his tournament play this year after sort of slacking off last year due to different business dealings and what not...seems like his statement of being on top of his game this year is off to a good start.As one of the few Phil backers and supporters I'm glad to see him win.Love him or hate him, poker is a more colorful game because of him.Attaboy Phil.

[Naismith 0]

I'm happy for Phil.But I'll tell you who has to be elated that he won...NBC. I'd bet if they had their choice of one guy to make the final table, it would've been Phil...win or lose.Peace,Jay