| Can you tell us a bit about your
background? |
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"I have won more money
than anyone else has in poker tournaments in the
last ten years"
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I am originally from Madison, Wis.
I 'found' a poker game while I was a student at the University
of Wisconsin. I guess that I never stopped playing poker
after that! In 1989, I was the youngest player ever to
win the World Series of Poker at age 24. In 1993, I won
three events at the WSOP and had a second place finish
as well. Today, most poker players consider me the #1
poker tournament player in the world. I have won more
money than anyone else has in poker tournaments in the
last ten years. I still love to play poker, but not as
often as when I was in my twenties. My web site (www.philhellmuth.com)
keeps me busy for a couple of hours a week writing "Hand
of the Week" and "High Limit Results." Andy Glazer (also
in your Hall of Fame) and I are working on my autobiography
called "Poker Brat." |
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| Can you describe your feelings when
you became the World Series of Poker champion in `89 as
a 24-year old? |
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"Winning the World Series
of Poker was a dream come true for me."
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Winning the World Series of Poker
was a dream come true for me. At the tender age of 24,
it was my #1 dream. My father insisted on attending the
WSOP in 1989. So I made a deal with my dad that if I won
the championship, I would buy him a new car. It was the
first poker tournament he ever attended, and it was also
his first Mercedes-Benz! I'll never forget the dealer
turning up that last card; my arms shot up into the air
in ecstasy-Yes! I was the World Champion of Poker! In
an instant, I looked around the room for my father. There
he was running up to embrace me. What a moment for me--having
my father there when I achieved my dream. Luckily, I have
the whole scene on video. |
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| In a Newsweek interview, you where
quoted as saying, "Poker players are the best people in
the world at determining when someone's lying." Does this
mind-reading skill work only at the poker table, or does
it come in handy in other life situations? |
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| It is not a 'mind-reading skill.' The
ability to determine whether someone is lying or not is
a combination of reading their body language, facial expressions
and verbal responses. Another factor is understanding
what they want to accomplish (or hide) and why they want
to accomplish it. In poker, what they want to accomplish
is obvious. Therefore, the important part is close observation
of their face, voice and movements. The reason that I
believe poker players are the best people at determining
whether or not someone is lying is that poker players
try to determine this 20 plus times a day when they are
playing poker. The ability to determine whether someone
is lying or not (as well as their level of sincerity),
is quite useful away from the poker tables. I use this
skill every day in both my personal and business relationships. |
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| What does it take to be a good poker
player? |
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"Some
of the best game theorists are bad poker players
because they pay too much attention to strategy."
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Good question. Some of the best
psychologists are bad poker players because they pay too
much attention to people. Some of the best game theorists
are bad poker players because they pay too much attention
too strategy. A "good" poker player can do both--play
good strategy and read people well. "Great" poker players
are masters of what I like to call "situational analysis."
In other words, a "great" poker player can make quick
judgments as to when to make good moves (strategy) based
on what has already occurred. For example, I may decide
to bet $10,000 in order to bluff out my opponent because
I see weakness in him based on the way he is acting or
looking. |
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| In blackjack, sticking to your strategy
is considered very important. Does this apply in poker
as well? |
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| Absolutely not! "Situational analysis"
dictates that you act differently in each situation. However,
patience is considered an important part of most winning
strategies. |
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| Coming versions of online casino
software will enable Internet players in different locations
to play poker against each other. Do you think this concept
will work (considering you can't actually see your opponent
face-to-face)? |
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| People have, for over a year, played
poker for money against each other on the Net. Soon you
will be able to play poker for fun at www.philhellmuth.com.
Soon after that, we will offer poker for money at www.clubpoker.com.
It is fun to play poker on the Net, especially considering
you can do it from the home or office for just 30 minutes
or an hour. You definitely lose the skill factor of "reading
people." So online poker is more pure game strategy-oriented. |
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| What is your opinion of the Internet
gaming industry? |
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| I would love to see government regulation,
not prohibition. My European friends laugh at the USA
and say; "Didn't your young country already try to prohibit
alcohol? Haven't you learned prohibition doesn't work
yet?" I think that they are right about prohibition not
working. Politics makes strange bedfellows. In the call
for prohibition of online gambling, we see casino owners
and the religious right pushing through the Kyl bill. |
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| Do you play at Internet casinos? |
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| I own Internet casinos as well. |
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| What's your favorite place to play? |
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| I guess that I have to shamelessly
promote my own sites. Again, they are www.philhellmuth.com
for no-stakes poker and www.clubpoker.com
for money. Our poker software really is the best out there
right now. |
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| Our latest Hall of Fame guest, gambling
author Gayle Mitchell, was invited to pose a question
to you. Gayle wonders: "How do you do it? The grind, the
lows and highs, bankroll fluctuations?" |
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"The highs are great and
easy, but the lows are what make you grow."
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Playing professional poker is not
a life for everyone. The highs are great and easy, but
the lows are what make you grow. I hate the lows, but
I recognize that they are necessary if you want to be
all that you can be. No one became great at anything without
bad times. What you realize (learn) about yourself and
life in general during the lows determines how high you
will go during the highs. For every low I have had, I
have learned a new thing or two about how to handle myself
and the next high. |
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Now it's your turn to pose a question to our upcoming
Hall of Fame guest. What question would you like to
ask?
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- How have you dealt with being broke?
- What have you done to make sure that you are never
low on money again?
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