Maybe Hellmuth is a genius...

[Fitz]

Something hit me as I was watching his antics last night. Maybe the guy is a genius, and I don't mean as a poker player; we all know he can play. He has created a "character" that everyone seems to love to hate. It's just like the bad guys in professional wrestling. They work hard to make their character be hated by the fans who root for the good guys. You can't have good guys without bad guys, and Hellmuth seems content to provide the antagonist in poker. It gets him lots of screen time which enhances his persona, and it keeps people talking about him. Like they say it doesn't matter what they write about you as long as they spell your name right.

Good luck all,

Fitz

[MtSmalls]

Or maybe he's just a WCA as well as being a WCP....

[benfranklin]

His wandering soliloquy at the end of the show was certainly high drama, right up there with Hamlet or other tragic figures.

[eyekast]

i agree i thought it was funny as hell when the cameras followed him around as he was whining to himself i could watch that all night...

on another note, is it just me or did raymer have a blowup last night. i know tv doesn't show everything but i think he made some pretty questionable all in calls and pushes..

[Olde drunk]

Personally I thought he played scared all night. Unfortunately, we only see the hands they choose, but his usual agressive action was missing. He seemed to wilt after every reraise.

peace,

[tewall]

He's not the only one who would get upset at winding up with $0.00 instead of $2,000,000.00.

Raymer's play was fine. Look at some of the other posts.

[CrisBrown]

Hi Fitz,

The times I've talked to him, Phil is a genuinely nice guy. Unfortunately, he has no brake between brain and mouth, so at the table he SAYS all the things that most players THINK but don't actually say. And he comes off looking like an arrogant ass because of that, which is truly unfortunate, because all he's trying to do is give himself positive "self-talk" in order to keep himself focused. If he kept all of that silent, he'd look like a genius.

Cris

[eMarkM]

Paul Phillips on his blog (http://extempore.livejournal.com/) on the question of whether Hellmuth is self-aware of his behavior, i.e., he's conciously creating this persona for professional gain:

Zero chance. It always makes me laugh when his fans act like it's all part of some grand plan. Spend a few minutes with the guy and it's blazingly obvious that he has absolutely no clue. He has no conception of other people, even the existence of other people; as far as he's concerned we're all just golems putting on a play to participate in the hellmuthian solipsism.

[Dominic]

Dude, if that were true, Phil would have to be a better actor than Meryl Streep.

He's just naturally a cry baby.

[Stew]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi Fitz,

The times I've talked to him, Phil is a genuinely nice guy. Unfortunately, he has no brake between brain and mouth, so at the table he SAYS all the things that most players THINK but don't actually say. And he comes off looking like an arrogant ass because of that, which is truly unfortunate, because all he's trying to do is give himself positive "self-talk" in order to keep himself focused. If he kept all of that silent, he'd look like a genius.

Cris

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to trash Phil, but he deserves it and i'll be honest, I really wish he would not say the things he does b/c I hear he is a very genuine, caring person away from the poker table as well.

But, you stated that most of it is "self-talk" to keep focused. While that would be fine if it were true, it simply is not. His blow-ups that occur during a hand are fine. But, his disrespectful comments to Gavin Griffin occured when he was busted out. So, what focus does he need to keep? He's on the rail.

His blow-up last night, when wandering around the hallways, after the event was over and rambling on and on...again, what is he focusing on, he lost, game over.

[Daliman]

[ QUOTE ]
Paul Phillips on his blog (http://extempore.livejournal.com/) on the question of whether Hellmuth is self-aware of his behavior, i.e., he's conciously creating this persona for professional gain:

Zero chance. It always makes me laugh when his fans act like it's all part of some grand plan. Spend a few minutes with the guy and it's blazingly obvious that he has absolutely no clue. He has no conception of other people, even the existence of other people; as far as he's concerned we're all just golems putting on a play to participate in the hellmuthian solipsism.

[/ QUOTE ]

While I agree with PP here, I think it IS a bit of an act, but only in the sense that he IS aware of how it makes him look, he possibly at one time or another made strides to better his behavior for verying reasons, then realized his behavior got him MORE attenion, so now he just feeds the beast constantly, never editing himself and much more than occaisionaly embellishing.

[shadow29]

What was that Paul Phillips quote on one of the WSOP episodes about Phil? Something like, "It's hard to get mad at Phil because he's a 12 year old boy trapped in a 6' 5" frame...etc etc" I thought it was quite brilliant.

[CrisBrown]

Hi Stew,

[ QUOTE ]
But, you stated that most of it is "self-talk" to keep focused. While that would be fine if it were true, it simply is not. His blow-ups that occur during a hand are fine. But, his disrespectful comments to Gavin Griffin occured when he was busted out. So, what focus does he need to keep? He's on the rail.

His blow-up last night, when wandering around the hallways, after the event was over and rambling on and on ... again, what is he focusing on, he lost, game over.

[/ QUOTE ]

This should perhaps go into the Psychology forum, but I'll keep it here....

There's a principle in leadership that says you should compliment good/correct decisions immediately, but wait to criticize bad/incorrect decisions until closer to the next similar decision point. For example, if you're coaching a basketball team (which I did), your post-game comments should focus on the players' good decisions. The time to address mistakes is immediately prior to working those same skills in practice.

There are two reasons for this. First, in the immediate aftermath, people are likely to be too emotionally invested in those decisions to look at them clearly, and accept any constructive criticism. Second, talking about the mistakes immediately before working on those skills gives the person an opportunity try to correct those mistakes.

Self-improvement gurus will tell you that the same principles apply to self-talk. Immediately after an event, you should compliment yourself on what you did right. Then later, when you're in a position to work on the mistakes, you should focus on those. Stewing on the mistakes right after the event does nothing positive, and it can do a lot negative, both psychologically and physiologically.

So ... okay ... I've just played a tournament, and I've busted out. I'm going to do that positive self-talk thing, telling myself that I played well, that I did this and that right, and basically talk myself up. Later, when I'm doing my poker journal or whatever method I use to "work my game," I'll focus on my mistakes and how I can correct them.

However ... like many people, I'm going to keep all of that inside, or at most expose it to my immediate family or very close friends whom I trust with such feelings. From the outside, what you'll see is me saying "Nice hand, good game," and walking away. But inside, that's not what I'm thinking.

The difference is that, as I said, Phil regrettably lacks a brake between brain and mouth. So he says the things that I -- and probably most players -- would be thinking in the same circumstances. That makes him look like an arrogant ass ... because that's how we characterize people who say those things.

The really sad part is that he can't seem to make himself do what he said (in an interview televised last night) that he needs to do: say "Nice hand," then shut up, and save the self-talk for his thoughts, or to be expressed later with his wife or a trusted confidante.

Cris

[Fitz]

I've got an old friend who is like that. He has no filter between what he thinks and what comes out of his mouth. Needless to say, he often comes off like a jerk.

In my original post, I was thinking about Phil's antics more along the lines of self promotion. When Phil throws one of his fits people want to see him get beat to see him do it again. This guarantees him a certain place in the spotlight.

Honestly, the thing that amazes me it that, other than Sam Grizzle, nobody has ever taken a swing at him. I saw a guy get KO'd at the Horseshoe one time for throwing the dice off the table.

Good luck all,

Fitz

I tend to believe that a good portion of Phil's disposition is an act. I think he makes himself more marketable by being known as the bad boy of poker. He relishes that image and it shows.

[cowpie]

I just thought of a Phil Hellmuth tell. You know when Howard Lederer had A3 (or something like that) and called Phil Hellmuth's pair of 2s (he had J2) on the turn, Phil said something like "he always calls my bets". When he had AA vs Chip Reese's KK, he said nothing. I'm gonna sell my house and play cash games with Phil Hellmuth now, and become a millionaire tomorrow!