Is Phil Hellmuth Jr. mentally ill?

[tek]

There are two schools of thought pertaining to Phil Hellmuth's behavior over the years.

The Image School of thought believes he acts that way on purpose and possibly with $$ motivation from ESPN.

The Cry For Help School of thought believes he has serious psychologial issues that have never been adequately addressed.

This poster believes in latter. A rational person would not want to cultivate such an image on purpose. I could name all of the great poker players of Mr. Hellmuth Jr.'s caliber and challenge you to name one who uses a whiny immature image.

Not only does Mr. Hellmuth Jr.'s "image" detract from his numerous poker accomplishments and ability, but it detracts from the improving image that poker has enjoyed over the years as it has become mainstream.

Equally important, it detracts from any respect we might have for his parents and wife. Apparently they have no control over his behavior. One would think that they would be appalled at the poor light his antics cast over them.

Obviously both of his college professor parents had a negative influence over his environmental (and possibly genetic) upbringing. Mr. Hellmuth Jr. suffers from a lack of love and attention derived from his parents' Skinnerian
parenting. I feel sorry for Mr. Hellmuth Jr.'s wife and kids.

Note: I am not a psycholologist. I just play one on the message boards. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[cowpie]

Why are you asking us if he's mentally ill? Ask your psychologist instead!

BTW, you've been a member here since oct 1 and already have 101 posts? Wow, that's nuts!

[jah0550]

101 posts in less than 8 days. That is a sign of mental illness.

[tek]

I have been here for about two months. I don't know why it says Oct 1.

Anyway, to sum up, you both have no coherent opinion on the matter. Thanks for stopping by.

[Ionphore]

How many people are going to post threads putting down a poker player on tv to make themselves feel better?

Yes this is rhetorical...

[SossMan]

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How many people are going to post threads putting down a poker player on tv to make themselves feel better?


[/ QUOTE ]
37

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Yes this is rhetorical...

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what does that mean?

[TStoneMBD]

im no psychologist for sure and i dont feel that we have the right to judge hellmuths psychological state considering the small amount of material we have concerning his persona to analyze.

however, from tv interviews, i recall that hellmuth is currently seeing a psychiatrist/psychologist to help him work through problems and that he does in fact have some psychological handicaps.

i personally believe that hellmuths antics are a direct result of his psychological disorders, but at the the same time feel that alot of his antics are done to build character image. do you really think hellmuth would be nearly as famous as he is now if he wasnt such a personality? he would be another tj cloutier or chip reese. maybe comparing these players on the same level is entirely unfair but thats for another discussion. my point is merely to portray that while we are very familiar with cloutiers and reeses success, people not as familiar with poker as we are are not.

hellmuth has a movie deal in the works, is selling poker videos, has his own line of books, advertises for UB, and is now marketing oakley product apparently. i think tj cloutier would gladly accept some of the endorsement deals that hellmuth has if it didnt compensate for a life carefully maintaining his image.

while hellmuths antics certainly build fame for himself and help his public image, i propose that if hellmuth could control his mental state his image would be even more profitable.

[cowpie]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How many people are going to post threads putting down a poker player on tv to make themselves feel better?


[/ QUOTE ]
37

[ QUOTE ]
Yes this is rhetorical...

[/ QUOTE ]

what does that mean?

[/ QUOTE ]

Mother Simpson: [sings] How many roads must a man walk down / Before you can call him a man...
Homer: Seven.
Lisa: No, dad, it's a rhetorical question.
Homer: OK, eight.
Lisa: Dad, do you even know what "rhetorical" means?
Homer: Do *I* know what "rhetorical" means?

I hope that explains it for you.

[cowpie]

[ QUOTE ]
I have been here for about two months. I don't know why it says Oct 1.

[/ QUOTE ]

What are you kidding me? I checked your posts and you've made a TON of posts today. Your first post was oct 1. You've made 103 posts since Oct 1. Ask yourself now, who is really crazy, you or Phil Helmuth?

[PokerNeal]

I saw a Phil Helmuth interview the other day during his play at the TOC.

The TV interviewer showed Helmuth many TV sequences where Helmuth's abnormal behavior(whatever you want to call it -- idiotic to some; eccentric to others) was captured along with hilarious host commentary. From what one could see Helmuth was beside himself in glee. Helmuth left little doubt that he purposefully behaves that way and performs such antics with the intention of building a certain image. And, of course, he thinks it is a cool image.

Compare/contrast this with the behavior of Mike Matsusow where the abnormal behavior is not planned (or acted) but an ingrained part of his personality due to various psychological reasons. (there are other illustrative posts where this is discussed)

The "net net"? If Helmuth looks like he is acting mentally insane it is just an act. It is a put-on. It is an image-building ploy. It is working because he has had the desired effect. He has built himself a devoted fan club as well as several detractors that simply can't stand him. He is controversial but also quite popular and definitely stands out from the crowd whether he wins of loses. If he keeps his win rate up he will have his own cult following.