There’s no denying Phil Hellmuth had a banner 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP), having reached a record seven final tables, and now we know exactly how much money he actually made during the recently completed series.
The “Poker Brat,” in a somewhat surprising move, disclosed his wins and losses on Twitter from every tournament played. In total, he entered 34 events, bought in for $448,379, and cashed out for $1,248,860, for a net profit of $800,481 (minus backer payouts, of course).
I played 34 @WSOP tourneys, the WSOP did sign me up for a 35th: the WSOP paid my entry for the “Hall of Fame” Tourn… https://t.co/n9rgpQoL9k
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth)
Big Wins and Losses
Hellmuth’s big score of the series, which also represents the bulk of his profits, came in Event #84, $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha, where he took third place for $734,807, a net profit of $684,807. Over his remaining 33 bracelet events, he profited $115,674.
The 1989 World Champion shipped his record-extending 16th bracelet in Event #31: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw. But he “only” received a $84,851 payout, which is lower than most first place prizes at the WSOP.
It wasn’t all big scores for Hellmuth as he also posted a few significant losses during the seven-week poker series. The Poker Hall of Famer failed to cash in his final three events, totaling $151,000 in losses. Most notably, a non-cash in Event #87: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em.
Overall, the WSOP G.O.A.T. cashed in 10 out of 24 bracelet events at the 2021 World Series of Poker. A 29.4% cash rate in tournament play is quite impressive any way you slice it.
Lost to Arieh for Player of the Year
Hellmuth set a 52-year WSOP record with seven final table appearances this fall, but his stellar performance throughout the series, especially during the first half, wasn’t quite enough to win Player of the Year. Josh Arieh, who won his third and fourth bracelets this year, came out on top instead.
Arieh finished with 4,194.59 points, while Hellmuth took second place with 3,720.01. Daniel Negreanu, who still hasn’t won a bracelet since 2013, ended up in third place at 3,531.03 points.
Speaking of Negreanu, the GGPoker ambassador also disclosed his wins and losses, a rarity from tournament pros. The Poker Hall of Famer finished the series with $399,024 in profits, thanks in large part to a pair of third place high roller finishes in the same 24-hour period.
Most poker players don’t disclose detailed logs of wins and losses. In many cases, fans are left trying to guess how much they’ve made in tournaments based on Hendon Mob results, which don’t factor in total buy-ins into the equation.