Phil Hellmuth has made some big shots throughout his career – on the poker felt and the basketball court.
In 2017, the Poker Hall of Famer bet several players $1,500 at 10 to 1 that he could make a three-pointer without any warm-up. He made the shot and collected $15,000.
On Tuesday, The Poker Brat took another three-point attempt, but with quite a different outcome.
He posted a video on twitter of him touring the former home of Michael Jordan with Rush Street Interactive and BetRivers CEO Richard Schwartz. While in the house’s gym, Hellmuth decided to run it back and attempt another “cold” three-pointer.
After grabbing a ball, Hellmuth took off his earphones and jacket to prepare for the shot. He then turned his hat around backwards after finding a nice spot at the top of the college three-point arc.
“One shot for all the glory,” Schwartz said as Hellmuth prepared.
After bouncing the ball a few times, the 17-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner let it fly. The results were quite different than in 2017. The shot was a complete airball and flew below the net. Sticking to the original plan, Hellmuth didn’t try the shot again.
“Use it,” he said, pointing at Schwartz behind the camera. “I don’t care. It was ugly.”
The result brought plenty of laughs and needling from followers. One noted that Hellmuth’s “shooting form is the basketball equivalent of limping with aces.”
Another follower added: “Phil, that may have been a worse shot than 90% of all seventh graders in the U.S. – male and female.” Watch the shot below.
At the old house of number 23, I fire a COLD 3-point shot: no warm up shot.
W Richard Schwartz, CEO/Founder of @BetRivers #POSITIVITY pic.twitter.com/lDCeTmaDI5
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) February 26, 2025
Basketball has been a big part of Hellmuth’s life over the last few years, at least as a fan. The Palo Alto resident regularly attends Golden State Warriors games and has become close with the ownership and players.
He plays in a home game with Warriors owner Chamath Palihapitiya and gave power forward Draymond Green some poker help in 2018.
In January, Hellmuth became an ambassador for BetRivers, Rush Street Interactive’s new online poker site. Additionally, he recently announced that he won’t play the WSOP Main Event anymore, noting that playing “12 hour days, or longer, for six to seven days in a row is brutal and disproportionately affects older players.”