Poker After Dark - Phil Tries to Trap

  Phil Hellmuth is, without a doubt, one of the best No Limit Texas Holdem players in the world. He is also one of the whiniest. It's all part of his charm, and he brought it full force to the Battle of the Bracelets week on Poker After Dark. He had plenty of competition, even though he led the way with 11 bracelets, he faced Erik Seidel (eight bracelets), T.J. Cloutier (six bracelets), Layne Flack (five bracelets), and Doyle Brunson (ten bracelets).  Phil loves to have people steal pots and run him over, he says, because it gives him a chance to catch them later on. In this hand it looked like he was right about that, as Erik, who had been bullying Phil all game, was involved in a nice pot. Phil raised it up with: ... to $1,000, and Erik called holding a dominating hand of: ... It looked bad for Phil at first but the flop changed things. When it hit: ... Erik had mid pair and Phil had two pair, well hidden. Phil thought about the right amount to bet to induce Erik to raise, and settled on $900. Sure enough Erick popped it up to $2,500, which Phil called. The turn hit: ... and both players checked - at this point Phil was sure he had Erik beat. The river hit: ... however, counterfeiting Phil's threes. Erik put out a value bet of $4,000 on the river and there was nothing Phil could do but call. He did plenty of whining after that hand, however.