Phil Hellmuth Quits Game After Two Coolers on High Stakes Poker

Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

Mar 03, 2025 4 min read

Poker Brat's Had Enough
Action Turn Card
Cooler Flop Alert
Past High Stakes Poker Season 14 Episode Recaps

Phil Hellmuth made his High Stakes Poker Season 14 debut on Monday, but he didn't last long after suffering two coolers against the same opponent.

The seventh episode of the season on PokerGO featured a new lineup as the Hustler Casino Live crew exited the game. Hellmuth was joined by a star-studded cast of characters that included potential 2025 Poker Hall of Fame inductee Scott Seiver, Jared Bleznick, Kento Mori, Seth Gottlieb, Markus Gonsalves, and Justin Gavri.

Each player bought in for at least $100,000 in the $200/$400 no-limit hold'em cash game. Bleznick started with the largest stack with $250,000. Full stack sizes prior to the first hand were as follows:

Player	Chip Stack
Jared Bleznick	$250,000
Kento Mori	$200,000
Seth Gottlieb	$150,000
Phil Hellmuth	$100,000
Scott Seiver	$100,000
Markus Gonsalves	$100,000
Justin Gavri	$100,000

Poker Brat's Had Enough

Hellmuth stole the show as per usual during Episode 7, even though he left the game midway through. The 17-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner got owned by the same player — Gottlieb — in three separate hands.

The first hand they played against each other, Gottlieb raised preflop with A?J? and received a call on the button from Hellmuth's 8?6?. No bet from either player was made on the K?7?5? flop even though Hellmuth, in position, flopped an open-ended straight draw. So, when the 10? hit on the turn and Gottlieb bet $1,400, Hellmuth's raise to $4,000 didn't make sense to his opponent, who called. Both players checked the J? river and Gottlieb took down the pot.

That hand was small in comparison to the following two hands, starting with a straddled pot Gotllieb raised to $2,000 with 5?5?. Hellmuth then three-bet to $6,000 with A?J?, and his new rival called to see a flop of J?5?9?, a bit of a cooler.

Both players slowplayed their big hands and checked to the 7? on the turn. Gottlieb bet $4,200 only for his opponent to raise it to $11,000. That was followed by a three-bet to $26,000 and a call. The river was the 2? and Gottlieb, holding a set, wagered $28,000. Hellmuth tanked for a bit while complaining about "how bad I run on High Stakes Poker" before throwing in the calling chips and losing a $121,800 pot.

These two would play one final large pot against each other. Gavri opened the action with a raise to $1,200 with K?2?. Gottlieb then three-bet to $3,500 with A?A? before Hellmuth brought the four-bet to $12,000 with Q?Q?. Gavri moved out of the way, but the player with pocket aces came back over the top to put the 17-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner all in for $31,300.

Hellmuth's hand was too strong and the pot too big to fold for another $19,300. He found out the bad news as soon as his opponent turned over his cards. They agreed to run the board just one time, and it came out 10?10?J?8?6?, giving Gottlieb the full scoop of the $64,200 pot.

"I quit," Hellmuth said as he stood up from his seat and exited the PokerGO Studio without any sort of blow-up, to his credit.

Action Turn Card

Gottlieb and Hellmuth weren't the only players in the game. There were other interesting hands that transpired during Episode 7. One such hand began with Seiver raising to $1,100 with A?9?. Gonsalves called with K?10? before Bleznick three-bet to $6,000 with 8?7? in the small blind.

Seiver folded, but Gonsalves called and then the flop came out 2?3?J?, which didn't hit either player. Bleznick continued with a $6,500 bet and his opponent called in-position with king-high. The Q? on the turn was the perfect action card as it gave both players a draw. The sports card business owner fired out another bet, this one for $27,000. Gonsalves called only for both players to brick the 2? river. Bleznick gave up and then his opponent checked behind, allowing king-high to take down an $80,000 pot.

Bleznick would get some chips back against Seiver when J?2? sucked out on the river against 6?6? on a board of 7?7?5?10?10? for a $77,800 pot.

Cooler Flop Alert

The biggest cooler of the night didn't involve Hellmuth, although Gottlieb was in the hand. Gonsalves kicked things off with a raise to $1,100 with Q?Q?. Gottlieb called on the button with A?8?, as did the big blind, Seiver, with A?3?. Mori, who didn't play many hands, made an interesting fold with J?8? in the small blind.

The flop showed 8?Q?8?, creating a huge cooler. Action checked to Gottlieb, who bet $2,300 with trips and the nut kicker. Seiver had just ace-high and was out of position, but made the call. Gonsalves, who has over $2.4 million in live tournament cashes, flopped top boat and called before the uneventful 2? appeared on the turn.

Action again checked to the button. Gottlieb, drawing dead (Mori folded his out) despite having a big hand, bet $9,200, just under the size of the pot. Seiver was finally done with the hand, and Gonsalves continued slowplaying by only calling the bet.

The J? on the river didn't change anything. Gonsalves went for one last sneaky check, which was followed by a $26,000 wager. Gonsalves had a clear check-raise in store, and he did just that when he tossed in $88,000 worth of poker chips.

"You've got to be kidding me," Gottlieb said.

He knew he was in trouble with trips after the check-raise came, but his hand was too strong to fold. Gottlieb called and lost the $205,200 pot.