Phil Hellmuth has made some controversial comments about Ike Haxton and his choice to wear a mask while playing poker. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Bizarre shot

Coming off one of the greatest years of any live tournament poker player ever, Isaac Haxton should be in the headlines.

He should be in the news for having won $17m in 2023. He should be in the headlines for having climbed into the top ten of the all-time money list. He should be in the news for the way he carries himself on and off the table, a role model for up and coming players. Instead, he’s in the news today because Phil Hellmuth ran out of name-drops, product placement opportunities, and self-congratulatory remarks during a two hour interview with Craig Tapscott for Poker.Org.

no one should be able to cover their face”

Taking a bizarre shot against players who choose to wear a mask at the table, Hellmuth proclaimed that “no one should be able to cover their face” at the poker table. He singled out Haxton as someone who he claims gains an advantage over his opponents by wearing a mask. It was a puerile take backed up by weak arguments about the importance of live tells.

There are plenty of high profile players publicly feuding right now so perhaps Hellmuth is just embracing the meta. If so, it is sad that he feels the need to attack a fellow professional to get attention. If not, then it is sadder still that this is a heartfelt belief, given that Haxton has always made it crystal clear that his mask-wearing is a health choice.  

The interview 

Hellmuth joined Tapscott for the first episode of his new poker podcast ‘The Interview.’ It was a wide-ranging conversation about poker and personal life, relationships and rivalries with the usual peppering of philosophical aphorisms that we have come to expect from Hellmuthian diatribes.

If you enjoy listening to Hellmuth in long-form (and I do), there is plenty to appreciate in this interview. If anything, that’s what made the personal attack of Haxton all the more jarring. It’s also disappointing that he has chosen to amplify the ‘Casino King’ clip, doubling down on his baseless claims that mask-wearing is a strategy.

NO ONE should be able to cover their face, unless you use your own hands to do it. This isn’t online poker. “Tells” matter in live poker: it is a skill to hide your tells and another skill to read your opponent’s tells #POSITIVITY https://t.co/9KrnlJunzz

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) February 6, 2024

Haxton has always been a pillar of the poker community. In 2016, he quit his job as brand ambassador for Pokerstars over the Supernova program debacle. He speaks out about unethical things in the industry and he is articulate when called upon to explain his beliefs. His opinions on mask-wearing and his reasons for those opinions are well documented. To suggest an ulterior motive is scurrilous.  

he must have at least realized the Pandora’s Box that he was opening

One of my main gripes with Hellmuth here is that he understands that the poker media will run with virtually anything controversial that he says and it is obvious that this particular take has the potential to be divisive. Hellmuth claimed that his point is not political but given how wearing facemasks in public has morphed from a health issue into a politically charged issue, he must have at least realized the Pandora’s Box that he was opening.  

Self-reflection needed 

‘The Poker Brat’ is not everyone’s cup of tea but I have always liked him as there is a fragility beneath the braggadocio and bluster. Like most of us, he has vulnerabilities and he just wants to be understood but unlike most of us, he protects his soft spots with querulous entitlement and bombastic boisterousness. 

He is capable of self-reflection and I sincerely hope that he re-examines his opinions on the motivation behind Haxton’s mask-wearing at the table. At the very least, a comment like “when there’s six people left in a tournament, you don’t have any real concerns of COVID,” needs to be walked back. 

poker writers that ‘both sides’ this story should be ashamed

Haxton doesn’t wear a balaclava. He wears N95 Respirators and similar quality medical masks that provide respiratory protection to the wearer by very effectively filtering airborne particles. Hellmuth questioning his motivation is asinine and as Haxton rightly points out, poker writers that ‘both sides’ this story should be ashamed of themselves. 

I don't care what Phil says, but PNews covering this like it's a legitimate point of debate is really ugly.

Many people have medical reasons they need to be careful to avoid exposure to COVID and other respiratory infections. Banning masks would exclude them from live poker. https://t.co/Dwd8NP222l

— Isaac Haxton (@ikepoker) February 7, 2024