“Before you decide to play with live straddles in your home game, remember that this twist essentially doubles the size of the game. It's often used by players who have been losing and are trying to get lucky and win a big pot.”

American professional poker player

Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He won the 1989 World Series of Poker Main Event and later the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. Born Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr., he has competed across several decades and was inducted into the WSOP Poker Hall of Fame in 2007. Hellmuth holds a record seventeen World Series of Poker bracelets, most of them in no-limit hold'em. He is the only player in poker history to win a WSOP bracelet in five different decades. He is widely regarded as one of the strongest tournament players in the game.