There’s a New Hellmuth Competing at the World Series of Poker

Attempting to make a living playing poker professionally isn’t easy when your dad is one of the greatest in the history of the game.

But that’s exactly what Nicholas Hellmuth is doing, as he competes in the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The youngest son of 17-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth entered Day 2a of Event #34: $500 COLOSSUS on Thursday.

PokerNews caught up with the 23-year-old son of a legend to find out if he plans to follow in his father’s footsteps, and just how much the “Poker Brat’s” persona has rubbed off on him.

It’s no surprise that Phil Hellmuth’s kids — Phillip Hellmuth III and Nicholas — play poker. Their father has been competing for WSOP bracelets and appearing on televised poker shows for nearly 40 years. But Nicholas was never pushed into the industry by either parent.

“My mom made a very conscious effort to push us away from poker, especially as we turned old enough to start gambling,” he said of his mother, who is a psychiatrist at Stanford.

Hellmuth’s mother didn’t encourage her sons to become professional poker players. His dad, as Nicholas explained, didn’t try forcing him into following in his footsteps. But, he said, “now that Phillip and I are both in poker now, he’s actually very happy about that.”

Following in a Poker Legend’s Footsteps

Phil, Philip, and Nicholas, all BetRivers Casino ambassadors, have all competed against each other on the Hellmuth’s Home Game show. But Nicholas, who recently took the plunge to become a professional poker player, has one thing other than physical resemblances in common with his dad. He prefers tournament poker to cash games “100-percent.”

Phil Hellmuth holds the WSOP bracelet and final table appreances records and has over $31 million in live tournament cashes. Nicholas The recorded his first tournament cash on The Hendon Mob, a $3,533 score at Venetian in Las Vegas, a few months back. He will have a tall task trying to catch up to his dad’s tournament accolades, but that isn’t what he’s focused on.

“Right now, I’m just trying to reach milestones,” Hellmuth said. “I only started in the fall, so every time I cash is a celebration for me. My milestone would be to outright win a tournament. I’ve final tabled several times, I’ve gotten second place several times. But to outright win a tournament would be my next milestone, and if I could do it here, win a bracelet, or play online, win a ring or something, that would be gigantic. That would be my next milestone.”

Nicholas quit his job last year and “wasn’t sure what I was going to do at first.” He seemed intrigued that his brother, Phillip, had taken up playing poker for a living about a year earlier, so “I thought I’d give it a try.”

The youngest Hellmuth said he is a “little bit” competitive with his brother in poker. But “we are very supportive of each other.” Phil Hellmuth is also supportive of his sons, often posting photos on social media with the two prior to a poker event. Nicholas and Phillip’s mother has even come around with her kids growing up to play poker professionally, Nicholas said.

Many poker fans are probably assuming Nicholas has the same “bratty” demeanor at the poker table as his father. That couldn’t be further from the truth, however.

“I’m pretty different from him,” Nicholas said of his dad. “People say that I take after my mom. Even if they don’t know who she is or her temperament, they say I must take after her.”

Phil Hellmuth’s infamous tirades and meltdowns — he had one the other day after busting a WSOP event — used to embarrass Nicholas when he was younger. But, he’s now an adult and realizes that a parent’s actions “don’t reflect you.”

“So, when you get older, you just have a good laugh over how ridiculous it is.”

Nicholas didn’t cash in the Day 2a session of the COLOSSUS, but re-entered on Day 1c where he’s attempting to secure his first WSOP cash 38 years after his dad’s first.