Hellmuth explains his stunning read - 27/02/2009

The forums have been buzzing after Phil Hellmuth's hand against JC Tran in the PartyPoker.com Premier League III was posted online - the link to the hand is here:

Tough competition expected at Whittlebury Park

http://www.matchroompoker.com/pliii-hellmuth.php

We had to ask Hellmuth what was going through his mind when he made what Andy Black described as "the play of the Premier League" - here's his response:

"This was a call that I made based purely on my instincts. The flush hit, the ace was on board, and the only reasonable hands that I could beat were 7-6, 7-5, 6-5, and 5-2. I noticed that my reading ability was on that week, because of the fact that we had a green room where I could go out after I was finished playing and ask the other players, "What did he have this hand?" Or, "What did he have that hand?" As I was told the answers, I noticed that my instincts were on, and I decided that I would have to trust them more than ever the rest of the week. Of course, the thing is, I knew that if I was wrong, then I would look like an idiot on television worldwide! But I trusted my instincts, and I made the call."

Hellmuth's fantastic read is on next week's show on Channel 4, Tuesday at 12.05am - don't miss it!