Phil Hellmuth named the mistake that stopped him from winning his 18th WSOP bracelet

Phil Hellmuth admitted that he suffers from insomnia over the missed 18th bracelet at the WSOP 2026 series. According to the player, every night he replays one hand against Darren Rabinovich in his head.

In one of the hands, Hellmuth made a straight and took down a huge pot, seizing the chip lead — 33M against Rabinovich's 10M. But instead of quickly finishing off his opponent, Hellmuth decided to slowplay in the next hand, inducing bluffs.

There was one hand I probably should have won, and now it haunts me. If I had just shoved all-in, like anyone else in my place would have done, I would have won the tournament. But I didn't.

On a K♠️J♥️6♥️ flop, Hellmuth check-called a 1,000,000 bet from Rabinovich while holding K♦️5♠️. On the turn came the 5♥️. Hellmuth checked again, deciding to lure his opponent into a trap, but Rabinovich played cautiously and checked back. On the river came the 2♥️, completing four hearts on the board. In the end, both players checked to showdown, where Rabinovich
showed J6, took the pot and seized the initiative in the game.

I should have just bet on the turn, and he would have had to shove all-in. I needed to bet at least 2-3 million. Yes, I got lucky to catch the five on the turn, but the two of hearts on the river ruined everything. Now every night I go to bed and can't stop thinking about how I let the win slip away.

In the end, Darren Rabinovich managed to win the tournament and take his gold bracelet along with $695,256 in prize money.

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