Phil Hellmuth packs a strong hand on his second day at PPC after recovering from COVID.

Phil Hellmuth, after recovering from COVID, participated in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship Day 2, accumulating 900,000 starting chips from 300,000 to advance to Day 3 in 16th place.

After a "seven-day sickness due to COVID," Phil Hellmuth, "back to normal," packed a strong stack on Day Two of the WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship—he had only entered one of the most prestigious tournaments in poker late Monday afternoon.

The 17-time gold bracelet winner was clearly unaffected by one of COVID's most notorious symptoms—loss of taste—as Hellmuth was enjoying a taco at the poker table while embarking on his quest for the 2026 Chip Reese Trophy.

All those carbohydrates seem to have worked – the "poker brat" amassed 900,000 starting chips and finished the day in 16th place as 39 players returned for the third day on Tuesday. With the WSOP jackpot confirmed at $1.34 million, Hellmuth has a very good chance of winning big at one of the summer's top events.

Seeking revenge

The day began in a typically entertaining way—Hellmuth, holding a burrito, faced off against Chris Brewer in an early PLO game.

After Brewer limped in from the under-the-gun position, David Williams called from the hijack position, Hellmuth called from the small blind, and Brad Owen checked. Hellmuth then led out for 25,000 on a flop of A♣7♣3♥, with only Brewer calling.

Both players checked on the Q♥ turn, and the 8♣ landed on the river. Hellmuth checked, and Brewer bet 40,000, at which point the poker rascal launched into his signature speech.

Hellmuth said he felt today would be a good day, and he owed Brewer some "revenge" because he had suffered too many "absurd bad beats" over the years. Nevertheless, after revealing A♣7♣, Hellmuth chose to fold.

Brewer questioned how much of a history the two had, implying they'd only played about 100 hands together in their lifetimes. Hellmuth agreed, but joked that he probably only won three of those hands. Brewer responded that, given Brewer's reputation as a frequent victim of some of poker's most brutal bad beats, Hellmuth was in a rather unique group.

And so the argument ended, the pot was pushed toward Brewer, and Hellmuth went back to his burrito.

Playing strange tactics

After an initial clash with Brewer, Hellmuth's chip stack was slightly lower than his starting stack. However, he began to build momentum in the 2-7 three-draw hands.

The 17-time bracelet winner raised from the gun position, and Williams and Ioannis Angelou Konstas called from the blinds. Hellmuth dribbled one card on the first draw, Williams dribbled two, and Angelou Konstas dribbled three.

After the first draw, all three players checked. After the second draw, all three improved, and Hellmuth bet. Both opponents called until the final draw. Hellmuth didn't move, while Williams and Angelo Konstas each exchanged a card.

When action checked back to him, Hellmuth bet again. Neither opponent liked their final hand and quickly folded, giving the pot to Hellmuth.

"I played a little strangely," Hellmuth concluded as he brought his stack to 332,000 chips at that point.

Make Blez and Arieh fold.

Hellmuth's chip stack continued to improve in the Pot-Limit Omaha round, and he won a substantial pot without showing his cards.

After Jared Bleznick opened the pot and raised, the poker prodigy raised to 112,000 from the button. Bleznick (who had previously been controversial for criticizing broadcasting senior tournaments) called, and Josh Arieh also called from the end of the pot. The three of them saw the flop of 7♥A♠K♥.

After both opponents checked, Hellmuth didn't hesitate to bet all in on the pot for 356,000. The pressure was too much—Bleznick and Arieh quickly folded, handing a huge pot to the all-time leader of the most gold bracelets, whose chip stack now stands at 800,000.

Smooth sailing

In a limit Texas Hold'em round, chips continued to flow to Hellmuth.

After opening from the hijack position, Hellmuth was called by Robert Wells in the big blind. Wells checked and called on the flop of Q♣8♥6♦, but when the turn was 7♠, Hellmuth bet again, and Wells quickly folded his hand.

This was another small but steady gain in Hellmuth's impressive day, as he finished the day in 16th place with 900,000 chips.

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