Jeff Shulman already had a name in the poker world due to his numerous cashes in WSOP and WPT events. Among Shulman’s numerous cashes include a 7th place finish in the 2000 WSOP Main Event as well as an upcoming November Nine appearance at this year’s final table.
In addition to his playing abilites, Shulman is also well known throughout the poker community as the prime owner of Card Player Magazine. Seeing as how Shulman has plenty of fame and accolades on his poker resume already - not to mention $2.6 million in live winnings - you think he’d be satisfied with his own level of play.
However, Shulman isn’t resting on his laurels or taking any chances since he as decided to hire 11-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth to coach him before the Main Event final table. Now some people might find this odd that Shulman would hire a coach since he is already a successful player himself.
But Shulman summed up his choice to have Hellmuth coach him before the final table saying, “The simplest reason why I’m doing this…..I want to win, and I think it will help.” He also added an important point by mentioning, “I turned on the TV and I was watching Tiger Woods or something, and I realized every single player has a coach. No matter how good or bad my game is, it can always get better.”
The choice to pick Phil Hellmuth as his coach goes beyond the obvious reason of Phil being arguable the most successful WSOP player of all-time. Shulman also chose Phil because they’ve been business partners and friends for a number of years. If Hellmuth’s coaching does propel Shulman to victory, hopefully he won’t trash his WSOP bracelet like he’s stated he would do in the past.