Inside NBA legend Michael Jordan's "crazy" poker games with "no limits"

25 August 2023 , 15:55

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Michael Jordan is a keen poker player (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Poker legend Phil Hellmuth has revealed he passed up the chance to spend time at the table with basketball legend Michael Jordan.

Jordan is of course best known for being one of the greatest basketball players of all time, having become the face of the sport during his remarkable career with the Chicago Bulls. In that time, the American became a six-time NBA champion on the court, and the face of Nike's basketball line off it.

Unsurprisingly, Jordan earned eye-watering amounts thanks to his on and off-court work, and it has emerged one way he enjoys spending his fortune is taking a seat at the poker table.

One man who is better than most with cards in his hands is Hellmuth, with the 59-year-old the most successful World Series player in history, winning the event a record 17 times. Speaking on NESN’s Chicken Dinner Podcast, the poker stalwart revealed he was offered the chance to take on Bulls legend.

Sadly for Hellmuth it was a case of right place wrong time. He said: "MJ and I have hung out at a lot of different places, but we’ve never played poker. He challenged me once and I didn’t have a lot of money in town... I was stupid, I should’ve just called my friends [to stake me].

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Michael Jordan challenged Phil Hellmuth to a game of poker (AP)

"But he would’ve wanted to play until seven in the morning and who knows at that point.” The 17-time World Series champion went on to reveal that Jordan's favourite poker game is one called 'Badugi'. "Michael likes to play badugi, which is a very fun game," he added.

"You’re dealt four cards and you want to have a club, a diamond, a heart or a spade." And it appears the five-time NBA champion with big amounts on the table. "Ace, deuce, three, four [in four different suits] is the best possible hand. And [Jordan] wants to play no limit, so things can get really crazy.”

Detailing MJ's aggressive style of play, he went on: "He will grind you down, but I’m a little stronger. I’m not some 23-year-old playing his first session with MJ. I would give him an hour notice of course, which is reasonable and he would accept that. Then I would leave.”

Joshua Lees