Hellmuth and Duke leave Ultimate Bet

Poker heavyweights Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth are the latest pros to leave Ultimate Bet (UB), following the departure of Billy Kopp, Matt Graham and Michael Binger in the past few months.

The pros announced last week on social networking sites that they had parted ways with the UB, after almost 10 years representing the brand. Both players insist the move is amicable, with Hellmuth writing on his Twitter account that the decision to leave was “mutual”. Duke too, said it was “bittersweet” and she only had “positive experiences” with the UB.

Duke has since claimed that she will not sign up to another poker site but instead would ‘explor[e] other avenues of business and personal growth’. True to her word her latest Twitter post reveals she is “focused on the Bikram [yoga] and Insanity workouts”. 

But rumours surrounding Hellmuth claim that 11-time WSOP bracelet winner will join WSOP.com in the near future. Until then, fans of the Poker Brat will have to make do with his possible appearance on ballroom dancing competition Dancing with the Stars (Yes, really) when it airs this March.

And in the wake of Hellmuth and Duke’s UB exit, high-stakes pro Prahlad Friedman has been rumoured as a possible addition to the UB roster.

In November, Friedman – who lost money in a 2008 cheating scandal that rocked UB – wrote  on Twitter that he would “never join with a poker site. What y’all think? Should I ever reconsider?”. But looks to have changed his tune, if rumours are to be believed. 

In honour of Duke and Hellmuth’s work under the UB banner, here’s an extract from their famous 2004 Tournament of Champions battle.