Phil Ivey wins 8th bracelet, targets 30!

Poker News / Matthew Pitt / 23 June 2010 / Leave a Comment

Photo courtesy of www.worldseriesofpoker.com

Phil Ivey won his eighth World Series of Poker bracelet by taking down Event #37, the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E tournament at the 2010 WSOP.

Winning bracelet number eight puts Ivey joint fifth with Erik Seidel for number of bracelets won and at only 33-years of age he is the youngest player to reach this amazing total. Only Phil Hellmuth (11), Doyle Brunson (10), Johnny Chan (10) and the late Johnny Moss (9) have won more bracelets but it is only a matter of time before the best all-round player in the world catches them all, especially as he is aiming for 30 WSOP bracelets in his lifetime!

After winning bracelet number five at the 2005 WSOP, Ivey stated in an interview that he thought he could win 30 bracelets by the time he retires. He reiterated this to a reporter after coming back from a 3.5-to-1 chip defecit to defeat Bill Chen heads-up. Ivey said confidently, "I think I can win 30 gold bracelets. I think I can reach that if I keep playing and stay healthy."

Winning 30 bracelets may seem a ridiculous goal but if anyone can achieve it Phil Ivey can. In the ten years he has played at the World Series of Poker he has cashed 40 times, reached 22 final table and won eight tournaments which account for $5,213,809 of his career tournament winnings of $13,182,309. If he plays, like Doyle Brunson, into his seventies, then I would not bet against Ivey winning at least 30 WSOP bracelets.

Reports from last year's WSOP suggested that Ivey had placed a number of huge prop bets, around $5,000,000, that he would win three bracelets within two years of the bet being placed. He won two at the 2009 WSOP and came ever so close to a third when he finished seventh in the $10,000 Main Event. After being overheard asking how much this particular win was worth, $329,840 for those interested, Ivey was asked how much he stood to win from prop bets, to which he answered, "It was over twenty dollars!"

There are 20 more events remaining at the 2010 World Series of Poker and I would not bet against Phil Ivey winning his ninth bracelet before the series comes to an end. I would love for him to win one in a No-limit Hold'em event as he is yet to do so with all eight of his bracelets coming from other disciplines. You would be stupid to bet against him not winning a Hold'em event in my opinion.

Final table results

1.) Phil Ivey - $329,840
2.) Bill Chen - $203,802
3.) John Juanda - $129,553
4.) Ken Aldridge - $93,418
5.) Jeffrey Lisandro - $68,417
6.) Dave Baker - $50,871
7.) Albert Haun - $38,391
8.) Chad Brown - $29,406