Bracelet Hunting: Players to Watch at the 2013 World Series of Poker

Featuring 62 bracelet-awarding events, the 2013 WSOP could be players' best chance of getting their hands on live poker's most coveted non-monetary prize - the gold WSOP bracelet.

There are various betting establishments offering odds on players winning a bracelet at this year's series, but who do I personally think will be leaving Las Vegas with some poker bling? And why do I think that these five players stand the best chance of winning one? Keep reading to find out.

Daniel Negreanu

Momentum and form hold plenty of weight in poker and it is difficult to find a more in-form player right now than Daniel Negreanu. 

In the past two months, Negreanu has cashed in four major live tournaments for total prize money of $1,662,253. The bulk of this impressive total came from Negreanu's outright victory in the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific Main Event that also saw him win his fifth WSOP bracelet. Throw into the mix a fourth place finish in the European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event and a seventh place finish in the World Poker Tour World Championship and it is easy to see why I have chosen Negreanu to win a bracelet.

One must also consider that Negreanu has publically stated that he plans to play a reduced schedule this year, one that consists of many of the afternoon events, which are generally non-Hold'em games. This means he will be playing against smaller fields and be well rested for them. I have a sneaky feeling that Negreanu could actually play many more tournaments than he initially has plans for, but even if he does not I think he stands a great chance of claiming bracelet number six.

Chris Moorman

The United Kingdom's Chris Moorman is the winningest online poker tournament player of all-time, with over $9,500,000 in tracked winnings. He is no slouch in the live arena, either. At time of writing, Moorman has almost $2,900,000 in live tournament winnings.

At the 2011 WSOP, Moorman came close to winning a bracelet on three occasions. He finished third in the $2,500 No Limit Hold;em Six-handed event, then second in the $10,000 No Limit Hold;em Six-handed Championship. Finally, Moorman came second to Elio Fox in the WSOP-Europe Main Event! This year I would fully expect Moorman to lock down that elusive WSOP bracelet and have the series of his life. 

Phil Hellmuth

Say what you will about the man self-proclaimed Poker Brat, but you cannot deny he excels at the WSOP. Hellmuth currently holds 13-WSOP titles and it would take a brave man to bet against him claiming his 14th at the 2013 WSOP.

Although Hellmuth proclaims to be the best poker player in the world, in truth is is probably the best poker player in the world against bad players, and there are plenty of bad players in the events that Hellmuth will be playing.

"The Poker Brat" has put a lot of work into his game over the past couple of years and it has started to reap dividends. At last year's WSOP, Hellmuth played remarkably well in non-Hold'em events, finished fourth in The Big One for One Drop and then took down the WSOPE Main Event.  Keep your eye on Hellmuth at this year's series, mark my words.

Phil Ivey

No WSOP bracelet related article would be complete without the name Phil Ivey being present. Ivey is likely to play a busy schedule and when the best players in the world play more tournaments they increase their chances of winning, obviously.

Ivey currently has nine WSOP bracelets and was once quoted as saying he could potentially win 30 by the time he calls time on his career. Amazingly, none of Ivey's bracelets have been in Holdem events, something that cannot continue for much longer. Personally, I think Ivey would be a solid bet for multiple bracelets.

Jason Mercier

2012 was the first year Jason Mericer did not win at least $1,000,000 from live poker tournaments, an amount he has already achieved in 2013 so far. Mercier finished seventh in the EPT Grand Final Main Event and followed that result up with a runner-up finish in the €100,000 Super High Roller, also at the EPT Grand Final.

Mericer, who already has two WSOP bracelets to his name, has been taking bets on himself to win a third at this year's series. When Mercier is focussed, as he should be with sackfuls of money taken in bracelet bets, he is almost unstoppable and I would say out of the five players listed as potential bracelet winner, Mercier would be the one I would lump on if I were to bet my own money on it.

Stay tuned to the Betfair Poker Blog over the coming weeks for all the news from the 2013 WSOP. 

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