WSOP Europe / Matthew Pitt / 29 September 2008 / Leave a comment

No-limit hold'em can be a cruel beast at the best of times, but it seems to save its nastiest beast for the biggest poker tournaments, just ask Phil Ivey.

Many regard Ivey as the best poker player of all time and many refer to him as the Tiger Woods of poker due to his domination of the game.

The 32-year old American excels at cash games and is one of the most feared players in 'The Big Game' in Las Vegas. His greatest ever cash game win was against Texan billionaire, Andy Beal where, in February 2006, he won an amazing $16,000,000 over the course of three days! After losing to Ivey, Beal announced he was quitting poker!

It is not only cash games that Ivey dominates in, he also has five World Series of Poker bracelets, a record eight final tables at the WPT and to date has tournament winning of $9,982,708!

However, in big tournaments such as the World Series of Poker Europe you need Lady Luck to be on your side if you are to go all the way and claim a bracelet. Ivey started the £1,500 No-limit hold'em event with great confidence, however, it seems Lady Luck had other plans for him.

Just before the break of Day 1a, Ivey led out, holding Jc Tc on a board that ready Q 8 5 9 and was called by Johnny Cooke who had a pair of fives in his hand.

Another five fell on the river giving Cooke quads and he coolly checked, setting a trap for Ivey. Phil took the bait and promptly moved all-in with a queen-high straight. Obviously, Cooke could not call fast enough with his quad fives and since he had more chips than Ivey, he got the bragging rights of busting a superstar from the World Series of Poker Europe.

Ivey wished the rest of the table good luck before quickly leaving his seat, knowing he will have to wait until Monday for the chance to add bracelet number six to his long list of accolades.