A Look at Dan Kelly's Amazing 2013 WSOP Run

Kelly's first major live tournament cash was for just $1,593 back in 2007, his prize for finishing 14th in a $300 buy-in tournament in Verona. In 2008, Kelly came fourth in a $2,000 event at the PCA for a then career-best score of $35,680.

In 2010, Kelly turned 21-years old and was therefore able to compete at that year's WSOP. And compete he did. Kelly cashed four times and won his first and only bracelet of his career, so far. That bracelet win came in the star-studded $25,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em Six Handed event and netted him $1,315,518 in prize money.

Although Kelly is yet to win a bracelet at the 2013 WSOP, his performances have been, frankly, oustanding and he is on course to break the record for the number of cashes at a single WSOP. Konstantin Puchkov holds the current record after reaching the money places in 11 events (two final tables) in 2012, but his record is under threat from the in-form Kelly.

Dan Kelly's 2013 WSOP Results through Event #29

• $5,000 NLHE 8-Handed: 6th for $83,532
• $1,500 NLHE Millionaire Maker: 5th for $302,104
• $1,500 NLHE: 180th for $2,774
• $1,500 H.O.R.S.E: 16th for $8,378
• $5,000 Pot Limit Hold'em: 12th for $16,011
• $3,000 NLHE 6 Handed: 10th for $33,090
• $5,000 Omaha Hi/low:20th for $9,741
• $5,000 H.O.R.S.E: 17th for $10,304

I'm sure you will agree that Kelly's results thus far are nothing short of fantastic, especially when you consider the strength of some of the fields and the sheer number of entrants in some of the tournaments.

For example, in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker, Kelly had to navigate his way through almost all of the 6,343 strong field before finishing in fifth place for $302,104. Also, the $3,000 No Limit Hold'em Six handed event was extremely strong and featured the likes of its eventual champion Martin Finger, Matt Stout, Erik Seidel, and Yevgeniy Timoshenko to name just four stars of the game.

Despite having a legitimate chance to write himself into poker's history books, Kelly only wants one thing, a second bracelet. Speaking to PokerNews, Kelly said,

"It's not really a priority for me to break the (cashes) record this summer. You're not going to make the most money by just earning the most cashes. You could cash in 10 events but could earn more money by winning just one. It would be cool to break the record but it's one of those things where if it happens, great, and if it doesn't, that's fine too."

With more than 30 events remaining (at time of writing) we would not bet against Kelly breaking Puchkov's record or winning his second bracelet. I sincerely hope he does manage to win his second bracelet because his effort and consistent performances at the highest level deserves be rewarded.