The Only Poker Blog
That Matters PokerJunkie.com

Matt Graham won his second WSOP bracelet the other night, winning the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship. His bracelet win paralleled his first bracelet win in so many ways. I was on hand covering Graham’s first bracelet win last year in the $1,500 Limit Holdem Shootout. The final table drug on well into the morning hours and at one point, Graham had a crippled stack. He then fought back to win the event, and his first bracelet.

Graham from Last Year's $1,500 Limit Shootout - At 8 a.m.

Many people thought that Jean-Robert Bellande just choked away the bracelet in that event. However, after Graham’s performance this year in the PLO World Championship, one has to wonder if it was a choke or just a fantastic comeback performance by Graham.

This year, the PLO World Championship drug past 3 a.m. and Graham’s stack was crippled. When this happened, my first thought was “Ok. He has been here before. Let’s see what happens.” Graham then went through a series of double ups to ultimately take down the bracelet from Vitaly Lunkin.

Granted, a bit of luck is involved with making a strong comeback. However, the ability to play a short stack and get your money in either with the best hand or in the best situation is an undervalued skill.

Is it possible that Graham had two incredibly lucky runs in winning his two bracelets? Sure. However, after this latest event, maybe we should back off of saying that Bellande choked away the bracelet last year.