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Day 26 at the 2010 WSOP is underway. The only new event today is the $1,500 PL Omaha Hi-Lo Event that started at Noon. The PL Holdem Championship will play to the bracelet today. There are a couple of decent names left, but with 23 players still left as we speak, we wont worry about that until the final table actually gets here. Of course, the buzz around the Rio, and the poker world for that matter is what happened last night.

Phil Ivey Wins Bracelet #8

Let me start with saying, I TOLD YOU SO. Before the beginning of this WSOP, I stated that if Ivey was focused, he would win a bracelet. I was questioning his focus until a video I saw the other night. He was trying, but just not getting there. Well, after last night’s performance, Ivey is now tied with Erik Seidel with 8 career WSOP bracelets.

Phil Ivey Wins Bracelet #8 - Nuff Said

To say that Ivey battled for this bracelet is an understatement. He was the short stack well before the final table was reached and then battled back to start the final table in 3rd chip position. Then he was up and down through the final table but found a way to make it heads-up. I told someone online last night that if Ivey made it heads-up with chips, he would take this down.

Relatively speaking, Ivey was so-so in chips at the start of heads up play. Bill Chen started with a 3 to 1 chip lead. Of course, this was Bill Chen. While I give Chen props for his two bracelets, this was Phil Ivey he was playing. Ivey then kicked it into “I’m Phil Ivey Bitch” mode and then started to grind away at Chen. Stacks went up and down for a bit, but ultimately, Ivey took over.

Ivey is All Smiles After Winning the Bracelet

The last hand was classic. On fifth, Chen was all in with a 7-6-5-2-A in Razz. Ivey held a 6-5-3-2-A. Chen could only chop the pot at best. It didn’t matter as Phil Ivey waved his hand and said “let there be a wheel” and he caught a four on the river to finish with a wheel. Ok, he really didn’t do the whole “let there be a wheel” thing, but he might as well have.

No this has nothing to do with his bracelet. I just think she is hot. You wish you were Phil Ivey.

“The object of poker is to see how long you can keep Phil Ivey from winning all the chips.” Gus Hansen said that about Ivey, and when he is on, you can’t stop him. While I may sound like a homer, Ivey tends to always prove me right. Only Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, and Johnny Chan stand between Ivey and Hellmuth. Ivey may get #9 this year depending on how hard he plays the rest of the way. It is just a matter of time before they all fall to Ivey, including Hellmuth. Phil Ivey will one day be the all-time bracelet holder. How long we have to wait for that will depend largely on Ivey. Sorry Hellmuth, your record will fall.

That’s all for this edition. Bluntly, Ivey is THE story right now. I couldn’t tell you who is in the NL events without doing research into the WSOP registration records because everyone has been following THE MAN. I will be back a little later in the day with another edition of the Poker Junkie Podcast from the 2010 World Series of Poker.