Phil Ivey wins second WSOP bracelet of 2009, his 7th overall

It appears Phil Ivey is interested in cementing his poker legacy and capturing the WSOP Player of the Year award; and apparently Phil doesn’t want anyone named Brock Parker or Daniel Negreanu winning the POY award!

After capturing the NL 2-7 Lowball bracelet earlier in the series -his 6^th bracelet overall-many players and writers were touting the greatness of Phil Ivey (myself included). Well, if the naysayers had any doubts they can look at Phil’s 7^th bracelet -in the mixed Omaha/Stud Hi/Lo event for further proof.

Ivey bested 375 other players, and an extremely stacked final table that included WSOP bracelet winner Dutch Boyd; 2001 Main Event Champion Carlos Mortensen; Cash game specialist Ming Lee; and Internet superstar Jon ‘pearljammer’ Turner.

Besides the two wins, Ivey has also cashed in the $2,500 NLHE tournament (event #13) for $18,000. His total winnings at the 2009 WSOP are over $334,000. However, the money can’t mean much to Ivey who won over $16 million from Billionaire Andy Beal a few years back; and Phil earns millions every year in cash games.

There are only two reasons for Phil to play in the preliminary events at the WSOP: His legacy and competitive nature.

Phil and I are the same age, and if he is anything at all like me he’s started thinking about what mark he is leaving. In your 20’s it’s all about success -money-but now that I’m 33 I often find myself seeking that ‘championship ring’ for lack of a better term. Sort of like athletes who are in the twilight of their career taking a lesser role to play with a championship caliber team.

Anyone who is at the top of their profession didn’t get there by being courteous and humble: You get to the top by being competitive almost to a fault, and Ivey is no different. Beneath his calm demeanor is a ruthless competitor; look no further than his few ‘blow-ups’ when he suffers a bad beat: The infamous Freddie Deeb shirt incident, and last year’s unknown player who couldn’t help but stand up after winning. Both of these incidents gave us a quick glimpse at the fire that is Phil Ivey.

I still maintain that if Phil Ivey wins the WSOP Main Event he willimmediately be considered THE BEST poker player of all time; a title which he shares right now with names like Doyle Brunson, Johhny Moss, Johnny Chan et. al.