Friday, June 05, 2009

Phil Ivey 2009 WSOP prop bets net him millions

WSOP final table rumor: It's more than a rumor but the details are vague, When Ivey made the top 100 Andy Bloch made a prop bet with him that Ivey would not win and laid big odds to that effect.  If Phil Ivey wins Andy stands to lose millions so no one will be sweating this final table harder than Andy Bloch.

rumor 1: Apparently during the broadcast Phil was overheard saying "2 million", whether or not that was the bet or the return is anyone's guess, I think I would side on the return.  That said it looks like about double that is more closely the range that Phil won by taking down the bracelet.

rumor 2: Earlier in the broadcast yesterday (around 3 handed) Ivey was asked how much he would win in props if he took down the bracelet and he supposedly responded "That the difference between first and third for him was about 3 million".

rumor 3: Isaac Haxton mentioned  a rumor that Phil's 2nd bracelet netted him 12 million additional dollars.  Isaac seems like a smart kid but for Ivey to win 15 million dollars means that both someone needed to book that bet and Ivey would have to reasonably think he would be paid.  Neither of which passes the sniff test in my opinion.  I don't think some people realize exactly how much 15 million dollars really is, either that or the betting fairy is booking Ivey's action these days. Phil Ivey showing up at the deuce to seven no limit final table was possibly the only thing that could make that World Series of Poker event remotely entertaining.  But if you follow poker closely the one that occurred to you immediately is that Phil had a chance to rake in million by winning his 6th bracelet.

How much did he win?

That is partially the funny part; his prize for the deuce to seven bracelet was just under $100,000.  His real prize was felting the high stakes community in prop bets that he would not win a bracelet this year.  Early rumors put his action at near ten million dollars at the WSOP, presumably not only on winning a bracelet.  That said he and Eli Elezra had a fairly high profile bet where Eli would have lost $1,200,000 (rumor and speculation obviously wink wink) if Phil were to beat long odds and win a bracelet in 2009. That however is likely only the tip of the iceberg.  Phil is a teammate of Barry Greenstein for some team props.  So Barry stands to gain nicely from Phil's win. All in all you can safely guess that when it got heads up Phil Ivey had somewhere between 2 and 5 million dollars on the line.  No sweat for the reigning "best player" in poker.

In defense of the people that would bet against Phil Ivey

While Phil soul crushed them on this bet he did not fair so well in last years World Series of Poker.  In fact, he lost millions between bets on himself and big bets on the Lakers to win the title (the lost to the Celtics).

I secretly hate prop bets and prop bet stories

The reason is simple; the money will often go to the people laying the odds.  Therefore, you rarely hear about when someone wins one.  And certainly the person that gave the odds will not gloat.  So for the most part you often have a non-story.  While the money he won is likely enormous, without it I do not think you would see Phil pursuing bracelets.  It's that little edge he needs to stay interested.  I doubt it will come out how much was won specifically but you can be rest assured that the wallets of the high stakes community was hit quite hard last night.

Ivey wants to press his bets

In an interview on PokerRoad Ivey mentioned that if he were to win this event he would like to press his bets.  At this point though I am not sure anyone would want to take his action as the loss could likely cripple them.

Tags: WSOP   Articles   Phil   Ivey   prop   bets  

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