What Does a Bracelet Mean?

Last year's World Series of Poker was already winding down, and we were seeing a whole new face of success emerging every day. The race for the cash was very heated, but that's only a small portion of the total prize for being the champion. The biggest attraction for the masses in Las Vegas is the gold bracelet that comes to the winner of each tournament -- the one player who defeated a massive field and came out on top. It's the one piece of hardware that can immortalize a player forever. A small group of people have attained this "Holy Grail," and an even smaller portion of the crowd has more than one. Then there are three individuals who stand head and shoulders above the rest: Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, and Doyle Brunson. With all the hoopla surrounding Phil's "historic" 11th bracelet, it got me to wondering.

Yes, making it through a large field of poker players is not an easy task. Yes, the World Series of Poker is just that...The World Series. That is the easy part of the equation. The hard part is distinguishing between the different bracelets that each person holds. Someone needs to make the distinction clearer in order to see the truth behind the hardware.

Doyle Brunson is our first guinea pig in the search for truth. Doyle was playing in the WSOP in its infancy, back when the field was small enough to play at one or two tables. His first bracelet came in 1976 in the Main Event. Since then, he's managed to win nine more in a variety of games such as Seven Card Stud, Razz, Deuce to Seven Stud and H.O.R.S.E. This must mean he's proficient in all poker games. The only drawback to his bracelets would be the small size of the field.

Johnny Chan attained his first bracelet in 1986 by winning a Limit Hold'Em event. Chan went on to win back-to-back Main Events in 1987 and 1988, two Seven Stud tournaments, three Omaha tournaments, and two more Hold'Em tournaments. His positive would be the amount of time it took to accrue them (10 years, less time than Doyle), but his negative would be the same as Doyle's, in that the fields were microscopic in comparison to today's events.

Phil Hellmuth is a different story in one big way. Phil has managed to win 11 bracelets in the past 18 years, which is faster than the other two players. He hasn't been able to muster up back-to-back Main Event wins like Johnny, but he has won more money than both Doyle and Johnny. The fundamental flaw with Phil would have to be that he's won all of his bracelets in Hold'Em, no Seven Stud, no Omaha -- just Hold'Em.

All this being said, when we do look at the true measure of poker greatness, we might need to stray away form the bracelet race and look to find the player who can do it all: Win in big fields, while at the same time being proficient at different types of games. The true measure of the greatest poker player, in my eyes, would have nothing to do with a trophy or jewelry.

I'm not saying that Phil is an inferior player. I'm simply saying that he doesn't seem to be the best all-around poker player. In fact, he even admits to being just the best "No Limit Texas Hold'em player." So, before we get into the fight for who is best, we need to remember that poker is just that ...poker. Not one type of game. The greatest player needs to prove himself worthy of being a master of the sport as a whole.

2008 World Series of Poker Coverage

About the Author:

Brian Heptinstall began playing poker like most everyone else by learning in a Sunday night game in college. Since then, it's been quite a whirlwind for him as a player, and a person. Brian is a graduate of culinary school and once worked for Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Resort in Palm Beach, Florida. He resides in Hoover and is an avid Crimson Tide Fan.