James Dempsey Wins UK Bracelet

UK online pro James Dempsey has won event #9 at the 2010 WSOP, $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em, becoming the second UK player to win a bracelet this year.

Dempsey beat out a field of 650 players to win the $197,470 first prize in what is his largest live score to date. Speaking after the win, the Brighton resident said that he thinks some players place too much stock in a WSOP bracelet however.

‘“It’s great to win a tournament. But there’s no reason why this should hold any edge of another tournament. You play for money. Like someone can come in third in a tournament and make like $300,000 but if you win another event (with a smaller field or lower buy in) you might get first and its $200,000 – that to me does not make any sense at all. Poker players play for money. It’s great to win a major tournament. But I just think there’s too much put onto winning a World Series of Poker
gold bracelet. You want to try and win one, of course. You win more money. But you see people playing three events at the same time. It’s just stupid.’

Though not a familiar face to casual poker fans Dempsey is well-known in the online world playing under the name ‘Flushy’. He finished 2nd in a PokerStars SCOOP event in 2009 for $211,700, the biggest win of his career.

The UK has traditionally done well in pot-limit Hold’em events at the WSOP. Until recently many casinos would only run pot-limit cash games in the UK – unlike in countries such as the USA where limit and no-limit have always been the main games.

Fellow UK pro JP Kelly won this event in 2009 – Dempsey’s win will ensure that the title stays in the UK for at least another year.