Mercier Sees Chance To Cash In On Huge Prop Bets

Not too long ago, standout poker pro and degen gambler Vanessa Selbst agreed to make a prop bet with Polish rising star Dzmitry Urbanovich. Selbst gave Urbanovich 200-to-1 odds to win three World Series of Poker gold bracelets this summer and the Polish eagerly accepted it. The sum in play? $10,000! So if Urbanovich wins three bracelets, he will actually get $2 million . If he doesn’t, Selbst will get $10,000. Pretty easy right? Well, guess what then: ooops, Vanessa did it again and this time, successful live tournament pro Jason Mercier got involved.

Mercier was looking for some action at that start of the 47th annual WSOP and was willing to offer 3-to-1 odds on winning a gold bracelet. According to a PokerListings interview, the American got plenty of action, some 3-to-1 and some 2.7-to-1 to win a bracelet. But the stakes got a lot higher though when Selbst joined the sweat party. She gave 180-to-1 odds to win three WSOP bracelets this summer. The sum in play? Same as with Urbanovich, $10,000. So if Mercier takes down three events, he will get $1.8 million. What is even more interesting than the prop bet with the Polish is the fact that Mercier just won his first gold bracelet of 2016 and now he’s eyeing a second. Nervous Vanessa?

Jason Mercier Wins Event #16: $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball No-Limit Championship

Mercier was the last man standing in an event involving a game he believes is the purest form of poker: 2-7 Single Draw Lowball. To reach the highest place on the podium, he had to battle with many non-Holdem specialists like British pro, Stephen Chidwick, and online nosebleeds French player, Alex Luneau, and also longtime legends like Daniel Negreanu and Mike Matusow. To make things even more interesting, before the final table, Mercier bet against Chidwick that he would actually outlast him. Chidwick finished sixth and the four-time WSOP bracelet winner cashed in. How much you wonder? The 2-7 Single Draw champ didn’t reveal the exact sum, but he did say he won ‘more than the first prize for this event’ from all his prop bets. And to put things into perspective, he did cash in $273,335 for finishing first in Event #16.

Now he can concentrate on winning two more and a hefty bonus of $1.8 million. Mercier told WSOP.com:

In order to achieve such a feat though, he will have to grind the WSOP seriously and play as many events as possible. The successful pro did say he approaches this year’s WSOP differently than previous years. In the past, he wouldn’t care less about the events with a buy-in of under $5,000. This year however, he is playing all small-field events no matter the buy-in or the format. Looks like a solid plan, doesn’t it?

Four WSOP Bracelets and $17M Career Earnings

With his latest win, Mercier joined the exclusive four-time bracelet winners club that includes the likes of Puggy Pearson, Amarillo Slim Preston, Huck Seed, Mike Matusow, and others. He won his first gold bracelet seven years ago, in a Pot Limit Omaha event. He also won another PLO event shorthanded in 2011 and a six-max No Limit Holdem event last year.

Besides the 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship bracelet, he also cashed in Event #15: $1,500 Eight Game Mix finishing in 35th place. Overall, according to HendonMob DB, he has $16,669,302 in live poker tournament earnings. At WSOP alone, he won over $3.5 million lifetime.

Can Mercier win another two gold bracelets and grab the $1.8 million side bonus? Or will he fall just short? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.