Dzmitry Urbanovich could win more from his bracelet bets this summer than he would from the WSOP itself.

Every summer a group of fresh-faced 21 year olds make their inaugural trip to the World Series of Poker with hopes of becoming poker’s next big star. Most have honed their game playing online poker and may have tried their hand at European Poker Tour events before finding their way to Las Vegas.

Mike McDonald, Tom Dwan, Annette Obrestad, and Viktor Blom are but a few of the players who had the eyes of the poker world glued to them before their maiden WSOP.

But none had as much riding on instant success as Dzmitry Urbanovich does this year.

The Polish phenom, with $4,873,174 in lifetime tournaments earnings already, could pocket another $2,000,000 if he does something that no 21-year-old has ever done before: win three WSOP bracelets in a single summer.

That $2,000,000 comes from a prop bet Urbanovich has with Vanessa Selbst that pays 200-1 should the Urbanovich come through. That’s right, 200-1. It was a price that Urbanovich was more than happy to take.

“I really wanted to make some WSOP bets and it seemed acceptable to me,” said Urbanovich. “I probably could’ve gotten a better price from Vanessa.”

Only five players have ever left Las Vegas with three bracelets in a single year. Puggy Pearson was the first to do it after winning three events at the 1973 WSOP, which had only eight events on the schedule. The youngest player to ever do it was Phil Ivey. At the 2002 WSOP a 26-year-old Ivey won three events to bring his career total to four.

Factor in the extra events at WSOP Europe and WSOP Asia-Pacific and only one other player, George Danzer in 2014, has hit the WSOP hat trick. Urbanovich was aware that the feat hadn’t been accomplished too many times, but he actually underestimated just how many times somebody has pulled it off.

“I thought there was just two or three times actually,” said Urbanovich.

PLAYERS WITH THREE WSOP BRACELET WINS IN A SINGLE YEAR
Puggy Pearson (1973) – 44 years old
Phil Hellmuth (1993) – 28 years old
Ted Forrest (1993) – 28 years old
Phil Ivey (2002) – 26 years old
Jeff Lisandro (2009) – 43 years old
George Danzer (2014*) – 31 years old
*included a bracelet won at WSOP Asia-Pacific

One of the reasons Urbanovich can be so confident is that while 43 of his 53 career cashes have come in No Limit Hold’em, he’s not a NLHE specialist – in fact he finds the game tedious. He plays nearly every game on the WSOP schedule this summer and has the bankroll necessary to play the $10,000 buy-in Championship events.

“No Limit Hold’em is boring,” said Urbanovich. “I like to play different games. It’s so much fun. I can’t watch a hand I’m not in during No Limit Hold’em, but when it comes to other stuff it’s different.”

Urbanovich showed his ability to play all the variants at the EPT Malta stop in March 2015. He cashed six times, winning the €25,500 High Roller and two NLHE side events, while finishing eighth in a smaller NLHE event, second in a €1,100 Seven Card Stud event, first in a Crazy Pineapple event before finishing runner-up in the €100,000 Super High Roller.

Still, the WSOP is a grind unlike no other in poker, and that’s something that Urbanovich knows could be an issue for him, particularly towards the later stages of the Series.

“Maybe just a little bit. I’ve never tried six weeks of non-stop live action so I can just imagine,” said Urbanovich. “I might be a bit tired closer to Main Event.”

PocketFives will be tracking Urbanovich’s quest for three bracelet throughout the 2016 WSOP. Check back each week for a rundown of his
wins, near misses and bustouts.