We are T-Minus 5 and counting until the start of the 2011 World Series of Poker on May 31, when the $500 Casino Employees tournament and the $25,000 Heads-Up No limit Holdem Championship get underway, and in this article I’ll take a look at the living legends of the poker world –the Legacies—and handicap their chances of adding to their legacies.

Phil Hellmuth

Will 2011 be the year that Phil pockets bracelet number #12? In my opinion, most likely not. It’s no big secret that the game has passed Phil by, and while he is capable of winning any NLHE tournament he makes a deep run in, with the big fields and increased talent in NLHE events the smart money says Hellmuth stays on bracelet #11.

Odds to win a bracelet: 8-to-1

Doyle Brunson

The septuagenarian Brunson is no longer at the top of his game, and the long, long grind of WSOP events, as well as his diminished playing schedule, will probably keep him from adding to his 10 bracelets.

Odds to win a bracelet: 20-to-1

Johnny Chan

Chan is another living legend, and like Brunson trails Hellmuth by only one bracelet. I’ll give Chan the best odds of that trio for winning a bracelet in 2011 since he is proficient in multiple forms of poker, and is still young enough to contend with the long WSOP Grind.

Odds to win a bracelet: 4-to-1

Daniel Negreanu

Negreanu has really good years at the WSOP and really bad years at the WSOP. With his newfound focus on keeping up with the young guns, as well as his commitment to play virtually every event, I think 2011 will be one of Negreanu’s really good WSOP years—In fact, Negreanu is the only player I’m predicting 2 bracelets for.

Odds to win a bracelet 1-to-1 — Odds to win 2 bracelets 4-to-1

Phil Ivey

With his million dollar prop-bets you can bet Ivey will be playing a full schedule, and he has shown a propensity for winning in any poker discipline. My guess is that Howard Lederer’s year –as if Black Friday weren’t bad enough– is going to get even worse when Ivey wins the alleged $5 million bet they have between them.

Odds to win a bracelet: 3-to-2

Erik Seidel

You would have to be nuts to bet against Seidel in 2011 –or in the WSOP where he has won 8 bracelets—and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see him win a bracelet this year.

Odds to win a bracelet: 2-to-1

Tags: Black Friday, Casino Employees, Chan Chan, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Forms Of Poker, Howard Lederer, Johnny Chan, Legacies, Living Legend, Living Legends, phil hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Poker Discipline, Poker World, Septuagenarian, Smart Money, World Series of Poker, WSOP, Young Guns

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 26th, 2011 at 1:01 pm and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Countdown to the 2011 WSOP: The Legacies”

1. DaniPoka says:

   May 30, 2011 at 5:39 am

   i think that the Doyle’s and Seidel’s odds are extremist..