Fedor Holz Unshaken After Losing $200,000 Bracelet Bet To Jason Mercier
After an amazing start to the summer in Las Vegas, Fedor Holz grabbed the Global Poker Index No. 1 spot for the first time ever.
Holz finished second in the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl for $3.5 million, followed by two wins in the Aria Super High Roller Series. In fact, he has cashed for more than $4.5 million since the last week of May, but it hasn't all been one continuous upswing.
Holz just took a big hit betting against Jason Mercier to win a World Series of Poker bracelet this year.
It's common for players to sell action and swap pieces for big tournaments, but the same can’t be said for the bets they make on the side. Holz’ $4.5 million in recent tournament earnings are likely a fair bit smaller, with all that considered, but the hit he took when Mercier won the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw Championship earlier this week, is all on him.
Obviously Holz has had plenty of reason to celebrate this year, but being on the wrong side of a bracelet bet versus Mercier wasn't one of them. Mercier said he wouldn't "get into specifics," about how much he'd won taking down the bracelet, saying it was "well, well over what first was, on the side," giving a clear indication Holz wasn't the only one hurt.
When you have the biggest loosing day of your life. Feat. @JasonMercier https://t.co/FucJK3jRaT
— Fedor Holz (@CrownUpGuy)
First place in the $10,000 2-7 Single Draw was $273,335, and Holz told PokerNews he lost $200,000 betting against Mercier that night.
“I had about $200,000 against him to win a bracelet, so that bet is already gone,” Holz said.
Holz went on to say that he’s got a lot more money on the line the rest of the summer, again, with Mercier on the other side.
“I also have $100,000 per bracelet on Jason versus Stevie [Stephen Chidwick], and he gave me odds on that," he said. "I still like my side on that, but obviously they are both among the favorites to win bracelets, so we’ll see.”
[TWITTER=" https://twitter.com/CrownUpGuy/status/742626264809250816"] img=http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/742654368567025665/6xp0ltsd_normal.jpg nick=CrownUpGuy name=Fedor Holz date=Tue Jun 14 07:54:33 +0000 2016 text=All fun aside - congratulations @JasonMercier on winning this bracelet. You deserved it. id=742626264809250816 [/TWITTER]
Despite already losing a significant bet versus Mercier, Holz stood to lose even more in the $10,000 Razz Championship playing out on Wednesday, with Jason Mercier leading the final three at press time.
“Right now I’m not sweating it as much anymore, but two nights ago it was a huge sweat,” Holz said, as he briefly gauged the action at Mercier’s final table.
In the meantime, Holz is fully focused on his own performance this summer. A good showing at the WSOP could significantly help the German superstar to recoup some of the money he had to pay Mercier.
Either way, it’s shaping up to be a very entertaining WSOP for all involved.
“I have some prop bets going on to motivate myself and to sweat some people, which I also think are good bets," Holz said. "So far it’s not working out with the bets, but I have some bets on myself, so hopefully I can win those.
“There are bets against other players, and whoever cashes more in tournaments wins the bet. It’s me versus specific other players. It’s for every Hold’em event from $1,000 up to $10,000 and the Main Event is not included.”
Are you ready for the 2016 UEFA European Championship this summer? BookieSmash has an extensive Euro 2016 preview and betting guide, as well as a list of the best sports books to bet on for the event.
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