The 2023 World Series of Poker is turning out to be the summer of “5”. Five WSOP bracelets is a major milestone for any poker player to achieve, one that can’t be reached simply by luck. Four players have now hit that benchmark so far in 2023. And as much as any player who has hit that mark, 34-year-old UK pro Benny Glaser has proven himself worthy of that elite status many times over.
Glaser’s fifth WSOP win came in the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship (Event #38). It was his second 2-7 bracelet, after winning the $1,500 version in 2015 (his first-ever bracelet win), and Glaser also finished eighth in this year’s $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw. This was also Glaser’s third different $10,000 Championship event victory, following his wins in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo (2016) and $10,000 Razz (2021).
Add in runner-ups in the 2021 $25,000 HORSE event and 2017 $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship and Glaser’s tournament mixed game results stand up against the greatest in the game today.
“I think my best game is probably O8 [Omaha 8], still,” Glaser said. “But it’s probably close these days.”
After his most recent bracelet win, Glaser quickly reflected as to where this recent victory fits among his many career achievements.
“This one did feel like it’s a bigger deal,” said Glaser. “It did feel more meaningful to potentially win this one as opposed to [the $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw event]. I was making a run and I was chip leading coming into Day 3, [and then finished it]. I do feel happier about winning this one.”
His WSOP wins stretch back to 2015, but the last six months have been the most financially successful stretch of Glaser’s career to date. In December, Glaser proved to be quite adept at No Limit Hold’em as well, making a run at the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas title, falling just short in second. It was worth $2,830,000 – six times larger than his second-largest career live cash.
And while he has now won five times on the WSOP stage, a multi-million dollar result on a big stage has also come with several other positive side effects for Glaser.
“Definitely recognition and notoriety in America, for example,” said Glaser. “The big difference is this sense of a bit of validation in some ways. Afterward, I got a lot of praise and compliments, which was very nice. And it was a validation for the study that I’ve been putting in Hold’em, where I’ve been primarily known as a mixed game player.”
While No Limit Hold’em offers Glaser a wider range of options moving forward in his poker career, the mixed game events played at the WSOP each summer are an environment in which Glaser thrives. He’s joined Brian Yoon, John Monnette, and Josh Arieh as newly minted five-time winners in 2023, but Glaser certainly has eyes on six (a number Shaun Deeb and Jeremy Ausmus have hit this year) and beyond.
He does not, however, have a set number in his head.
“It’s kind of a bit hard to do,” Glaser said. “Obviously, I don’t really have any life goals like that. I’m trying to take one year at a time and try to play my best throughout the summer. And hopefully, the success will just continue out of improving.”
Like most mixed game tournament players, Glaser has eyes towards one day winning the biggest mixed game tournament of the year, the $50,000 Poker Players Championship; his previous best finish was 4th, in 2022. There’s also the possibility of extending his increasingly impressive collection of different $10K mixed game titles.
“The PPC is really the one,” said Glaser. “Aside from that, the No Limit 2-7 Single Draw, and the $10K version especially – it’s one of the toughest events of the series, and it’s my favorite game. I love it. I think it’s such a pure skill game of poker.”
Glaser’s trophy case doesn’t lack for recognition in the game, but there’s another award in play if more success is in the cards this summer. With a $10K bracelet win and a final table under his belt and half a series to go, Glaser could well make a run at Player of the Year.
“Player of the Year would be a huge thing too, and that would be great,” said Glaser. “I don’t think it really changes very much what I was going to play – I was planning on firing hard this summer anyway. Maybe one extra event here and there. Hopefully, if the summer continues to go well, then I can keep going for that as much as I can.”