Four Times World Series of Poker Bracelet Winner and POY 2021
Josh Arieh already has a fantastic track record at the WSOP – and just gets better and better. With 7 career titles to his name, four of which have come at the World Series of Poker, it sure seems he saves his best for the big events. Arieh has career winnings of more than $9 million. In the late stages of major events, he is a player you can never discount from a deep run.
This page covers John Arieh’s WSOP bracelets and deep runs, along with WPT successes and a quick bio.
Josh Arieh at the World Series of Poker
The first success at the World Series of Poker for Arieh would come in 1999. He entered the Limit Hold’em event with a $3,000 buy-in – and won. In the process he defeated a final table that included Howard Lederer and John Juanda. He won $202,800, alongside his first bracelet.
In financial terms, Arieh would have his biggest success of all at the WSOP in another of his early events.
3rd Place in the 2004 Main Event
In 2004, he paid the $10,000 entry fee to take his seat at the Main Event alongside 2,575 other players. He made it all the way to the final table where he would face Dan Harrington and Greg Raymer. He got the better of 4th placed Harrington by finishing third, with Raymer the eventual winner. Arieh would pick up a check for $2.5 million. This is the biggest and only seven figure win of his career to date.
Three More Bracelets for Josh Arieh
He would win his second bracelet in 2005, finishing first in the $2,000 Pot Limit Omaha event. Arieh beat Chris Ferguson heads up to claim the crown and his second bracelet.
Having won a bracelet in 1990s and 2000s, you might expect Josh to claim another in the 2010s, however a bracelet eluded him. He scored a second-place finish in the 2019 $50,000 Players Championship event and a check for $679,000 (once more, a prize larger than any of his bracelet wins).
In 2021, to make up for his winless decade, Arieh would claim a pair of bracelets. His first win came in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha 8 Max event, beating a field of 821 players to win the $204,000 first prize. He followed this up a couple of weeks later by claiming the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8/OB Eight Max. In winning he pocketed just under half a million dollars.
WSOP Player of the Year 2021
With two bracelet wins in 2021, he would also be named the World Series of Poker Player of the Year, edging out Phil Hellmuth in a dramatic finale that nearly saw Hellmuth snatch it at the death. Arieh is one of only three players to have achieved a top 3 finish in the Main Event at the World Series, as well as a top 2 finish in the prestigious Players Championship (Scotty Nguyen and Phil Hellmuth are the others).
Other Tournament Successes for Josh Arieh
In December 2009, Arieh finished second in the Doyle Bronson Classic Championship on the World Poker Tour, pocketing more than $950,000, the second largest cash win of his career. Three years earlier he won half a million dollars at the Wild Card Tournament in San Jose.
Up till the end of 2021, Arieh has enjoyed 131 tournament cashes and total wins amounting to more than $9 million.
Poker Playing Style of Josh Arieh
If you are sat at the same table as Josh Arieh, you’d certainly know it. He can be known for being verbally abrasive, using table talk as a weapon in his armory. There have been times when he has crossed the line, although if he does, he will accept what he has done and make an apology.
His playing style is equally aggressive and there are times that he plays music so loud through his headphones that it can distract his opponents. Some would call it sportsmanship; others would say he is doing whatever he can to win.
Quick Bio: About Josh Arieh
Arieh was born in Rochester, New York State in 1974. His family made the move to Atlanta when he was nine years old and that’s where he would stay throughout the rest of his childhood and early adulthood. He became interested in billiards and pool at a young age, and it seemed that was where his career would take him. However, his friends suggested that his best talents could be in poker. This got him interested in the game. His first appearance at the World Series of Poker came in 1996 and within just three years, he would have his first ever bracelet.
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More Popular WSOP Pages:
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- Martin Jacobson (2014 winner)
- John Cynn (2018 winner)
- Doyle Brunson (legend!)
- Phil Hellmuth (like it or not, another legend!)
- Dan Harrington (1995 Winner)
- Shaun Deeb (WSOP Crusher!)
Image credit: Wikipedia, with a little help from free picture editor Canva.