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Steve Jelinek is a Birmingham-born professional poker player and WSOP gold bracelet winner who captured the 2010 WSOP $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo event for $245,871 — becoming the fifth British bracelet winner of that extraordinary summer, which saw more British bracelet wins in a single WSOP series than any other nation had achieved. With over $1.86 million in live earnings across 160 recorded cashes, Jelinek is one of the UK’s most quietly consistent long-term performers.
Career Earnings & Biggest Results
Total live earnings stand at over $1,938,000 across 160 cashes, per The Hendon Mob.
💰 Live Earnings: $1,938,000+ | 🏆 WSOP Bracelet: 2010 ($1,500 PLO Hi-Lo) | 💵 Bracelet Prize: $245,871 | 🎯 160 Cashes
Notable Results (click to expand)
| Date | Event | Result | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2010 | WSOP $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo Split (Bracelet) | 1st / 847 | $245,871 |
His estimated poker net worth is over $1.5 million.
Biography & Poker Background
Jelinek is from Birmingham and describes himself as part of the “old school” — a player who came up through live poker rather than the online generation, having been a serious player for seven years before his WSOP win and a professional for around two and a half. He attended the 2010 WSOP with an explicit goal: win a bracelet to continue and validate his poker career after a period where his bankroll had been under pressure.
He achieved it in the $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo event — a format that rewards specialist knowledge — defeating a field of 847 players and following in the footsteps of Praz Bansi, James Dempsey, Richard Ashby and Scott Shelley to become the fifth British bracelet winner of the 2010 series. It remains the most British bracelet wins in a single WSOP to that point.
“It’s not quite sunk it yet,” he said after the win, adding that it represented not just money but the continuation of a career he had committed to fully. Unusually for a UK professional of his era, Jelinek’s dominant strengths are in Omaha and mixed-game formats rather than pure No-Limit Hold’em — which is reflected in the events where his biggest results have come.
He has continued to compete actively on the UK and international circuit since, with 160 career cashes demonstrating exceptional longevity.
Play Style & Strategy
Jelinek is a mixed-game and PLO specialist in an era when those skills were comparatively rare among UK players. His comfort in pot-limit and split-pot formats — evidenced by the bracelet in PLO Hi-Lo and multiple WSOP cashes in Omaha variants — gives him a structural edge in events that demand a broader poker education.
