Bodog Beat

Poker pro JC Tran won his first WSOP bracelet in Event No. 49 at the 2008 WSOP. (Image courtesy of World Series of Poker)

Yet another well-known poker pro has won an event here at the 2008 WSOP and it's another one that shook a monkey off their back by winning a first one. Poker pro JC Tran took down Event No. 49 – $1,500 No Limit Holdem – late last night, winning his first WSOP bracelet and the $631,053 first-place prize. He also joins Erick Lindgren, David Singer and John Phan in the first-time bracelet winner's club at this year's WSOP.

Three days ago Tran was just one of 2,718 players that put up their buy-in in the hopes of being in the shoes he now occupies. Sure, Tran probably had a little better percentage chance of winning than your average Joe, he does have almost $7 million in career tournament earnings, but in a donkament like this, anything can happen in the early rounds. However, as the field began to shrink, Tran's odds got better and better, something he proved when the match was heads-up and he overcame an almost 7 to 1 chip deficit to win the title.

This is the sixth cash so far for Tran at the 2008 WSOP and his third final table. What's even more impressive than those figures though is that his deep runs have all come in NLHE poker tournaments with massive fields, like the $1,000, $1,500 and $2,000 buy-in events. This bodes very well for his performance in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, as it is the biggest NLHE tournament in the world.

The victory moves him up to sixth place on the 2008 WSOP Player of the Year standings but will need some serious help from the only two events left on the schedule, the $1,500 Limit Holdem Shootout, which begins today, or the Main Event, which kicks off on Thursday, to reach the top spot still held by Lindgren.

We will be covering every step of the way with live updates here on the Beat, so make sure to stay tuned.