Category: Cards

A World Series of Poker player owns up to an absolutely brutal fold on Twitter

An awful, awful fold but he explained what happened.

What you’re about to see is about as brutal of a fold as you’ll ever see in a World Series of Poker tournament.

But what you’ll also see is the player who folded own up to it and explain it, and honestly, it’s a good explanation and I’m tipping my hat to him for taking to Twitter to respond.

Let’s start with the hand: It was the 2021 Poker Players Championship during Limit Hold ‘Em. With three players left, Ryan Leng had an Ace-5 offsuit and Dan Cates — known as “Jungleman” — had King of Diamonds and Queen of Clubs.

Leng raised and Cates called. The flop was Ace, 7 and Jack. Leng had top pair and checked. Cates — with a shot at a straight — bet 300,000 and Leng called.

The turn? A 9. Leng checked again and Cates checked as well.

The river was a King. Oh boy. Cates might not have thought Leng had an Ace and now he has a pair of Kings.

This is where things get interesting. Leng bets 600,000 … and Cates goes all in for 900,000.

Leng has over 10 million in chips. It’s only 300K more to call the bet with top pair, and even if he thinks Cates has a straight, it’s worth seeing if that’s the case.

But no. He folds. And Cates, who would have been out, goes on to win the bracelet.

Leng then took to Twitter with a lengthy explanation for the fold, and you can completely get it:

 

Was it a bad fold? Yeah. But for him to open up and talk about being drained after long hours during the World Series and how he’ll recover from all that should be applauded.

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A super-risky ‘World Series of Poker’ all-in move came so close to paying off in championship-losing hand

This almost worked!

There are times where you have to risk it all in poker.

And there will be times when that risk does NOT pay off, and it’s the worst.

Here, we have a hand from the 2021 World Series of Poker, in the $50,000 No Limit Hold ‘Em High Roller tournament, starring Michael Addamo and Justin Bonomo, who were heads up for the bracelet.

The key here is Bonomo was behind Addamo but not by much — 11,340,000 chips to Addamo’s 12,960,000. Bonomo raised to 450,000 with 10 of diamonds and 9 of spades. Addamo raised right back to 1.8 million with the King and Jack of hearts, a better hand for sure.

Then, things got nuts. Bonomo went all in. Was it a bluff? Did he read something on Addamo that showed weakness? Addamo had to think about it and rightfully so — King-Jack suited is a good hand in a heads-up scenario but I personally felt like Bonomo was representing at least an Ace.

Addamo called, and the flop was a 10-Jack-Queen. Addamo got a pair of Jacks and Bonomo had a pair of 10s. Then? Another 10 comes out. HOLY COW.

Addamo needed an Ace or a Jack and he had a 14 percent chance at one.

Guess what came out? An Ace for the straight. Addamo won the whole tournament on that wild hand:

The two of them went head to head earlier in the tournament with another wild hand in which Addamo bluffed with a 9-2 unsuited (!) and Bonomo ended up calling.

WOW.

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Phil Hellmuth dropped so many F-bombs in a furious rant at the World Series of Poker

He was SO MAD.

We’e seen this before from all-time great Phil Hellmuth, known for many a foul-mouthed rant at poker events over the years after losing some tough hands.

And earlier this week, at a 2021 World Series of Poker Stud championship tournament, he delivered another one.

He suffered a bad beat at the final table and lost a few more hands, and as you’ll see in the video below Hellmuth let loose with so many F-bombs (WARNING: There’s some NSFW langauge, even with most of the expletives bleeped out) and some unhinged ranting.

“He pops me on the [expletive] turn with a diamond draw and an ace,” he said at one point. “There’s like one ace left. [Expletive]! How does he get rewarded for that [expletive] [other expletive] play? They [expletive] overplay their hands against me, that’s why I win all these [expletive] tournaments. Miracle [expletive] river.”

Whew.

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The worst hand of poker improbably took down pocket aces in a super-lucky World Series of Poker moment

This doesn’t happen very often.

The 2021 World Series of Poker is currently taking place in Las Vegas, and here’s a hand you need to see to show how lucky one player was.

As you might know, the best hand in Hold ‘Em — this was the final table at the $3,000 No Limit Hold ‘Em tourney — is pocket aces. The worst? A 2-7.

Here, we have Brandon Caputo, who has a pair of aces with 1.8 million in chips, which at this point at the final table wasn’t much. But he wanted to get as much value for his aces as possible, so he called the big blind.

Harvey Mathews (over nine million in chips) had the 2-7, except — and this is important — they were suited diamonds. He was the big blind, so he simply checked.

The flop was 10-2-3, with the 3 of diamonds showing up. Caputo bet 160,000 and Mathews called with his pair of 2s.

The turn? The 8 of diamonds. Uh-oh. The flush draw was in play. But Caputo bet 300,000 and Mathews thought about it for a while before going all in, which Caputo called.

Guess what came out on the river? Yep. A diamond, specifically the queen. Mathews hit his diamond flush and eliminated Caputo with what started out as the worst hand against the best hand.

Watch this whole thing unfold:

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A poker player unbelievably predicted an entire run of cards and blew everyone’s minds

OMG!!!

WOW. This is quite a poker feat here.

Let’s set up the scenario: at a no-limit hold ’em final table in Texas, Troy Clogston moved all-in with a pair of Jacks and Don Iyengar called him with Ace of diamonds and Jack of clubs.

That’s not as important as what you’re about to see, but worth noting nonetheless.

Clogston predicts an 8-9-10 coming out on the flop … and that’s exactly what happens. Then, he calls out for the 4 of spades. THAT’s the card on the turn.

Suddenly, the room starts to buzz. They ask Clogston what the card will be on the river. He says 2 of hearts.

Guess what comes out?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH1fq5Eb834

NO. NO WAY. HOW’D HE DO THAT?!?!?!? Amaaaaaazing! Oh and he won the hand too.

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Daniel Negreanu suffered a horrible bad beat with a terrific hand in a poker tournament

Oof.

Crushing losses in poker tournaments happen to even the greatest of pros, and that includes Daniel Negreanu.

This week, while playing in a GG Poker World Series of Poker event, he was streaming as he got a Queen and a 10 and decided to raise before the flop as “a little bit of a bluff.”

Then, Yuri Dzivielevski called, and that’s when what would be a disastrous hand would unfold.

Right off the bat, Negreanu landed a straight. Dzivielevski bet, and Negreanu simply called, baiting his opponent into continuing the hand. It’s a smart play here given that he’s got a devastatingly good hand.

Out comes the 3 of spades, the second spade on the board along with a Jack. Dzivielevski shoves all-in, and Negreanu calls with his large stack, finding out that his opponent is holding 6-5 of spades for a flush draw.

All Negreanu needs is for a non-spade to come out on the river. But guess what happens?

The answer is below (and WARNING: Some NSFW language ahead!)

Yep, just like Rounders. Brutal all around.

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A poker YouTuber won a World Series bracelet while sitting in a Whole Foods parking lot

Wow!

The 2020 World Series of Poker Online series of tournaments has, so far, given us an epic reaction from a player who won his first-ever online event.

Now, it’s given us a winner who wasn’t in his house when he won himself a bracelet and a cool $159,563. Nope, he was sitting in his car at a Whole Foods parking lot, playing until he got the victory.

Ryan Depaulo — who says in his Twitter profile that he’s makes vlogs about poker and gambling — was in Event No. 12, the Big 500, which is a $500 buy-in no-limit Hold ‘Em tourney.

Card Player reports he’s a New York native, and players must be physically in Nevada or New Jersey to play in the online events, so maybe that’s why he played from a Whole Foods parking lot in the Garden State:

His extremely NSFW reaction included him screaming in the parking lot, with someone heading into said Whole Foods giving him a look. But this is what the WSOP looks like this year — screaming in parking lots!

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First-time online poker player has the best reaction to winning $188,214 in World Series event

What a first time!

Ron McMillen had quite a first-time experience playing poker online.

In the 2020 World Series of Poker online event No. 9 — a $1,000 no-limit hold ’em 6-max tournament — he finished first, winning $188,214 and a bracelet. And he reacted as he should have (see below), with a celebration.

As Poker News reports, this isn’t McMillen’s first poker experience — he’s “a regular on the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) [who] actually came fairly close to winning a bracelet in the past on a couple of occasions.”

But as for online, which can be an entirely different ballgame? First time. And he walked away a winner. Amazing!

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Phil Ivey takes advantage of a poker player’s brutal bad beat to win huge hand

OOOOOFFFFFFF.

Poker legend Phil Ivey nearly won another title to add to his already incredible resume, a high roller event in Sochi.

And it was thanks to a brutal bad beat for one of his opponents, although sometimes, you need a little bit of luck to win a tournament.

Let’s break down the hand and get to the drama: Ivey was dealt a pair of Aces and Sam Greenwood went in with King-8 of clubs. The flop was Ace of clubs, 8 of spades and Queen of clubs.

That gave Greenwood a flush draw and Ivey three Aces. At that point, Ivey (6.9 million chips) bet 200,000 and Greenwood (4.3 million) simply called, hoping for another club.

But the turn was the fourth Ace for Ivey, giving him quads and the winning hand at that point. Ivey smartly checks and Greenwood decided to take the free card.

And that free card was the Jack of clubs. Greenwood got his flush, a hand that would normally be HUGE. Instead, he was drawing dead before that card came out and didn’t know it.

You can guess what happened next: Ivey bet 400,000, Greenwood raised to 1.95 million, Ivey went all in and Greenwood called. Ooooooffff.

Ivey also won a big hand against Greenwood thanks to a10 on the flop earlier in the night:

Ivey eventually finished in second place to Wai Kin Yong

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