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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WATCH: Boston Celtic icon Paul Pierce’s top 5 poker hands

It’s common knowledge Boston Celtics icon Paul Pierce can hoop — but did you know he’s a card shark too?

We know you know that Boston Celtics forward icon Paul Pierce is a champion with the team he called home for 15 seasons of his 19-year NBA career, but what you may not know about the Oakland, California native is that he also plays a mean hand of poker.

Pierce even competed in the World Series of Poker the summer he was traded from Boston to the Brooklyn Nets with teammates Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry.

Though his luck was more like the 2010 NBA Finals than in 2008, bowing out near the end despite doing quite well early in the competition, according to Bleacher Report’s Timothy Rapp.

We tracked down this clip of The Truth’s best five hands from his occasional appearances on the popular gambling show “Poker After Dark” so you can see how Pierce’s poker game matches up with his basketball acumen.

Watch the clip embedded above to see P-Double raise a few eyebrows with his skills in a very different sort of venue than we usually see him doing so.

[jwplayer dRevFOoK]

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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.

[jwplayer RvW0eijG-q2aasYxh]

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!

[jwplayer 378LjvFN-q2aasYxh]

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!

[jwplayer ZVcU0OYA-q2aasYxh]

 

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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