It is really fascinating to watch seasoned poker players playing their hearts out on the tables. The unexpected twists, tension, bluffs, and bad beats turn the gaming tables into battle grounds. The massacre on the high stake tables is not for fainthearted but that is what makes this game more thrilling and exciting.
We have seen even monsters defeated by lesser hands. Poker is an unpredictable game where you cannot determine the possible hands your opponent can have. Sometimes a favorable game with best cards in hand can turn into a soul crushing disaster just because of a bad beat or failure to call opponent’s bluff.
Here are few interesting worst hand stories in poker history:
1) Danny Lee vs Shandor Szentkuti WPT :- If it is not a perfect example of bad beat, I don’t know what is! Danny Nguyen pushed all his chips with Ace and 7 of diamond and was called by Shandor Szentkuti with Ace of spade and K of club. Flop came down 5 and king of heart with 5 of spade. At this time, Shandor was 99% winning favorite and Danny only 1/2%. Turn brought up 7 of club. Everybody was amazed including Danny to find the river card -which was 7 of spade. Danny had full house and won the hand. He even won the whole tournament later by defeating all final table opponents .
2) Poker Bad Beat AAAA Vs Royal Flush :- This memorable hand was played at World Series of Poker Main Event in 2008. Motoyuki Mabuchi, a Japanese pro, was dealt with Aces of club and spade. In the heads-up against US player Justin Phillips, Mabuchi patiently waited for river card. The board was Ace of heart, 9 of club, and Queen and 10 of diamond. The river card was Ace of diamond. Mabuchi bets, Phillips raised and then Mabuchi shoved immidiately with excitement, as did Phillips. The amazement and dejection on Mabuchi’s face was quite visible when he saw Phillips’s Cards. They were K and J of diamond. The Royal Flush defeated Mabuchi’s four of a kind, and he left empty handed.
3) Tom Dwan Bluffs a Full-House off the Pot :- It is not easy to read opponents like Tom Dwan and decide your next move in the game when you play against him. JC Tran was clashed against Dwan for a heads-up with 10 of diamond and Ace of spade. Dwan held queen of club and 10 of spade. Flop brought up 9 of heart, Ace of diamond and J of club. Turn was J of heart. With river of J of diamond, Tran became a huge favorite in the game . But Dwan, who refused to surrender, moved all in. Tran failed to call his bluff and folded his cards and Dwan raked in the pot.
4) Phil Hellmuth vs Chris Ferguson – Insane Bad Beat:- Heads-up between Phill Hellmuth and Chris Ferguson is a great example of unpredictable game of poker. Hellmuth bet with Ace of heart and 3 of spades and Ferguson raised with 9 of heart and 2 of club. Flop made it more interesting with 2 and 5 of heart and 9 of club. Ferguson bets and Hellmuth called. With the turn of 4 of heart, Hellmuth become game favorite with a straight. Ferguson checked and Hellmuth bets again. Ferguson raised and Hellmuth moved all in. It confused Ferguson but he responded with all-in. Dealer put the 9 of diamond onto river with made Ferguson’s full house. He survived the game and won the pot and Hellmuth was shocked to lose the hand which he thought was perfect to lead him to victory.
5) Bad Call on river by Poker Hero:- “You called me with a Jack-high?” This infamous quote of Ellix Powers with James McManus becomes a catchphrase for any poker players now. This historic hand was played at WSOP 2004 at a limited Hold’em event between Powers and McManus. Poker author James McManus called with queen and 10 of spade. Powers had K and 8 of heart. Flop was 7 of diamond, 3 of spade,and 4 of heart. Turn was 7 of spade which was followed by river of 5 of diamonds. The best option for McManus could be to raise or fold having only a “queen high”, but he called. Powers won and he mocked McManus for being on tilt and called even without having a pair.
6) Amazing Poker Hand with Miss Finland:- It is not common to see 2012 WSOP poker bracelet winner Ronnie Bardah got bluffed by someone who is not even a poker pro. But it happened when Miss Universe Finland, Sara Chafak made him fold his winning hand. Bardah was playing in PokerStar’s TV poker event “Shark Cage” where poker pros play against celebrities and common people in single table poker tournaments. He found himself heads-up with Miss Finland with 8 of club and 4 of spade in hand. Chafak had Ace of heart and 2 of diamond. Flop was queen and 5 of spades and 4 of club. Bardah bet and Chafak raised. Turn brought up 4 of diamond and Chafak bet again half of the pot. Bardah raised again and Chafak re-raised. Bardah was puzzled but again he called. River brought up 6 of heart which made Bardah 100% winning favorite. Bardah checked and Chafak moved all in. It is difficult to ascertain was it Chafak’s poker face or Bardah’s failure to believe that Chafak can make such massive bluff, but Bardah folded and gifted the massive pot to Miss Finland.