Poker tournaments provide a prestigious stage for players to showcase their skills against fellow competitors and potentially win substantial prize pools. By being prepared and strategic in their approach, even underdogs can find success at the tables.
Chris Moneymaker is an example of an amateur accountant who won the World Series of Poker Main Event using just a $39 satellite tournament buy-in.
1. Stu Ungar vs John Strzemp
Stu Ungar was an accomplished gin rummy player long before discovering poker, dropping out of school to pursue it professionally and becoming one of the greatest in history. However, his penchant for sports and track betting ended up destroying much of his fortune.
At the start of the final table, Stu Ungar had amassed an overwhelming chip lead – more than double his nearest opponent’s chip count. His incredible game included showing off reads and making daring plays which defied logic.
Ungar faced off against John Strzemp, a casino executive and World Series of Poker bracelet winner, with A 8 against Strzemp’s A 2. On a pot-sized bet of 120,000 from Strzemp, Ungar raised and contemplated calling. Finally deciding to do so when deuces came on the river it resulted in Ungar winning his third world championship title.
2. Chris Moneymaker vs Phil Ivey
15 years ago, Tennessee accountant Chris Moneymaker made history when he won the World Series of Poker main event and set off a poker revolution. A mere amateur, Moneymaker beat professional opponents such as Sam Farha and Phil Hellmuth to secure victory and walk away with $2.5 million as his winnings.
Although Moneymaker had tremendous success winning the WSOP, he did experience some disappointment along the way – most notably an incident against Phil Ivey which could have cost him his crown.
Ivey described this hand as one of his most agonizing defeats during an interview with Barry Greenstein. Moneymaker opened for 70,000 early position against Ivey’s A Q, the flop was Q 6 9 giving Moneymaker trip queens, prompting Ivey to call the bet, then on the turn an A fell and his full house was gone; all he needed on the river to save it all was an additional six, queen or ace to complete it all.
3. Mansour vs Hans
As is sometimes the case at tournaments like the WSOP, major bad beats are not unusual – and this was perhaps one of the worst ever seen at this event.
Matt Affleck and Jonathan Duhamel had an estimated total pot of 42 Million Tournament Chips between them when Affleck got the upper hand with pocket aces against Duhamel’s pocket jacks on the flop; Affleck got lucky by getting two sixes on this card which gave him an edge in this particular pot.
But then the river turned out to be a 10, which meant that if Duhamel hit his straight, he’d win the entire pot and walk away with more than $15 Million in earnings.
This was a monumental surprise in poker history. It shows just how unpredictable life in poker can be; even top players don’t always enjoy success at final tables despite all their skill. That is what makes poker unique; its appeal lies equally in skill as luck.
4. Joe Cada vs Benny Binion
The World Series of Poker has seen phenomenal growth since its introduction. No longer restricted to high-stakes game enthusiasts, it now attracts competitors from across the world and major corporations are joining to ride its success – beer companies, car makers and more have signed on as sponsors of this historic tournament.
One of the greatest upsets ever at the World Series of Poker occurred when Joe Cada won its main event in 2009. A 21-year old Michigan native at that time, Joe became youngest winner ever at that point. What made his win even more astounding was an unlikely bad beat: Peter Eastgate had an all-in bet of over $7 Million against Joe’s pocket nines; when Peter Eastgate all-in bet hit on an eight-pair flop instead he suffered one of poker history’s most stunning defeats ever witnessed at any table before it. His defeat became one of most dramatic and notable bad beat ever witnessed at any poker table!