The Most Spectacular Final Table Hand in WSOP Event 2

2012 WSOP Champion @Greg Merson made the final table in the first open event ($5000 NLHE) of this summer series and, in his own words, "ran sick hot to get 4 handed'. The most spectacular run-good example was Hand 34, when he hit his one-outer and made quads on the turn!

It started as a cooler...

With blinds at 12K/24K, Merson open raised to 55,000 from UTG+1 and Nguyen reraised to 155,000 from BB.

Then it went from bad to worse, with flopped set over set:

Nguyen bets 250,000 into the 354,000 pot, and Merson calls.

The turn lived up to its name with an improbable turn of events as Merson hit his one-outer and made quads:

Nguyen' goes all in. Merson snap calls.

Merson: "I didn't even want to call the 3-bet, knew he was good."

So it went, from set over set to full house vs quads. The miracle A♦ did not show and Nguyen left the final table in 8th place... 

All screenshots are from the WSOP live stream and you will soon be able to watch the replay here:

http://www.wsop.com/videos/?vcat=1

World Series of Poker - Official Tournament Coverage and Resultswww.wsop.com

More interesting hands coming soon for our #WSOP2015 #PokerHand collection!

Sick Hand: Viktor Blom's Flopped Set Flushed Out by the River

France's @Xavier Detournel was not a popular man with either the fans watching the live stream or the @Unibet Open organizers when he won this big pot and crippled the biggest star of the event - @Viktor "isildur1" Blom!..  But the poker gods were on his side of the river in this #PokerHand on Day 1B in the #UnibetLondon @Aspers Casino - Westfield Stratford City:

Subscribe to the YouTube Unibet Open Channel & watch news, interviews and full live streams!

It's not much of a consolation, but Viktor Blom was on the right bank of the river in this hand, when he got his flush against @Neil Channing's straight in the #GoldenCashGame  

RKH: Golden Cash Game Superstar Viktor Blom Out with Bad Beat on First Night

RKH: Clash of the Vikings in Golden Cash Game and UNhappy Ending for Viktor Blom

Unibet Open live coverage: London 2014

Clash of the Vikings in Golden Cash Game and UNhappy Ending for Viktor Blom

It's Day 3 in the @Unibet Open celebratory #GoldenCashGame. After a bad beat on Day 1 vs @Arto Loikkanen and his AK, here's @Viktor "isildur1" Blom taking another AK blow with a smile, this time against fellow countryman @Mikael Norinder (SE) :

#PokerHand #badbeat

Golden Cash Game Superstar Viktor Blom Out with Bad Beat on First Night

The RankingHero AspersCastle Mission Step by Step with Micke Norinder

Golden Cash Game Superstar Viktor Blom Out with Bad Beat on First Night

@Viktor "isildur1" Blom did not disappoint his numerous fans watching the live stream last night and treated us to lots of action, with quite a few bold moves and bluffs. It all seemed to be going his way for a long time and he doubled his initial £5,000 buy-in, not without the help of rivered straights and flushes. Viktor was in for some coolers, however, and the eventual AA bad beat vs. @Arto Loikkanen took him out for the night. Hopefully, he'll be back with a vengeance on Day 2!

High & Low Viktor Blom Moments from the Unibet Golden Cash Game:Blom raises with straight draw on the turn, shoves when he gets his 2 on the river, and @Teddy Sheringham  prudently folds his AK with a board of 8-A-7-3-2.

Rivered flush for Blom versus @Neil Channing who made a reluctant call with his straight.

@Vera Kelleher calls his bluff

Watch his last hand for the night in the #GoldenCashGame when Blom got his Aces cracked by @Arto Loikkanen's AK:

#PokerHand #badbeat 

Find out how Viktor Blom can help you win 3% of @Nicolas Levi's net profit from Day 2 in the #GoldenCashGame : Gold Rush, Loads of Action, and RankingHero in the Spotlight in Golden Cash Game 

Cash Game Live Streaming:

Monday 24th November: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahIABz3vN2E

Tuesday 25th November: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w86MTZbH7I

Wednesday 26th November: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAtnxO2yV8I

General Info:

Dates: Monday 24th – Wednesday 26th November

Times: 16:00 – 02:00 (UK time)

Venue: Aspers Casino, Stratford

Stakes: £5/£10; min buy-in £1,000, no maximum buy-in and unlimited reloads

Why the Poker World Would End Without Bad Beats

We've all been there and done that, yet the bad beats of others never seem to lose their hold over us. What is so fascinating about them? 

1. They are reassuring: 'it happens to the best of us"

2. They reinforce the all-mighty mantra of poker: variance!

3. They help us learn table manners from good and bad examples of bad beat reactions

4. They keep the industry alive: behind every bad beat there is a lucky fish that will keep depositing and feeding the sharks :)

So maybe we can't live with them, but the industry can't live without them - bad beats are that unpredictable, exciting (and at times so frustrating!) luck element that keeps both poker addicts and occasional recreational players in the game. But they are also the key to the hearts of TV producers and mainstream media. Without bad beats, the poker world could never be as we know it and we'd be all be playing bingo or chess, depending on whether we get our kick out of luck or skill :) 

Cruel as it may be, sometimes one feels the bad beat is well-deserved...

Can you even imagine busting out of a tournament with quad Aces?...

When bad beats are made even worse by the highest stakes in live tournament poker: @Connor Drinan out with AA vs AA in The Big One for One Drop 2014:

Watch Ladouceur's face when the flop brings the horrible premonition of a bad beat on the verge of the biggest final table in poker - @Marc-Andre Ladouceur goes out in 13th place in WSOP 2012 Main Event to the visible dismay (and sincere sympathy) of @Andras Koroknai :

#PokerHand #badbeat 

Will Tonking Sends Back-to-Back November Niner Mark Newhouse Into Poker History

A shocking moment from the WSOP 2014 Main Event: the first and only back-to-back November Niner, @Mark Newhouse, is the first to bust the final table for the second year in a row. He already had a special page in poker history dedicated to his unique achievement but after the second ninth place elimination Newhouse deserves at least a chapter...

Here is how the hand unfolded:

Mark Newhouse explains:

#NovemberNine #WSOP2014 #PokerHand 

More on RankingHero:

World of Poker in Awe of Newhouse for Achieving Mission Impossible

Will Tonking: "I kept my promise but I didn't reach my goal"

2014 November Niner Will Tonking Bio and Poker Profile

Back-to-Back November Niner Mark Newhouse Bio and Poker Profile

PocketFives:

Poker coach Alex Fitzgerald: Analyzing Mark Newhouse's WSOP Main Event Bust-Out Hand

November Nine Moments from Day 7, WSOP 2014

Watch the November Nine in action as the final table bubble approaches on Day 7! 

@Felix Vincent Stephensen:

@Jorryt Van Hoof :

@William Pappaconstantinou and @William Tonking :

#NovemberNine #WSOP2014 #PokerHand 

November Nine Foster Moments: "Never Is Easy!"

2014 November Niner Will Tonking Bio and Poker Profile

2014 November Niner Billy Pappas Bio and Poker Profile

2014 November Niner Jorryt van Hoof Bio and Poker Profile

Norway's First November Niner Felix Stephensen Bio & Poker Profile