Poker is a game of skill, strategy and let’s face it, luck. But every once in a while, the chips fall and you’re victim to a massive poker fail. Even the most accomplished of players have a bad beat to their name. In such a precise, delicate game, it takes but a moment for the wrong cards to appear. Very dearly in some cases. Let’s revel in the doom of some of the game’s biggest bad beats.
• The Ballsy Bad Beat •
Phil Hellmuth vs Chris Ferguson
This insane head to head is one for the bad beat Hall of Fame.
“Poker brat” Phil Hellmuth goes up against Californian Chris Ferguson at the 2005 National Heads-Up Poker Championship. With 9% against Hellmuth’s 91% chance, you think you know how this one turns out. Spoiler alert, you dont. Just to give some background, L.A born Ferguson has won five World Series of Poker, whereas Hellmuth has recieved fourteen world series of poker bracelets.
Lesson: you can never predict just how the cards will fall.
• The Unwitting Bad Beat•
Daniel Negreanu vs. Marco Ruggeri
Canadian champ Daniel Negreanu faces a huge bad beat against 31-year-old Italian Marco Ruggeri. Positive thinking is great, but in some cases being too positive can be your downfall. This is one of those instances.
Facing each other at WSOP’s 2012 Main Event, Negreanu massively underestimated Ruggeri’s cards, and lets himself get carried down the mountain.
Fun fact, this 2012 event drew 6,598 entrants, drawing a whopping pot of $62,021,200.
• The Bold Bad Beat •
Max Heinzelmann vs. Shaun Deeb
German Max Heinzelmann beat the naysayers when he took on Shaun Deeb at WSOP’s 2011 Main Event. This bad beat was one of the most talked about events of the poker sphere of 2011. It was broadcasted on ESPN, letting all the viewers wonder what Deeb was thinking.
Raising against pocket aces. Think you know how this goes down? No, you don’t!
• The Mr. It’s A Sure Thing •
David Paredes vs. Carter Gill
The World Series of Poker had its 44th annual gathering in 2013, and it was truly a night no one will forget. At WSOP 2013 Main Event, Carter Gill taunts David Paredes with the immortal phrase, “All you need is a Queen!”. After the video went viral, one of the players had to live with the taunts on social media (rightfully so).
“Someone tell me how to make money off this”, the losing party said on Twitter. Turn lemons into lemonade?
You’ve never seen a face fall quite like this. Ultimate bad beat.
• The Too Close to Call •
Connor Drinan Vs. Cary Katz
“Save your money kid – you can’t win every pot.”
The Illinois native Connor Drinan suffered an unlucky fate in 2014. Some may even call it a poker player nightmare. Facing Cary Katz, the two both have pocket aces and a 96% tied chance of winning. So who came out on top? Some things seem so easy, until you fail.
Moral of the story, don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
If you enjoyed these clips, you’ll love the Biggest Bluffs in Poker!
