Hand of the Week: 'It's destiny' – Lodge employee turns $400 into $65,382

Amanda Amy Alvarez Lodge Card Club Half Milly WPT Prime
Mo Afdhal
Posted on: October 6, 2025 08:24 PDT

In the game of poker, heart-warming moments are few and far between – which means that when they do arise it's important to take note and bask in the joy of others. With this in mind, PokerOrg's pick for Hand of the Week has to go to Amanda Amy Alvarez's tournament-winning flip in the WPT Prime Lodge Half Milly event. 

Alvarez, an employee of The Lodge Card Club in Austin, Texas, started the final table of the $400 buy-in Half Milly tournament with just two big blinds, but managed to spin her stack all the way to a $65,382 first-place finish. 

It was around 5:00AM local time when the final hand was dealt, but Alvarez's supporters were still in the building and quickly flooded the room to congratulate her on the win. 

'The best f**king feeling ever' 

It all came down to a classic flip – Alvarez's against her opponent's . With the title on the line, Alvarez needed to fade six cards to claim the victory, but the flop vaulted her opponent into the lead with top pair. Now, Alvarez needed to find one of the two remaining tens in the deck to seal the win – and she did just that as the dealer rolled over the turn. 

"Can you believe it?! It's destiny!" came the call from the commentary booth. 

It wasn't over yet as any spade on the river would result in a chopped pot, but the completed the board and Alvarez raised her hands in victory. After hugging it out with her opponent, Alvarez's rail of supporters came charging into the room to celebrate with her. 

"I get the trophy! That's what I wanted. I wanted one of those trophies so bad," Alvarez said. 

"It's like the best f**king feeling ever," Alvarez continued as she posed with the trophy. 

Featured image courtesy of The Lodge Card Club