Every poker player dreams of glory at the World Series of Poker — but for some, the dream ends in disaster.
Bad beats affect everyone but only a select few get to feel the agony of truly terrible beats on the biggest stage of all, with millions of dollars on the line.
Here are some of the worst WSOP bad beats ever recorded — and a reminder that sometimes, the poker gods just don’t care.
1. Duhamel vs. Affleck – 2010 Main Event
If you’ve played poker long enough, you know that aces get cracked every now and again. It’s not fun at all, but we’ve all dealt with it. Well, what about getting your pocket aces cracked with 15 players remaining in the WSOP Main Event for a chip-leading pot?
For Matt Affleck, that nightmare became reality during the 2010 WSOP Main Event. In a hand that would go on to define the event, Affleck found himself all-in on the turn with pocket aces and nearly 80% equity to scoop a massive pot against Jonathan Duhamel’s pocket jacks. The river, however, gave Duhamel a straight and sent Affleck home in tears in 15th place with a consolation prize of $500,165.
Duhamel rode the momentum and won the 2010 WSOP Main Event, taking home the $8.9M first-place prize.
2. Ivey vs. Moneymaker – 2003 Main Event
It’s the hand that changed the trajectory of poker forever. Chris Moneymaker’s storied run through the 2003 WSOP Main Event contained many twists and turns, but perhaps none as consequential as the beat he laid on Phil Ivey to burst the final table bubble. With one card to come and only seven outs to make the winner, Moneymaker caught his ace and the rest… well, you know.
In a discussion with Barry Greenstein, Ivey recounted the moment and the emotions he felt. "I just remember that when that ace hit on the river, just feeling like the wind was knocked out of me," Ivey told Greenstein. "I remember saying to myself, 'Do not show how disappointed you are; do not let the world see this.’"
3. Seidel vs. Bechahed – 2024 $5,000 NLHE
It’s not a WSOP Main Event hand, but the beat Sami Bechahed laid on Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel deserves mention due to its sheer brutality.
In the late stages of a $5,000 NLH tournament, both players turned a flush – Seidel with the superior holding. When the chips went in on the turn, Bechahed had only one out to make the straight flush and send one of poker's legends home early.
Sometimes, those one-outers hit and Seidel felt a special kind of pain that day. Much to his credit, Seidel took the beat in stride and shook his opponent's hand before departing.
4. Selbst vs. Baumann – 2017 Main Event
When you have the top full house early on Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event and your opponent moves all-in on the river, how quickly do you make the call? Instantly, right? Well, Vanessa Selbst didn't. Somehow, she had the sense she was beat – and she was as Gaelle Baumann held all the sevens in the deck.
In spite of her gut instincts telling her to fold, Selbst had a second-best hand she couldn't relinquish and her Main Event run came to a crashing halt early on Day 1.
5. Phillips vs. Mabuchi – 2008 Main Event
It's the kind of beat you expect to see in a poorly-written poker film with no budget for on-set consultants – and with Ray Romano at the table, it almost was. When Justin Phillips and Motoyuki Mabuchi clashed in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, it was clear that both players had a big hand. When the river action went bet, raise, re-raise all-in, the entire table knew it was a cooler, but they probably didn't put the two players on quad aces and a royal flush.
6. Klein vs. Brown vs. Taylor – 2023 Main Event
In poker, the best hand doesn't always hold up. In this three-way clash between Bill Klein, Stuart Taylor, and Ryan Brown, neither the best hand nor the second-best hand held up. In a hand on Day 5 of the 2023 WSOP Main Event, all three players picked up premium holdings – Taylor's pocket aces against Klein's pocket kings against Brown's ace-queen – and the chips went in the middle.
Klein had both of his opponents covered and looked to be in great shape to eliminate two players as he made top set on the king-high flop. The deck had other ideas in mind, however, as Brown caught running cards to improve to the nut straight.
7. Drinan vs. Katz – 2014 Big One for One Drop
When you pick up pocket aces in a $1M buy-in, you're probably feeling good. When you then manage to get all the chips in the middle with your pocket aces, you're feeling even better. Sometimes, however, your opponent has the same hand. Sometimes, the board runs out four to a flush and you don't have the right suit.
For Connor Drinan, that's exactly what happened when he and Cary Katz clashed in the 2014 Big One for One Drop. It took them a while to get all the chips in the middle and, once they did, the drama of the situation fizzled somewhat as they both turned over the goods. When the dealer spread the flop, however, two hearts presented Katz with an improbable path to victory as he held the ace of hearts.
"If I lose like this, whatever," Drinan said to Katz as they awaited the turn card.
When the turn card brought a third heart, Katz's improbable path became a 1-in-5 possibility. As Drinan watched on, helpless to prevent his own demise, the dealer turned over the river card – another heart, ending Drinan's $1M run in brutal fashion.
8. Yockey vs. Arieh – 2019 Poker Players Championship
In 2019, Bryce Yockey and Josh Arieh squared off in a 2-7 Triple Draw hand at the final table of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship – one of the most prestigious events of the series. Yockey was dealt the second nuts to start the hand and had a 99.84% chance to win the hand, even with three draws still to come.
Unfortunately for him, Arieh's draws brought him the wheel – the best possible hand – and sent Yockey reeling as his tournament run came to an end in the most unlikely fashion.
"This is the worst beat I've ever seen in a televised tournament," said Nick Schulman from the commentary booth. "I want to start crying right now."
Featured image courtesy of PokerGO YouTube
