The first day of October has produced the first Bad Beat Jackpot of the Fall!  In the early hours of the morning on October 1, the jackpot hand was dealt at a $10/$25 auto straddle table. It started with a raise from the button to $325 from Naspie W. Malibu, a well-known high stakes player, put in a raise to $925 from the small blind. The action folded around to Williams who made the call.  Following the flop, Malibu checked and Williams put out a bet of $500, which Malibu called. On the turn, Malibu took the same line with a check-call, calling Williams’ $1,500 bet. And once again on the river, Malibu checked and Williams made a hefty bet, this time for $3,900. But there was no calling on this street. After a little while in the tank, Malibu raised all in for roughly $10,000, which was met with […]

The last day of summer will be a memorable one for a lucky group of PLO players, thanks to a $13K BBJ! It went down on table 13, which was playing 2/5 PLO, when the action started with a series of calls before a raise from the small blind in seat 8 made it $40 to go. The raise picked up four callers and led to a five-way pot. Flop: The pre-flop raiser led out with a pot-sized bet of $200. Prosper, in Seat 1, went over the top, raising to $587. Ludovick, in Seat 2, followed suit with an all-in raise of his own for $610. All this action chased the rest of the players from the pot, except for the pre-flop aggressor, who made the call.  The three players involved in this monster pot opted to run the turn and river twice, but the first run would be […]

The Omaha Bad Beat Jackpot was hit! Saturday night, eight lucky players shared $54,040. Let’s have a look at the breakdown. The $2/$2 Pot Limit Omaha game was held on table 15, and these events happened just after midnight. After three calls were made, the player on the button raised it to $10. Both blinds and all 3 limpers jumped in, creating a nice healthy pot of $60. All six participants checked the flop. Board on the turn: . Hum. Three checks were announced, followed by a $25 bet, which was called by two spots only – THE two spots. The river came the . Marc, the first caller on the turn, did not want to see that street checked around, and threw in a $125 bet. Hervé, the second caller on the turn, made it $300 to go. The third player thought: “Hey guys. Hiding much?” He mucked. An […]

As players have come to expect, major events at Playground seem to have a way of bringing out Bad Beat Jackpots. And this edition of the WSOP-C has lived up to that reputation by delivering the Bad Beat Jackpot! The fateful hand took place this morning on a 1/2 table. The action started with some folds from early position before three players limped in. But the limping was put to an end by Pierre-Luc Cote who bumped it up to $12 from the button.  Daniel Leddy, in the small blind, then put in a raise to $30. The raises chased a few players out of the pot before the action came back to the original limper, Peter Mott, who put in a raise of his own, coming over the top and moving all in for $191. Two more players got out of the way before Cote moved all in for […]

As the final installment in our mini-series on the most memorable, historic and influential moments in WSOP history, this article will give a quick rundown of how these top moments helped get the WSOP to where it is today, and of course, detail the most historic moment in WSOP history.    10 – Amarillo Slim Wins 1972 Main Event, Becomes First “Ambassador” of the Game The year 1972 marked a major step forward in the evolution of the World Series of Poker with the birth of the marketable poker professional. Thomas Austin Preston Jr., better known as “Amarillo Slim,” won the Main Event and used his newfound notoriety to pitch poker to the general public. The WSOP had made its first impression on mainstream America thanks to Preston. A CBS camera crew was present to film the event the following year and it has only grown in popularity since then. […]

In the first article in this series, we covered some of the most iconic moments and personalities of the WSOP. From the early days with Amarillo Slim, Johnny Moss and Doyle Brunson to Antonio Esfandiari’s historic win at the Big One for One Drop, poker has grown by leaps and bounds throughout the history of the WSOP. As part of the lead up to the WSOP-C Playground, which runs from August 18 to September 2, we will continue with our recap of the ten most memorable and influential moments in WSOP history with moments five through two. 5- Johnny Chan, the Master  The 1988 WSOP Main Event heads-up match has gone down in poker lore. Well known to poker players at the time, this moment was featured in the 1998 film Rounders, which immortalized it in popular culture. The fateful play that gave Chan the victory inspired some elements of the […]

Last night at 11:48PM, our Bad Beat Jackpot Omaha was hit! The Jackpot had grown to a nice $69,999, more than enough to have a significant impact on the evening of all players on the $2/$2 PLO table where it happened. The event took place on table 15, in the cashier section where most PLO games are played. Eight players were going at it straddle style, and this hand was no exception. The $5 straddle was called once before Danielle made it $20 to go. Nathaly was the first to call, and four other players did the same, creating a juicy pot of $120. Flop: Five players checked, but Nathaly couldn’t give the crowd a free card. She threw in a modest $30 bet, and the action was folded around to Danielle who made the call.  Turn: Both ladies checked, seemingly projecting weakness, but the observers were still hoping. The […]