Sickest Bad Beats in Poker History

These are the sickest bad beats in poker history: 20 hands verified with exact hole cards, board runouts, and equity percentages, from 1976 to 2026, across the WSOP, WPT, EPT, High Stakes Poker, and Hustler Casino Live.

Motoyuki Mabuchi's quad aces cracked by a royal flush at the 2008 WSOP. Bryce Yockey holding a 99.84% favorite and watching three draw cards produce the only combination that beats him. Scott Montgomery turning trip aces at the 2008 Main Event final table only for the single remaining six in the deck to spike on the river.

Connor Drinan losing $1 million when his pocket aces ran into pocket aces and a runner-runner flush finished the hand. Go Kato's ace-king chopping against ace-king until an all-hearts flop left him drawing dead at the 2026 WSOP. These are not routine suck-outs: these are the worst bad beats ever recorded in poker.

This page covers the most brutal bad beats in poker history: WSOP final tables, WPT championships, EPT super high rollers, High Stakes Poker, and Hustler Casino Live. Every entry includes verified hole cards, exact board runouts, and the equity percentage at the moment everything fell apart.

Doyle Brunson's Runner-Runner 10-2 vs Jesse Alto (1976)

Heads-up for the 1976 title with $220,000 on the line, Doyle Brunson needed runner-runner to survive against Jesse Alto's top two pair.

He repeated the trick the following year, winning the 1977 final hand with 10-2 again against Gary “Bones” Berland. The “Doyle Brunson hand” was born: poker's most famous junk holding.

Bobby Hoff's Aces Cracked by a 7-6 Gutshot (1979)

After a 10-hour heads-up battle from a field of 54 entrants, Bobby “The Wizard” Hoff held pocket aces and amateur Hal Fowler held 7-6 offsuit. Hoff fired 40,000 (half his remaining stack) on the flop and Fowler chased.

Fowler took the $270,000 title, becoming the first amateur to win the WSOP Main Event.

T.J. Cloutier's Ace-Queen vs Chris Ferguson's Ace-Nine (2000)

Heads-up for the 2000 title in front of a record 512-player field, T.J. Cloutier four-bet all-in and Chris Ferguson tanked for five minutes before calling as a 70% underdog.

Ferguson collected $1,500,000, the largest prize in WSOP history at the time.

Cloutier finished in the top five of the Main Event four times (runner-up in 1985, 5th in 1988, 3rd in 1998, and runner-up in 2000). He won six WSOP bracelets but never the Main Event. The 2000 loss remains the defining “greatest player to never win it” moment in poker history.

Moneymaker Cracks Ivey's Full House on the Final-Table Bubble (2003)

With 10 players remaining and the final table one elimination away, Phil Ivey and Chris Moneymaker played the most consequential bad beat in poker history.

Ivey collected $82,000. Moneymaker went on to win the title for $2,500,000 from a field of 839 entries.

No other bad beat in poker history changed the game's trajectory more: the Main Event field jumped from 839 to 2,576 the following year and reached 8,773 by 2006. If Ivey's full house holds, the Moneymaker story never happens and the poker boom may never ignite. For the full context of how one $86 satellite reshaped the entire industry, see our ranking of the most influential people in poker history.

Jennifer Harman's Full House Falls to a One-Outer Straight Flush (2005)

On Day 1 of the 2005 Main Event from a field of 5,619 players, Jennifer Harman built a hand that only one card in the entire deck could beat.

Zeidman tanked before calling Harman's all-in, producing one of the most infamous slowrolls in WSOP history.

Zeidman was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison in October 2025 for wire fraud connected to a sports handicapping scam, a story covered in our breakdown of the top poker cheating scandals.

Danny Nguyen's Running Sevens vs Szentkuti (WPT Bay 101, 2005)

At the Season 3 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star, poker dealer Danny Nguyen was short-stacked with four players left from a field of 438. He shoved and Shandor Szentkuti called with the dominating hand.

Commentator and Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton told viewers Nguyen had roughly a 0.5% chance. The running sevens landed and Nguyen went on to win the title for $1,025,000, personally eliminating all five of his final-table opponents.

Nam Le's Aces Cracked by Ivey's Set of Threes (WPT L.A. Poker Classic, 2008)

At the Season 6 WPT L.A. Poker Classic final table, Nam Le got his chips in with pocket aces against Phil Ivey's pocket threes. Le was a ~92% favorite on the flop and one card away from taking the chip lead.

Le finished 4th for $411,770. Ivey rode the momentum to his first and only WPT title, collecting $1,596,100.

Quad Aces vs Royal Flush: Mabuchi vs Phillips (2008)

On Day 1 of the 2008 Main Event from a field of 6,844 players, the board read A♥ 9♣ Q♦ 10♦ A♦ when Motoyuki Mabuchi checked and Justin Phillips bet. Mabuchi announced “Gamble!” and splashed in his chips. Phillips snap-called.

Phillips turned over K♦J♦ for a royal flush. Mabuchi showed A♣A♠ for quad aces, and the table erupted. Ray Romano, seated two spots away, watched the entire hand unfold live.

Montgomery's Trip Aces Fall to the Only Six Left in the Deck (2008)

At the 2008 Main Event final table, short-stacked Scott Montgomery shoved and Peter Eastgate called. The broadcast cameras had already shown that another player folded a six earlier in the hand.

Montgomery collected $3,096,768 for 5th place. Eastgate rode that card to the title, winning $9,152,416 and becoming the youngest Main Event champion at age 22.

Candio's 7-5 Suited Cracks Aces with a Runner-Runner Straight (2010)

With 19 players left in the 2010 Main Event, Filippo Candio called Joseph Cheong's three-bet. Cheong shoved on the flop and Candio called off his remaining 12.1 million chips, then walked away and put his head on the rail.

Candio erupted, sprinting around the Amazon Room while a stunned Cheong watched his chip lead disappear. Candio finished 4th for $3,092,545.

Aces vs Aces: Drinan Loses $1 Million to a Runner-Runner Flush (2014)

In the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop (a separate WSOP championship event) with 19 players left, Connor Drinan and Cary Katz got all 4,970,000 chips into the middle after a preflop raising war. The guaranteed chop turned into a nightmare.

Drinan sat motionless while the Amazon Room erupted around him.

“A $1 million buy-in wiped out in aces versus aces.”
Norman Chad, ESPN broadcast

Drinan had entered through a $25,000 satellite, turning a $25K investment into a shot at $15,306,668. He was eliminated just short of the money. Katz min-cashed in 8th for $1,306,607 and Dan Colman won the title.

Reichardt's Kings Full Destroyed by Runner-Runner Aces (EPT Barcelona, 2014)

At the EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller, Sven Reichardt got his stack in with pocket kings against Olivier Busquet's ace-deuce suited. The flop gave Reichardt kings full and made him a >99% favorite. Busquet needed perfect cards twice.

The runner-runner miracle kept Busquet alive. He went on to win the event for €896,434 after a heads-up deal with Daniel Colman.

Selbst's Set Runs Into Quads on Her Birthday (2017)

On Day 1b, Level 1 of the 2017 Main Event, Vanessa Selbst held A♠A♦ and Gaelle Baumann held 7♥7♦. The flop gave both players a set. The turn brought the third seven, giving Baumann quad sevens while improving Selbst to aces full.

Selbst check-raised the turn, then fired a massive overbet on the river. Baumann shoved. Selbst agonized, talking through Baumann's range out loud before calling.

“I almost folded. I wanted to fold. I really did.”
Vanessa Selbst, as she stood up from the table

As she collected her things, Selbst looked back at the table one last time: “What a gift.” It was her birthday. The three-time bracelet winner was eliminated from the Main Event in the first level of play, and the hand became one of the most analyzed coolers in poker training content.

Gong's Pocket Aces Four-Flushed in a Three-Way All-In (WPT Montreal, 2018)

At the WPT Montreal final table, all four aces were in play in a three-way all-in. Jack Gong held A♥A♣, Kauvsegan Ehamparam had A♠K♥, and Ema Zajmovic held A♦Q♠. Gong was an 87% favorite preflop and ~94% on the flop.

The board ran out four spades. Gong held no spade and was eliminated. Ehamparam's A♠ made the ace-high flush for the main pot, while Zajmovic's Q♠ won the side pot with a queen-high flush.

Yockey: The 99.84% Favorite Who Lost (2019)

In the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, a mixed-game event considered the most prestigious title outside the Main Event, four players remained when Bryce Yockey was dealt a pat 7-6-4-3-2 in 2-7 Triple Draw. That is the second-best possible hand in the game, a holding that occurs roughly once every 2,458 deals.

Josh Arieh needed to draw three times to produce the only combination that could beat him: a perfect wheel (7-5-4-3-2). His path required making a straight first, breaking it, and then drawing to the exact low he needed. Yockey was a confirmed 99.843% favorite.

Arieh drew perfectly all three times. The table went silent.

“This is the worst beat I've ever seen in a televised tournament. I want to start crying right now.”
Nick Schulman, on commentary

Daniel Negreanu later called it “the worst bad beat ever recorded in the history of poker.” Yockey collected $325,989 for 4th place while Phil Hui went on to win the title for $1,099,311.

Ribouchon's Sevens Full Crushed by One-Outer Quad Fives (EPT Prague, 2019)

On Day 1 of the EPT Prague Main Event, three players got all-in on the river with monster hands. Florian Ribouchon held sevens full and was a >99% favorite on the turn. Lukasz Grossmann needed the only five left in the deck.

PokerNews described the result as a “1,000-to-1 shot.” The three-way pot included a third player, Antoine Vranken, who held sixes full and also lost to the quads.

Negreanu's Full House Rivered by Kings at the WPT World Championship (2022)

At the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, Daniel Negreanu flopped bottom set and turned a full house against Lucas Foster's pocket kings. Negreanu was a ~90% favorite on the flop and all-in on the turn with deuces full. Foster had four outs.

Negreanu was eliminated 17th for $176,200 in a tournament with a $4,136,000 first prize. The 2,960-entry field was one of the largest in WPT history.

Seidel's One-Outer Straight Flush Ends a Bracelet Bid (2024)

In Event #16, the $5,000 8-Handed NLH, 21 players remained from a field of 823 when Erik Seidel and Sami Bechahed saw a flop that would end in the most brutal one-outer of the 2024 WSOP.

The Poker Hall of Famer collected $26,007 for 21st place, denied what would have been his 11th bracelet.

“I just got the luckiest I've ever been in my life.”
Sami Bechahed, after rivering a one-outer straight flush against Erik Seidel

Suvarna's Runner-Runner Kings Full vs Robl's Trip Fours (HSP 2024)

In Season 12 of High Stakes Poker, Andrew Robl raised the straddle and Santhosh Suvarna three-bet. Robl flopped trip fours and was a ~95% favorite with two cards to come.

Robl overbet $300,000 on the river and Suvarna shoved for $395,000 with kings full. Robl called. The $992,000 pot was the largest single-winner result in High Stakes Poker's 12-season history at the time, since surpassed by Alan Keating in Season 14 and Suvarna himself in Season 15.

For more on the largest pots in televised poker, see our ranking of the biggest poker cash game pots of all time.

Go Kato's AK vs AK: The All-Hearts Freeroll (2026)

On Day 6 of the 2026 WSOP Main Event at blinds of 30,000/60,000, Wesley Fei opened, Lauri Saaskilahti three-bet to 360,000 from the cutoff, and Go Kato four-bet to 760,000 on the button. Fei folded. Saaskilahti shoved and Kato called all-in for 3,200,000.

Both turned over ace-king. Fei muttered “Boring” as a guaranteed chop seemed inevitable.

Kato smiled, stood, and shook hands. Fei told him afterward: “You should have fake tanked, 10 minutes.” Ali Ayub said what everyone was thinking: “Why do we play this game? I don't even like seeing that happen to other people.”