Poker legend Phil Ivey nearly won another title to add to his already incredible resume, a high roller event in Sochi.
And it was thanks to a brutal bad beat for one of his opponents, although sometimes, you need a little bit of luck to win a tournament.
Let’s break down the hand and get to the drama: Ivey was dealt a pair of Aces and Sam Greenwood went in with King-8 of clubs. The flop was Ace of clubs, 8 of spades and Queen of clubs.
That gave Greenwood a flush draw and Ivey three Aces. At that point, Ivey (6.9 million chips) bet 200,000 and Greenwood (4.3 million) simply called, hoping for another club.
But the turn was the fourth Ace for Ivey, giving him quads and the winning hand at that point. Ivey smartly checks and Greenwood decided to take the free card.
And that free card was the Jack of clubs. Greenwood got his flush, a hand that would normally be HUGE. Instead, he was drawing dead before that card came out and didn’t know it.
You can guess what happened next: Ivey bet 400,000, Greenwood raised to 1.95 million, Ivey went all in and Greenwood called. Ooooooffff.
Ivey also won a big hand against Greenwood thanks to a10 on the flop earlier in the night:
Ivey eventually finished in second place to Wai Kin Yong
