A bad beat in poker is losing a hand you were a big favourite to win, usually because your opponent catches one of the few cards that could save them. Every player collects a few. The eight below stand out because they happened on poker's biggest stages, with the cameras rolling and the odds heavily one way.
1. Matt Affleck's Aces Fall to Jonathan Duhamel (2010 WSOP Main Event)
Late in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, with 15 players left and the final table in sight, Matt Affleck picked up pocket Aces on the button against Jonathan Duhamel's pocket Jacks. There were already 8.45 million chips in the middle before the flop.
The flop came 10-9-7 rainbow. It gave Duhamel a gutshot straight draw, but Affleck was still a 73% favourite. He bet 5 million and Duhamel called. A Queen on the turn gave Duhamel an open-ended straight draw to go with his pair, and Affleck moved all in as a 79% favourite. Duhamel called, needing an 8, a King or one of the two remaining Jacks.
The 8 hit the river. Affleck left in 15th place for $500,165, visibly in tears, while Duhamel took the chip lead and went on to win the Main Event and $8,944,138. Few bad beats have had a bigger say in who won poker's most famous title.
2. Phil Laak Runs It Twice and Loses Both Times
Phil "The Unabomber" Laak picked up A♣K♣ in a televised cash game, and recreational player Avi Freedman held pocket 10s. The flop came K-9-2, giving Laak top pair with the best kicker, and Freedman moved all in anyway. Laak called with $14,000 in the pot, and the players agreed to run it twice.
Basic poker probability made Laak a heavy favourite in each run. Freedman had two outs in the first, the two remaining 10s, and one landed on the turn. The second run gave Laak the chance to chop the pot, since only the last 10 in the deck could beat him. It came.
The chance of Freedman hitting both runs was well under 1%, which makes this one of the most improbable hands ever filmed. The commentator summed it up: that was all the luck Freedman would get for his entire life.
3. Danny Nguyen Hits Running 7s (2005 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star)
The World Poker Tour ranks this hand as the worst bad beat in its history. Four-handed at the final table and on a short stack, Danny Nguyen moved all in with A♦7♦. Shandor Szentkuti called with A♠K♣ and Gus Hansen folded.
The 5♥K♥5♦ flop gave Szentkuti two pair and a better than 99% chance to win. Nguyen's only way out was running 7s, roughly a 0.3% shot. The 7♣ on the turn left him with two outs, and the 7♠ on the river gave him a full house, which sits above two pair in the poker hand rankings. The crowd went into a frenzy.
The pot rebuilt Nguyen's stack and he went on to win the event for just over $1 million. Szentkuti, who had looked set to take control of the final table, finished fourth for $280,000.
4. Mike Matusow's Main Event Ends in Tears (2004 WSOP)
Three years after finishing sixth in the 2001 Main Event, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow was on another deep run in 2004. Eventual champion Greg Raymer raised with pocket 8s, Ed Foster re-raised with Ace-Queen, and Matusow moved all in for his last chips with Ace-King. Raymer folded and Foster called.
Matusow was roughly a 3-to-1 favourite preflop and still ahead with one card to come. Then the Q♦ landed on the river. Matusow, who has never hidden his emotions at the table, wept as his Main Event ended in 87th place for $20,000. He later called that run some of the best poker he'd ever played.
He got a measure of redemption a year later, finishing ninth in the 2005 Main Event for $1 million.
5. Jean-Robert Bellande Gets Rivered by a Gutshot (2008 WSOP Main Event)
Jean-Robert Bellande came into the late stages of the 2008 Main Event chasing his first cash in the event. He'd locked it up and was aiming much higher when Sarkis Akopyan raised from early position with 10♣9♠. Bellande moved all in with A♠Q♥, and Akopyan called.
The A♣2♦8♥ flop gave Bellande top pair and a 94% chance to win. The 6♠ on the turn opened a gutshot for Akopyan, leaving him needing one of the four 7s. The 7♠ came on the river and completed his straight. Bellande, who'd told the table he rarely won those spots, was out in 442nd place for $27,020.
He kept coming back, cashing the Main Event again in 2010 (78th), 2011 (65th for $108,412) and 2019 (415th for $30,780).
6. Alex Foxen's Nines Fall to Phil Hellmuth's Queen-Four (2022 U.S. Poker Open)
This bad beat belongs to Alex Foxen, even if Phil Hellmuth made it famous. Five-handed at the final table of a $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2022 PokerGO U.S. Poker Open, with blinds at 30,000-60,000 and a 60,000 big blind ante, Foxen raised to 125,000 on the button with 9♠9♦. Hellmuth re-raised to 350,000 from the big blind with Q♦4♥, and Foxen, who had him covered, moved all in.
After a long think, Hellmuth called off his 890,000 chips, saying "I guess I better play to win." Foxen was a 71% favourite. A Queen hit the flop, another landed on the river, and Hellmuth scooped a pot of 1.9 million chips.
PokerGO later labelled it the worst poker hand Hellmuth ever played. The Poker Brat rode the chips to second place for $315,000, behind Erik Seidel, who took the title and $472,500.
7. Joe Cada Loses to a Three-Outer (2023 WSOP Monster Stack)
Joe Cada, the 2009 Main Event champion, reached the final table of the $1,500 Monster Stack at the 2023 WSOP chasing a fifth bracelet. He moved all in for 30.1 million chips with A♣K♦, and Braxton Dunaway called with A♥J♣. Cada was a 72% favourite, and winning the pot would have put him among the top three stacks.
The 9♣7♦Q♣ flop kept him ahead, and the 6♣ on the turn added the nut flush draw. In poker terms, an out is any card that turns a losing hand into a winner, and Dunaway had three: the remaining Jacks. The J♥ arrived on the river.
Cada finished seventh for $186,149 and left the tournament area looking utterly dejected. Dunaway used the chips to win the event and $1.2 million.
8. Jose Aguilera Misses the Main Event Final Table (2023 WSOP)
Making the final table of world poker tournaments like the World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event is the dream for most players. Jose Aguilera was one spot away in 2023. Down to seven big blinds, the Spanish player faced a raise from Jan-Peter Jachtmann, looked down at A♠J♠ and moved all in. Jachtmann called with A♥8♥.
The 6♥4♦5♠ flop kept Aguilera ahead but gave Jachtmann a gutshot straight draw. The 7♦ on the turn filled it. Only an 8 on the river would have saved Aguilera with a chopped pot, and it didn't come.
Aguilera left in 10th place for $700,000, the most painful finish in the Main Event. Jachtmann went on to take fourth for $3 million.
Why These Bad Beats Still Sting
Every hand here has the same shape: the chips went in with one player well ahead, and the deck had the final word. The favourite still wins these spots far more often than not, which is exactly why the exceptions are remembered years later. If a beat of your own is still stinging, our guide to handling tilt covers how to keep it from shaping your next session.
