Poker has provided moments of incredible tension, with mind-bending sums of money up for grabs on the turn of a card.
And, with the stakes so high, it can all get a bit much for some people. As well as showcasing top drawer poker skills and players will balls of steel, the TV cameras have caught the biggest bust-ups, the funniest moments and the most controversial calls the game has ever seen. YouTube is also a fantastic archive of poker’s history, with footage going all the way back to the early days of the World Series of Poker in the early 70s. Join us as we count down the best 52 moments caught on camera. From the biggest hands at the most prestigious tournaments on earth, to Phil Hellmuth blowing up, getting stacked and showing the world his more sensitive side.
Biggest Bluffs
Miss Finland
Watch Miss Finland, aka Sara Chafak, take pro player Ronni Bardah to bluf ng school and back in this incredible hand from the TV show Shark Cage.
2016 PCA
Would you have the balls to talk it up and stick all your money in on a stonecold bluff deep in an EPT Main Event? Martin McCormick does in this epic hand.
Durrrr Challenge
Tom Dwan owns Sammy George’s soul when he bluff shoves 7-2 on the river for $400k.
Ivey v Jackson
One of the greatest poker hands of all times, with bluff after bluff, until Phil Ivey moves all-in
Booth v Ivey
One way to introduce yourself to High Stakes Poker is to bluff-shove the op with 2-4 against Ivey.
Haxton v Daut
Ike Haxton exploded onto the poker scene with this incredible bluff heads-up at the 2007 PCA.
Lex crushes souls
If you show a bluff it stands to reason you won’t do it again immediately – unless you’re Lex Veldhuis
Seven-bet bluff
Benny Spindler rewrites the poker rulebook with a seven-bet shove at the EPT with K-J.
LOL Donkaments
Shock and awe
It’s the hand that will follow Jennifer Tilly around to the end of her poker career. She ops top set and rivers a full house but checks it down, scared Patrik Antonius might have Kings. Cue a cascade of surprised and hilarious looks from the rest of the table.
You lost bro!
The WSOP Main Event is a tough tournament–you’ve got to be on the ball for long days and it’s easy to make a mistake, as David Balkin found out in 2012. One thing you shouldn’t do when the TV cameras are on you though, is go to your rail to celebrate – unless you’re 100% sure you’ve won the pot.
Dumb and dumber
One of the most ridiculous hands of all time. Chad Brown checks the nuts on the river and Kristy Gazes thinks it’s a split pot.
Best in the world?
Phil Ivey proves that he’s human after all when he mucks the winning hand at the WSOP. Does he realise his mistake immediately?
Controversy
Too many Red Bulls
That’s the kindest way to explain Hevad Khan’s ridiculous antics at the 2007 WSOP Main Event.
Slowroll #1
Don’t slowroll. But if you do, don’t slowroll Donnacha O’Dea on the nal table of the Irish Open.
Slowroll #2
Shaun Deeb thought it would be funny to slowroll Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow in this cash game. It didn’t take him long to realise he’d made a big mistake!
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