Dude Folds A $3.4 Million Hand Even Though He Had 4 Of A Kind
(NBC) -- The place is Las Vegas, at the World Series of Poker. It’s the first day of the “Big One for One Drop”, the record-setting $1 million buy-in pro-am tournament at Caesar’s. And if all that money on the table isn’t epic enough, we also have a moment straight from Casino Royale. In it, a corporate CEO named John Morgan quite possibly bluffed someone on a $3.4 million raise … even though that someone, Moscow businessman Mikhail Smirnov, was sitting tight with four eights. Yep, he folded on a multi-million hand while holding four-of-a-kind. Well-played, Mr. Bond. The blow-by-blow is here at WSOP.com, but suffice it to say that Smirnov had just raised Morgan $700,000 after getting his fourth eight on the flop (he held two eights down). Without much hesitation, Morgan then went all-in, shoving $3.4 million to the middle of the table. With a 7, 8 and Jack of spades showing, Smirnov was concerned that Morgan might have the 9 and 10 for a straight flush, which would have beaten his eights. So after some lengthy consideration, he folded.
This right here is why roulette is my casino game. I’ll play some blackjack occasionally but 90% of the time I’m at Foxwoods you’ll see me posted up playing red or black. Yeah I know it has the worst odds in the house, but no one can beat me at it. Like there’s no possible way anyone is better at roulette than anyone else. It’s all luck. Some hot shot corporate CEO can’t bully me into folding a multi-million dollar hand even though I have 4 of a kind and there’s like a 1 in 70,000 chance he can beat me. I mean it would be pretty easy to sit here and call Mikhail Smirnov the most cowardly poker player in history but when you’re looking to push 3.4 million dollars into the middle of the table it’s probably smart to have the best hand possible, not the third best.
PS – if I had any idea how to play, craps would be my casino game. Everyone over there always looks like they’re having the most fun in history.
Good call Feitelberg. Craps always looked really fun in those pain in the ass “The Wonder of it All” Foxwoods commercials that used to be on approximately every 13 seconds during Red Sox games.
i’m pretty sure you can play rock papper scissors at foxwoods
I had no idea Foxwoods had Penny Chips. You damn Jew
Craps is absolutely the most fun, because when you win everyone wins. It is pretty simple to learn after a couple rolls. I only black craps or roulette these days.
My buddy won 13 straight times in roulette going red or black on Friday. Unreal. I on the other hand lost the first 11 times I played roulette the first 9 times on red the last 2 on black.
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BTW feitelberg what do you mean he had the 3rd best hand? It was 7 8 K J 8. The only thing that could have beat him was 9 10 of spades.
craps always has the the most absurd characters in the casino
I have had luck at craps once in my life. Night before my buddy’s wedding, my other friend went on a 2 hour run and I went from $10 left out of my original $100 and walked away from the tabloe with $800. I probably could have made $80,000 if i knew what the fuck I was doing, but its still the most fun I’ve had.
That was 4 years ago, and I’m sure I have given all that money back, plus interest, in an attempt to relive that night.
Foxwoods is fucking horrible. Mohegan is better, and has way less indian shit there
Three of the best poker minds on the planet heard Smirnov’s logic and concluded there was more than a 50% chance he made the right fold.
forget roulette and just go spend your dough on a black hooker sitting at the bar
Nothing more frustrating on a Craps table then having someone throwing a string of numbers, then having a new player try to hop on the hot table -get chips, and make a bunch of stupid Prop bets, and generally slow the game down. It disrupts the flow of the game and inevitably a fucking 7 is rolled. I have almost seen fist-a-cuffs breakout because of improper Craps table etiquette. And for all you potential Craps players out there – Rule #1 is don’t fucking jump on the table in the middle of a fucking roll, no matter what is going on – you wait until the next shooter.
roulette used to be my go to game as well until i learned how to play craps. just go to the table and ask the guys there how the play. it’s a shitload of fun and everybody is usually on the same team..once in a while you’ll get assholes who bet against the table, but most of the time everybody is high fiving each other. this website is kind of helpful in getting you started: http://wizardofodds.com/craps
Took 80 bucks and turned it into 2700 in craps in 40 mins. Once the table gets hot… Its all over.
every table i’ve been at always has the miserable old guy playing the don’t pass with his life savings, and the black drug dealer playing the field .
teddykgb, are you also one of those douches who yells at people for hitting on the wrong numbers at blackjack? Fucking retarded logic, that somone breaks the flow, or stole your card. It’s all random luck. You don’t want to deal with the public, get your own douchey little backyard game going at your house.
But how much do you lose
I’d call. The CEO probably had A high flush and maybe 77788. I can’t imagine laying down 4 of a kind. Maybe that’s why I’m not a multi-millionaire though.
wildmanpete, are you one of those douches…
yes, you are…now go ahead call me old, you pansy
I used to love roulette until I manned up and headed to the craps table. It looks intimidating because of all the shit on the table, but it’s actually pretty simple. The dealers will help you out, and if the table gets hot, you’ll be making money all night.
Getting a decent meal at Foxwoods sucks. Mohegan Sun has better non gambling things to do. Sometimes you need a break for like 15-30 minutes while gambling… Mohegan is better for getting a bite to eat or just walking and sitting on a bench watching America kill itself slowly.
For the record that 3.4 million and 700k was in tournament chips not actual dollars. The bet did put Smimov all in for his tournament life. Granted it was a $1M buy in tournament, so the stakes were almost that high. But, it not as if he had raised him $3.4M and he just pussied out because of the stakes. Not too many people enter a $1M tournament if they are afraid to play high stakes poker.
All that said, it is clearly a crazy lay down to make.
I play poker on the regular at the casino would consider myself pretty good and profitable…Now if im in this position there is no way i fold 4 8s especially pocket 8s…There is a slim chance he had a straight flush and if he did so be it you beat my four of kind…i doubt he had it…Im sure we will see soon enough
by superdefjeff on July 3, 2012 at 11:15 am
Three of the best poker minds on the planet heard Smirnov’s logic and concluded there was more than a 50% chance he made the right fold.
Who are these 3 poker players?
A very well known pro was sitting at the table and called it “the craziest hand I’ve ever seen.” That’s saying alot, since he’s played millions of hands online and live.
As someone who’s played poker for the past 20 years, I can tell you that the fold was absoutely insane. It’s much more likely that the guy had J-J or maybe even 7-7 or K-K. Without knowing anything else, I’d say it was 60% J-J, 20% 7-7, 15% K-K, and maybe 5% 10s-9s.
Also, the guy who won the hand indirectly told everyone he didn’t have the straight flush by saying “i’ll never tell out of respect for my opponent”! Basically “I don’t want to embarass my opponent”. He was supposed to show his hand to the camera, so there should’t have been any mystery as to what he had in the first place.
And it was a $1 million buy-in tournament, not a cash game, so he couldn’t lose 3.4 million dollars, only his buy-in of 1 million.