Chance Kornuth Plays Monster 69-Hour Session

Back in April, Chance Kornuth tweeted about a monster 69-hour session that saw him turn a $5,000 buy-in into a $517k win in his very first experience playing a private cash game where recreational players firing stacks left and right without a care in the world.

This was 13 years ago, even before Black Friday and when the young American was still a fresh-faced 24-year-old.

Chance Kornuth Crushes VIP Private Game for $517K

Most poker players of that age who have tasted success are fearless and ready to take on anybody at the tables, but nothing could have prepared Kornuth for what was about to happen.

“Imagine a 24 year old walking into a $4M dollar penthouse with huge TVs blanketing every wall, chefs preparing top notch food and beautiful masseuses giving rich business guys massages as they splashed chips around a poker table… I thought that I had died and gone to heaven!”

He had never played in a private game before and although the blinds were a modest $25/$50, things were about to heat up pretty quickly.

But it was also exciting. The potential for a huge win grew as the stacks did. Three all-ins in the first orbit and the sight of players reloading $10k clips like it was a $200NL game had Kornuth salivating at what might be.

“About 6 hours in, stacks started to get deeper so I sneakily took a few add ons so the players didn’t realize I wanted to cover them. My total buy in and stack were both $20,000 now. People were starting to lose sports bets, or get stuck, and stacks were really starting to fly!”

Only 12 hours into the session and Chance Kornuth was up to $100k before running an overoptimistic bluff for $20k which got called. Then it was time to step outside to reset his mind and boy did that work.

“I came back feeling fantastic and went on probably the biggest heater of my life. The next 24 hours were a blur - At least 20 cups of coffee, 5 McDonald's McGriddles and a lot of big pots pushed in my direction.”

After a full day grinding, Kornuth was sitting with a whopping $200k stack in front of him—but there was still more to come.

The American said he was dying to sleep but there was no way he could leave a game that was that good.

After another day of energy drinks and McDonalds, the group finally called it quits after Kornuth pulled off a miracle one-outer sending his opponent into an angry tirade.

“After 69 hours straight of PLO on zero sleep while only putting $1.99 breakfast sandwiches and heavily caffeinated beverages in my body, the room was moving as if I was on a small ship.
“I cashed out $517,000 after the dust settled. To this day, it is still my biggest cash game win ever and I’ll never forget ‘the 69 hour session’.”

69 hours straight is impressive, for sure, but it’s far from the longest poker sessions we’ve seen in the past.

Longest Poker Sessions in History

Zach Gensler: In November 2021, Zach Gensler broke the Guinness World Record for the longest poker session in history by playing for 124 hours straight. Gensler, a painter from Moorhead, Missouri, started playing at 3 pm on October 27, 2021, and finished at 7 pm on November 1, 2021. He had prepared for this attempt for years, even completing an 80-hour training session at the Aria in 2019.


Phil Laak: Before Gensler's attempt, Phil "The Unabomber" Laak held the Guinness World Record for the longest poker session. In June 2010, Laak played poker continuously for 115 hours at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He took a four-minute break every hour to stretch, sharpen his mind, and use the bathroom or shower.