ShareIt’s probably the most discussed “what if...” possibility in poker – how would you react with aces or kings on the very first hand of the World Series of Poker Main Event? At least two players answered that question for real this week, and it naturally led to a speedy exit for at least one of them from the 2023 Vegas biggie...
The man behind the camera, Scott Fitzhugh, tweeted out the action that led to the dramatic first hand showdown:
“So I missed this but AA was UTG+1 , UTG+2/MP had QQ in this hand..."
“Action went UTG 600, UTG+1 call, cut off 15,000… possibly w misclick... I thought so table did not, UTG makes it 41,600 and KK jams.”
Fitzhugh also revealed: “Oh yea I had 98dd on the button...,” which of course would have won the hand but, perhaps like KK, should never be involved in such a scenario so early on in such a prestigious event.
Poker fans have debated what to do in such a scenario since time immemorial, the prospect of the quickest double-up, or the earliest of baths, dividing opinion.
With a seat to the Main Event costing $10,000, and often number one on the bucket list of poker players the world over, the idea of getting stacked with KK is inconceivable to most.
Even getting it in good pre-flop with AA is arguable on the very first hand of such a big event (with no rebuy, so infamy and a year’s wait is all you have to waiting for you!) although if you were offered an 81% shot any other time you’d likely snap it off quicker than you can say “all-in and call!”
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The filmed aces over kings this week wasn’t the only time it happened in the four starting flights this week, and although it wasn’t on the very first hand, a painful and almost unbelievable double-trouble version had one player in tears.
Israeli player Idan the One was playing the opening flight of this year’s Main Event but ran into Portuguese player Ruben Correia’s pocket aces - not once but twice!
Correia’s aces held up first time around, and then he got them again, this time raising the cutoff against two limpers.
As reported, “with the button calling, it was Idan who figured lightning couldn’t possibly strike twice and threw out a three-bet.”
Two folds followed and when Correia four-bet it was Idan gobsmacked when he found himself sitting with kings against aces twice in one session.
Facing an 81% chance of busting, the kings failed to improve and a tearful second level exit saw “Idan” spend a full hour being consoled on the casino floor.
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Last year’s day 1b of the ME saw Dennis Brand bust just 15 minutes into play, all the chips in on the flop against Marc Goone, a Twitch streamer and cash game player...
Goone: A♣ A♦
Brand: K♦ K♠
Flop: 5♦ 6♦ 8♥
Turn: 8♠
River: 4♦
Again, the aces won out and again the kings were sent packing before many had even taken their seats, but the 19% kings do occasionally have their moment in the sun (well, 19% of the time 😉) as Max Steinberg painfully revealed back in 2018.
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It doesn’t have to be aces versus kings that sees players vying for quickest exit of the year, as Mikolaj Zawadski found out to his cost yesterday.
All the chips went in on the river, Zawadski finally calling Jamie Smith’s all-in only to find out he’d lost flopped set over set for his Main Event life on the very first hand...
Mikolaj Zawadski: 8♥ 8♦
Jamie Smith: Q♥ Q♦
Flop: Q♣ 8♠ 2♠
Turn: 9♦
River: 5♥
Painful as it gets and the players who bust right off the bat will likely be rueing their choices for the next year at least, if not for a lifetime.
Let us know in the comments on our social media how you would respond to being in the positions above!
