High Card - When only one is enough
You have an Ace, a King, or even a lower card, but nothing more. Sound like a weak hand? Maybe, but let's not forget Chris Moneymaker's iconic bluff at the 2003 WSOP when he beat Sam Farha with absolutely nothing (just his guts), which started a poker revolution. Sometimes it's not what cards you hold, but how you play them.
Pair - Small Cards, Big Decisions
Remember the legendary duel between Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel at the 1988 WSOP? Seidel was only holding a pair of queens, but a perfect deception by Chan convinced him that he had the best hand and could trap and go all-in. Chan already had a straight after the flop of Q c 8 d T h, so his call was immediate. The last hand of the tournament became so iconic that it was even replicated in the Reuters movie starring Matt Damon.
Two pair - When two pair set a new Guinness World Record
In the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table, a young Joe Cada faced Darvin Moon. In the deciding hand, Moon held Q d J d and decided to call an all-in call from Cada with 9 d 9 c. A board of 8 c 2 c7 withK h7 c brought only a pair of sevens and it was decided. Joe Cada became the youngest WSOP Main Event winner in history, a record that still stands in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Trinity - Redemption at the right time
Heads-up play at the 2018 WSOP Main Event between Tony Miles and John Cynn lasted over 10 hours and 199 hands. At the crucial moment, Miles held Q c8 h and Cynn K cJ c The flop brought K dK h5 h, allowing Cynn to hit a trio of kings. Miles, hoping he could pressure his opponent with aggression, decided to bet big.
The turn came the 8d, which gave Miles a pair of eights, but with two pair he was still far behind Cynn's three of a kind. The tension peaked when Cynn called all in and Miles realized he was virtually out of chances. This hand perfectly shows the power of the three of a kind, but also how it can become a trap for an aggressive opponent.
Straight - When an inferior kicker can help
Remember the final hand between Stu Ungar and John Strzemp at the 1997 WSOP? Strzemp with A s8 c and Ungar A h4 c stacked up against each other on a flop of 5 dA c3 h, where both held a pair of aces. But Ungar waited until the river, where he completed the straight thanks to a 2 s. Straights come unexpectedly and can trigger the biggest suckout in history.
Flush - The silent power of the flush draw
At the WPT final table we could see three players (Hansen, Hennigan, Juanda) with a flush draw after a flop of J c9 dJ d. While Hansen read the situation correctly and left the hand, Juanda accepted Hennigan's all-in and that meant his end in the tournament. He did manage to complete the flush, but Hennigan had the stronger hand. The flush is a silent killer that often decides the fate of tournaments.
Full House - Trapped
One of the most dramatic WSOP hands was between Scotty Nguyen and Kevin McBride at the 1998 WSOP. The board of 8 c9 d9 h8 h8 s did produce a full house, but Nguyen had a better hand than lay on the table at that moment thanks to 9 cJ d. Scotty immediately went all-in. To this he uttered the legendary line, " You call, it's gonna be all over baby!". And he was right, McBride called and Nguyen won the tournament.
Quads - A statistically unreal game
During the 2021 WSOP Main Event, an extremely rare and dramatic situation occurred when two quads met in a single hand. To make matters worse, Chang Liu and Ugur Secilmis had already completed their four of a kind on the turn. Secilmis, with pocket sixes, beat the fours that Liu had in one of the most brutal situations in WSOP history, as the probability of two quads meeting in one game is abnormally low.
Straight Flush and Royal Flush - Rare and Deadly
One of the most incredible poker games in history took place at the 2008 WSOP. Justin Phillips was dealt a royal flush on the river while his opponent, Motoyuki Mabuchi, held a four of aces - the second strongest possible hand in poker. This extreme situation is so rare that it will probably never be repeated. Phillips immediately called Mabuchi's all-in and showed a royal flush, causing shock among the players and fans present. The moment became one of the most iconic hands in WSOP history.
These stories show us that poker is not just a game about cards, but also about decisions, psychology and legendary moments. Every hand has its power, but it's how you play it that matters. Maybe one day you too will create a story that will go down in poker history.
Sources - Wikipedia, YouTube, Poker
