The Week’s Most Viral Poker Hands

The first couple of weeks of November produced some unbelievable hands. It's a busy time of year in the poker schedule, so there's no shortage of drama, comebacks and incredible hands.

Let's take a look at some of the few from the last week.

The headline hand came on the November 7, six-handed at $50-$100-$200 with multiple straddles. And, it started with an argument rather than a bet.

Moments before the hand, Daniel "Jungleman" Cates and Mariano Grandoli got into it over a "standup game" ruling.

Cates thought he was owed a marker for winning the previous pot. It would have helped him dodge a cash penalty. However, Grandoli pointed out that Cates had mucked and was ineligible. The ruling was still being sorted as the next hand was dealt.

Cates looked down at A♠Q♦ on the button and limped. Grandoli raised to $5,000 from under the gun with A♣5♦. Cates three-bet to $19,000; Grandoli four-bet to $45,000; Cates jammed; Grandoli called. When Cates asked to run it twice, Grandoli declined, and said to the table:

"It's a donation anyway, you're welcome,"

With $231,750 in the middle, the dealer ran out a single board: K♦9♦4♦4♠10♠. Here's the fun part, and the reason the HCL clip went everywhere: neither player made a pair of their own. Both were playing the board's pair of fours, ace-high, making it a kicker contest. Cates's queen played as the decisive card over Grandoli's lower holding, and the $232,000 pot slid his way.

HCL's own post summed it up: "Mariano & @junglemandan pile in $232,000 with no pair."

The fallout was a hard one for Grandoli. He finished the session stuck about $229,000, while Cates ended it tied as the day's biggest winner at north of $190,000.

A week earlier, on the October 30 stream, the carnage ran through one of poker's biggest creators. Ethan "Rampage" Yau is a two-time bracelet winner, with 370,000 YouTube subscribers. found K♥K♦ in the second straddle at $100-$200 and three-bet to $15,000. "Dumbledore," the eventual big winner of the night, came along with A♥10♠.

The flop came 7♣6♦2♣. It had nothing for Dumbledore, and Rampage checked behind his overpair. The 10♦ turn gave Dumbledore top pair; he led $20,000 and Rampage called. Then the 10♥ hit the river, handing Dumbledore running trip tens. He overbet $125,000, and Rampage went deep into the tank.

"What happens when you have as strong of a hand as possible, but it feels bad?" he said, before talking himself into it: "Folding seems absolutely ridiculous." He called, saw the trips, and summed up his own night: "Why'd I think so long? Think long, think wrong." The $321,100 pot was the backbreaker in a session that left him down about $176,000.

It's not only live streams that have the devastating hands. WPT® Global ambassador Ren Lin ran into one of the nastier runouts recently at a tournament. Lin opened with pocket aces (A♠A♦) and Kazakhstan's Bakbergen Absadyk defended his big blind with A♥3♥. The flop came 5♠J♦2♥. It's a gutshot and a backdoor flush draw for Absadyk, nothing to worry Lin's overpair.

So the money went in, with Lin a huge favourite.

Then the hearts arrived. The 4♥ turn made Absadyk a straight and left Lin drawing to a chop. The 5♥ river completed a steel-wheel straight flush (A♥3♥ with 2♥4♥5♥ on the board), about as perfect a rescue as the deck can deal.

There is a small mercy for Lin in that the pot was modest, and he still bagged a healthy stack. Absadyk's miracle only bought him a little time before busting later in the flight. The opening event went on to draw 912 entries for a $2,443,248 prize pool. A runner-runner straight flush to crack aces, though, is a memorable hand.

There are many of us that wonder why some clips go viral. And why other's dont. But, there is a formula, a reason why the clips rack up views.

If we look at beloved, recognizable players for example. We add a grudge or a star running a monster into a cooler, narrate it live, and let the deck do something cruel. It could be $232,000 decided by a kicker or pocket kings undone by a two-outer on the river.

For as long as poker exists, it will continue to happen. Because a huge hand, or a huge favourite, loses more often than it feels like it should.