Sergio Aido

Poker legend Phil Ivey lost to an amateur with an 83% chance of winning the hand. That amateur won $2.5 million and helped bring a generation of paying opponents into poker. In the video below, Ivey relives the moment an ace ended his tournament and explains what he was trying to hide from the cameras. “Do not show how disappointed you are, do not let the world see this.” Ten players remained in the 2003 World Series of Poker. Ivey went all in with a full house against Chris Moneymaker, an accountant who had qualified online. The final card gave Moneymaker a better full house. Ivey finished tenth for $82,700. Moneymaker went on to win the title, giving everyone watching at home a reason to believe they could beat the professionals too. New players flooded into poker. For experienced pros like Ivey, that meant more opponents with money and little experience. Poker sites grew, sponsorship deals followed, and Ivey benefited from the boom. Years later, he also admitted he should have folded earlier in the hand. He could acknowledge his mistake even though the eventual outcome helped his industry. When an amateur beats the best and everyone rushes to copy him, who really makes the money: the newcomers, the professionals waiting for them, or the casinos taking a cut either way?