Christian Pham Wins a WSOP Bracelet in a Game He Never Played Before

12:53
12 Jun

When Christian Pham walked away from the cashier at the Rio, he thought he was walking away with the ticket to tomorrow's $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event. Was it just recklessness or destiny, Pham never bothered to check if he registered for the right event and it wasn't before the first hand of the tournament has been dealt that the American pro realized his made a big mistake.

Christian found himself seated in the 2-7 Draw No Limit event, as he mixed up the numbers the day before; perhaps it wouldn't be such a big deal if this hasn't been the game that he's never played in his life... Ever.

As the cards were already in the air, it was too late to unregister, so Pham was left with two options - walk away without a fight and light $1,500 on fire, or give it his best shot and try to learn the game on the fly. Naturally, he opted for the latter and, as it turned out, three days later, the American pro who already had two WSOP cashes to his name as well as the WSOP Circuit gold ring, added a World Series of Poker bracelet to his resume.

I’d played lots of poker before, but not this game,” Pham said. “I guess I learned fast. Pham, WSOP Blog;
Although he's never played this particular poker variation before, Pham has been around the block for quite some time, and as the game progressed he started picking up on things. Slowly but surely, he was able to finish the Day 1 as the chip leader. He maintained that lead and started the final day with the chip lead as well.
Call it luck or destiny or what you will, but Pham proceeded to dominate throughout the final day of play, eventually defeating Daniel Ospina in the heads-up battle to take home the bracelet and $81,314 first place money. With that, Christian Pham outlasted 218 other players who, presumably, all at least knew the rules of the game.
Ospina, who booked his 10th WSOP Cash, took home $50,260 for his efforts, while the third place finisher, Matthew Smith earned $33,163. Robert Mizrachi actually bubbled the final table, as he was eliminated in 9th place.
As for Pham, he explained that nobody plays 2-7 No Limit Draw back in Minnesota, which explains his lack of skills, but after learning the game, he really started to take linking to it and will probably look to play some more similar events.
While we must congratulate Pham on his superb adaptability, this is also an evidence that poker gods do have a great sense of humor!

Did you like this article?