The world of poker is truly complicated to master and, although we generally think of it as one of the most enigmatic and serious games that exist, the truth is that there is always a halo of mysticism that surrounds it and that, on many occasions, makes it seem a much more boring game than it really is.

Therefore, in this article we want to show one of the most hidden facets of poker and that is its moments of entertainment, laughter and, above all, anecdotes that have gone down in history. And the reality is that there are many plays that have become popular thanks to funny or curious stories that have happened during the table and, therefore, this is precisely what we come to tell.

If you are a poker lover, surely you are interested in knowing some of the funniest anecdotes of the poker world that, perhaps, will make you see some of your favorite players or some public personalities with different eyes: 

1 The longest game in the history of poker

We start with what is surely one of the most interesting anecdotes of all poker, since we are talking about the first longest game in the history of this card game. We have to place ourselves on board a ship, in which two poker players played an endless game that has gone down in history as the longest game, as stated in the Guinness Book of Records with a duration of 72 hours.

The curious thing about this game is not only its duration, but also that the player who was winning had the bad luck to suffer a heart attack in the middle of one of the winning moves and, therefore, ended up losing the game. 

Perhaps this is not the story you know when you think of the longest poker game, as it probably comes to mind that game told by Doyle Brunson in the 50’s, in Fort Worth Texas, as he explains in the book 50 unforgettable hands.

This other story tells us how a slaughterhouse worker had managed to hold on for days, using both alcoholic beverages and pills, until he had the bad luck to run into Doyle Brunson in a pit, where the latter ended up winning. The opponent, who had not eaten or slept for days, fell dead on his chips, giving Brunson the immediate victory.

There are new anecdotes about the longest poker game in the history of modern championships, but none is as curious as these.

On the other hand, if we refer to the shortest game in the history of poker, then we have to travel to the American West, to Dodge City, because the shortest game that exists today was played between two players who considered themselves enemies, since it only lasted the duration of one hand. As soon as one accused the other of cheating, both drew their pistols from their belts and shot each other at point-blank range, dying at the same instant. 

2 The dead man’s hand

We continue with another of the most popular anecdotes of poker, and there is currently a play that takes this name of the dead man’s hand directly from an event that happened during a poker game. You may know that the double pair of aces and eights is known by this name, but you may not know the story. We will tell you the story below: 

Wild Bill Hickok was on August 2, 1876 playing a poker game when Jack McCall appeared and shot him in the back to settle some unfinished business. Wild Bill Hickok fell to the ground, dejected, but without ever letting go of his cards, giving his hand at that moment the curious name of the dead man’s hand. 

Although this story comes directly from the book Wild Bill Hickok: The Prince of Gunslingers, most poker players have accepted it as a true story that is known as one of the funniest anecdotes in the world of poker.

3 Julito Poblacion and the world’s worst player

Another of the anecdotes that we cannot overlook is the one that crowns the player known by the name of Julito Población as the worst player in the world. 

Although, perhaps, it is not equally funny for everyone, the truth is that it is a great example of failure, since this player won the record recognized by the US Poker Federation as the worst player in the world after having lost for three consecutive years the highest number of consecutive games. 

Today, not many people may know this, but the truth is that this story can be quite curious and even inspiring. It’s a good way to encourage you to keep trying and keep going if you don’t want to end up like Julito Poblacion.

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4 Chris Moneymaker

With this eye-catching surname, a poker fan got a pass to the prestigious Las Vegas World Series event, as he hinted that he had a lot to prove to the most professional poker players and he did so by winning the PokerStars online tournament for only $39.

This well-known name has become, to this day, the owner of the best slogan maker, such as “he who wants to can” or “dreams sometimes come true”, since when this event happened the World Series was practically dominated by poker legends and Chris Moneymaker was just an amateur who managed to crush them all.

When the championship was over, the amateur and unknown poker player ended up taking home a prize of two and a half million dollars and beating all the professional players he sat at the table with.

5 Doyle Brunson’s 10-2 

We all know that Brunson is one of the most important legends of poker, but perhaps you don’t know that throughout his many years of career, in addition to having published many essential books to know the basics of poker and having become one of the players with more titles worldwide, Brunson has also managed to baptize a move with his name.

We are talking about the fact that, by now, everybody knows that the Texas Hold’em modality, which has become the preferred type of game for most poker players, is one of Doyle’s special and favorite ones. This is evidenced by the two championships he won in the World Series of Poker in 1976 and 1997 with unfavorable cards.

It is precisely for this reason that, nowadays, when a player has a 10 and a 2 in his hand, even though, at first glance, it may seem that they are not going to take him anywhere, these two cards are always referred to with the name of Doyle Brunson, since they remind us that even with a mediocre hand it is possible to win a championship.