It was a real-life equivalent of that dream where you’re sitting an exam for which you’re woefully under-prepared, but poker player Christian Pham aced it anyway.
Pham accidentally registered for a ‘Deuce to Seven’ tournament at the World Series of Poker, a lesser-known variant of the game and, more importantly, a version he had never played before.
With $1,500 of his own money on the line, and little clue what he was supposed to be doing, the American somehow managed to win the whole thing and claim the $81,000 (£51,000) top prize.
Another bracelet for #MNPoker CONGRATULATIONS to Christian Pham on his first @WSOP bracelet! One of the good guys 😀🏆 pic.twitter.com/pxXwP9JrNB
— iNinja Poker (@iNinjaPoker) June 12, 2015
In an interview with WSOP.com, Pham admitted that he “learned the game at the table”.
“I was figuring out what to do as I went along, and also got lots of good cards,” he added.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oYvGxEt7wU
Incredibly, this is not the first time an absolute beginner won this exact World Series event.
Back in 2011, British poker pro Matt Perrins learned how to play Deuce to Seven on the morning of the tournament, before seeing off the challenge of more than 270 players to take first place.
And they say there’s no such thing as beginners’ luck…
