Full Houses are rare in poker. Straight flushes are even rarer than that.
Seeing both in the same hand? That's almost unicorn-level rare.
But that's what happened on Day 7 of the WSOP Main Event this year, and at the end of it we saw a remarkable laydown.
No Idea What's Coming
There are 22 players left in the Main Event and they’re playing down to the final nine. Michael Ruane, who was cruising through the field on Days 6 and 7, is one of the big stacks of the tournament.
So is James Obst, who’s sitting on his left. Obst has celebrated major successes both live and under his online nickname Andy McLeod. His opponent Ruane is internationally (and intentionally) completely unknown. All we know is that he's officially a 'poker pro.'
As the hand starts out, four players make it to the flop. Fernando Pons had opened and Ruane on the button, Obst in the small and Qui Nguyen in the big blind all came along. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
Action Flop
Except for Nguyen, who had a weak holding and purely called for the pot odds, everybody gets a piece of the flop. Pons hits top pair and bets it but the board is draw heavy. When he’s faced with a raise and a re-raise from Ruane and Obst, he wisely lets his hand go.
When Obst re-raises, Ruane’s straight flush draw doesn’t look very promising anymore. Ruane was semi-bluffing but Obst might have a higher flush draw. Still, Ruane can’t just give it up here. He needs to see another card.
Call Him Lucky
Ruane can really call himself lucky because he hits the one out that gives him the straight flush right on the turn. Obst correctly checks so Ruane can continue with a nice little value bet.
Obst is doing everything right all through this hand. He just falls victim to a very unlucky river card that gives him a full house that doesn’t improve his zero per cent equity.
Feeling in control, it’s now Obst who value bets his hand. But when Ruane raises him all-in -- in the largest pot of the main event so far -- he manages to lay it down, even calling Ruane’s straight flush. A spectacular hand you won't see very often.
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