As Daniel Negreanu would say in one of his daily WSOP vlogs: “If you play poker, you have to be at the WSOP”. However, no one would want to be in the shoes of American Rick Landais during Day 3 of Event #11 (US$ 10,000 GGMillion$ High Roller). After all, he suffered one of the cruelest bad beats of WSOP 2026.
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Thus, losing a widely favorable situation in a pre-flop all-in is part of poker. However, the circumstances of this confrontation caught everyone’s attention. The tournament gathered 627 entries and only 22 players remained, all already guaranteed at least US$ 41,942. With blinds at 30,000/60,000, plus the big blind ante, British Bobby James opened with a mini-raise with A9.
In addition, the European had about 3 million chips when he received the all-in from Rick Landais, who placed only 340,000 chips in the center of the table. Bobby found an obligatory call and, soon after, realized the size of the problem. After all, Landais revealed AK, a hand that completely dominated his.
However, the confusion started exactly at that moment. The dealer began the procedure to deal the flop and revealed four cards instead of three: 6, K, 5 and 4. The error occurred because the last two cards were stuck together. Furthermore, the situation greatly favored Landais, who hit top pair with the king and significantly increased his chances of survival.
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How was the situation resolved?
Thus, the organization was called to the televised table and applied the official WSOP rule. Those responsible re-shuffled the four flop cards and defined three of them as valid, while one assumed the role of a burned card. To Rick Landais‘s misfortune, precisely the K was left out, transforming the flop into 6-5-4.
However, the situation became even more dramatic when the dealer opened an 8 on the turn. With this, Bobby James‘s chances of victory grew considerably. From that moment on, any 7 or 9 would guarantee the comeback and eliminate the opponent. And, to complete the improbable script, the gods of the deck reserved another surprise.
Finally, the 7 on the river completely changed the history of the hand. The card completed a straight for Bobby James and confirmed the elimination of Rick Landais. During the broadcast, the narrator and commentator expressed disbelief and stated that the elimination seemed unfair. However, the organization followed the WSOP rules strictly, and although errors happen in events of this magnitude, the decision remained within the regulations. To see the play, click here.
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