After surviving from a record-field of three,835 within the World Poker Tour Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, Joe Hachem discovered himself in an unenviable cooler scenario on the cash bubble with 481 gamers left.
Only 480 would make the cash, incomes a min-cash value a minimum of $18,700, and the 57-year-old Hachem was sitting comparatively wholesome with a chip depend of almost 34 huge blinds.
The 2004 WSOP essential occasion champion and 2006 WPT Five Diamond winner was on the featured desk and regarded down at pocket kings. Ben Bianco raised in entrance of him from under-the-gun, and Hachem three-bet, placing in 1 / 4 of his stack.
The motion folded again round to Bianco, who opted to maneuver all in, having Hachem effectively lined.
Watch the hand under, courtesy of WPT.
Wow @JosephHachem, simply wow. pic.twitter.com/b4g5Txg7Ot
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) December 17, 2023
While most of us would have snap-called, Hachem had his suspicions. As he was deliberating, an announcement was made by event employees that hand-for-hand play was about to start on the cash bubble, including extra stress to the choice.
Incredibly, Hachem managed to muck whereas solely burning one time-extension, saying, “This is the sickest fold, but I know you just got it.”
Bianco then provided to point out if Hachem did as effectively, and each gamers turned over their playing cards.
“You are a sick man!” exclaimed Bianco, who couldn’t consider that Hachem obtained away.
The fold rapidly made the rounds on social media with quite a few gamers giving Hachem props for the soul learn, whereas some mentioned it was the fallacious resolution within the longrun, even when he occurred to be proper on this occasion.
High-stakes poker professional Rayan ‘Beriuzy’ Chamas was even pressured to leap into his pool absolutely clothed after initially stating that there was no approach Hachem would fold his kings.
I confidently mentioned in poor health bounce absolutely clothed right into a freezing pool (6c) if Joe Hachem folds Kings right here.
I swear he should have heard & needed me to undergo
Wtf is that this? https://t.co/XLJla7uCpM pic.twitter.com/JhGRaWTNot
— Beriuzy (@beriuzy) December 17, 2023
Hachem has all the time taken satisfaction in his skill to make huge laydowns, and even credited that skill together with his run to the 2004 WSOP essential occasion title. It hasn’t all the time labored out, nevertheless, together with on the 2008 WPT Championship, in a hand documented by Daniel Negreanu.
This time, nevertheless, his spidey-senses tingled at simply the proper second, permitting him to sneak into the cash. Hachem even made a couple of payjumps, in the end busting in 223rd place for $25,500.
Later within the day he was requested by WPT reporters in regards to the hand.
“It all came down to table dynamics,” Hachem mentioned. “Sometimes you just know. I actually knew as soon as he raised.”
Earlier this yr, Hachem completed runner-up in a WPT Prime occasion and this summer season, he made a deep run within the WSOP essential occasion. The Australian Poker Hall of Famer now has $12.5 million in profession event earnings.