Poker News

So you may be in the World Series of Poker Championship Event, ponying up your $10,000 to play. You get eliminated in the early going from a streak of bad luck, something that you try to share with people. This is a constant occurrence at the WSOP but, for one sports legend/poker player, it seems that everyone, including women, wanted to know what happened to him in the tournament.

In mid-July, Australian cricket legend Shane Warne was a part of the field that headed to Day 2 of the WSOP Championship Event. He was quite chipper about that and was building an excellent stack of more than 100K in chips after the first level of play for the day. That would be the apex of Warne’s performance, according to many outlets including Australian Woman’s Day, and Warne wouldn’t be quite as happy about the situation after his elimination.

Warne’s expressed the emotions of all once they have suffered a bad beat on the felt. “Never been so angry in all my life,” Warne stated on Twitter. “Got Aces two hands in a row and both (were) cracked. Once by two pair (K-Q), next hand sixes found a six on the flop.” This wasn’t the end for Warne’s rant, however. “Still in shock at what happened, so sick,” Warne stated. He then stated that “If anyone says ‘that’s poker’ I will put one on their chin. Game of skill my ass, get f****d!”

Warne would finish off his tirade by saying “Has it ever happened in the history of the WSOP Main Event that a player gets Aces two hands in a row and both get cracked?”

Since retiring from international cricket in 2007, Warne has participated in many poker events around the world. His breakthrough on the tournament circuit was at former World Champion Joe Hachem’s tournament series in 2009 where Warne finished in 15th place for a $4000 (Australian) payday. Warne has also had some success at the Aussie Millions, cashing four times in events on that schedule.

Warne has had some difficulties when it comes to WSOP competition, however. He has competed at the WSOP Championship Event since his retirement from cricket and only cashed once (in 2015 for a $17,282 payday) in Las Vegas. Warne’s other WSOP cash came during the 2014 WSOP Asia/Pacific Championship Event, when he finished in 22nd place for a $23,441 (Australian) cash. Overall, Warne’s record in tournament poker consists of one final table and only $93,571 (U. S.) in tournament poker earnings.

That 22nd place finish in the WSOP APAC bears a striking similarity to Warne’s departure from this year’s WSOP Championship Event. In that tournament in 2014, Warne’s would get his final chips in the center holding Big Slick, but his opponent’s Big Chick was able to catch a Queen to knock off the cricket legend.

Despite his lack of tournament poker success, Warne’s legend has been able to garner him many poker endorsements. In 2008, Warne was signed by 888Poker to be a sponsored player; that relationship lasted until 2015, when Warne walked away from the deal, apparently with no hard feelings between him or 888.

Despite firing off his missives regarding his departure from the WSOP in 2016, Warne is bound to be back in the game soon. Warne’s celebrity adds a certain luster to any tournament that he attends and, as a player, Warne admits that he is improving. Here’s supposing that Warne isn’t going to be away from the felt for too long!

One Comment

  1. johan ticket says:

    Winners never quit and-quitters never win.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *