A Memorable Bad Beat in WSOP History – Justin Phillips vs. Motoyuki Mabuchi (2008 WSOP)
Hand:
- Phillips: Quad Aces (A♠ A♦)
- Mabuchi: Royal Flush (Q♠ J♠)
The Setup:
Both players hit a dream flop. Mabuchi had pocket Aces, and Phillips had suited connectors. The flop came A♠ Q♣ 9♠, giving Mabuchi trips and Phillips a flush draw.
The Bad Beat:
- The turn was A♥, giving Mabuchi quad Aces—almost an unbeatable hand.
- But the river? T♠—giving Phillips a Royal Flush, the only hand that could beat quads!
The Result: Mabuchi lost with quad Aces to a Royal Flush—the ultimate cooler.