Man accidentally plays his cards right

It is one thing to outlast hundreds of poker players to win one of the World Series of Poker’s 68 events and the Las Vegas tournament’s coveted gold bracelet.

It is another thing to do so when you’ve never previously played the game. Christian Pham, of St Paul, Minnesota, did that, beating 219 players, including a few icons. By accident.

Now he is $81,314 richer and holds a gold winner’s bracelet. The 40-year-old professional poker player said he had intended to play no-limit Texas Hold ’em, but mistakenly signed up for a different game the same day: A no-limit deuce-to-seven draw lowball. The cost? A $1,500 buy-in.

“It’s a totally different game. Different mindset. Different strategies,” said Shawn Harris, Pham’s dealer at the final table. The goal is to have the lowest poker hand. Players can also draw cards.

Pham said he did not realise his mistake until he was dealt five cards, instead of the usual two. He panicked, then observed, and other players advised him what beat what. “At first you suspect an act, but if it was, it was very good,” said Chris Mecklin who was sitting next to Pham.

Mecklin said it was clear that Pham was an experienced player, just not in this game. When Pham won a hand with the best set of cards — a two, three, four, five and seven — he seemed confused that he was holding the most desired combination of cards.

The next day, Mecklin signed into WSOP.com to check on the game’s results.

“Imagine my surprise when I see the photo of the chip leader!” he said.

Pham said the guidance from his fellow players at the table helped, and he studied up the night in between.