Canadian Student Wins Big on PokerStars Ten Billionth Hand

The “biggest hand of 1 cent 2 cent ever,” as the commentator put it, took Justine Hall by surprise Saturday.  When it was over, the Canadian university student turned her $12 PokerStars bankroll into $100,000. 

The gigantic haul was the result of the PokerStars 10 billionth hand promotion.  As the major part of the promotion, the winner of the 10 billionth hand dealt at the real money cash tables was to win $100,000 (possibly more if that player was a VIP member), while the other players who were simply dealt into the hand were to win $10,000.   

Well over 100,000 players flooded the tables in the hours leading up to the milestone hand, many furiously folding, folding, folding, in an effort to get to the next hand as quickly as possible.  The wait lists for the penny tables were over 400 players long. 

The big hand did come at a penny table, 1 cent 2 cent no-limit hold’em, six-handed.  When the hand was about to be dealt, PokerStars stopped play in order to build up the excitement and make sure the players at the table were ready.  When all was said and done, Hall won the $100,000 when her 3-8 of clubs hit a flush on the turn.   

The final board was Ac Kc Td 9c 8h. 

To the shock of many observers, two players actually folded before the flop.  By folding, they had no chance to win the jackpot, even though the $10,000 consolation prize was quite nice.  Even after the commentator reiterated the rules and asked if anyone had questions.  One of those players was even active in the chat before the hand started, so he had to know that they were on the 10 billionth hand.  One prevailing theory as to why one or both folded was that they might have misinterpreted the [very clear] rules and thought that if they lost the hand, they would sacrifice the $10,000 consolation prize.  One player even said, “i seriously have AKs, but don't think it's worth to risk it.” 

Unless that player had A-K of clubs, it was unlikely that Hall’s hand would have been beaten, anyway. 

Hall, who had originally thought the hand was simply one of the hands leading up to the biggie, already has plans for the money.  She said that she would use the money to pay for her education, but also for, "...of course, a little shopping."