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Scott Seiver Buys In 43 Times For $1,000 World Series Of Poker Flip & Go Event

The Four-Time Bracelet Winner Suffered Horrific Luck In WSOP Flip & Go Tournament

by Julio Rodriguez  |  Published: Jun 12, 2022  |  

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Scott SeiverScott Seiver is having a great summer at the 2022 World Series of Poker, having won his fourth-career bracelet in the $2,500 no-limit hold’em event along with $320,059. But his luck may have soured on Sunday in the $1,000 Flip & Go event, held during the series at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas.

The event features a unique format that appeals to the purest of gamblers. A table of eight players each put up the $1,000 buy-in. The dealer then passes out three cards to everyone, who then see a flop. After the flop, each player discards one, and the dealer puts out the turn and river.

The winning hand at showdown gets into the tournament and automatically finishes in the money. Everyone else then has to decide if they want to try their luck again.

Assuming everyone has equal discarding skills after the flop, a player should expect to win 12.5% of the time. Just don’t tell that to Seiver, who bought in a whopping 43 times and still didn’t get in.

Even when Seiver hit his hands, he still lost. Twice he made a straight, only to lose to a rivered full house. Photographer Katerina Lukina caught one of Seiver’s doomed Flip & Gos on camera, as did Nick Schulman. The players had to win their seat by 3 p.m., and Seiver ran out of time.

According to some amateur mathematicians on Twitter, Seiver had about a 0.3% chance of not making it through on that many attempts, and that’s without accounting for any skill advantage, however small that may be. Another follower pointed out that Seiver had paid more than $4,700 in rake alone to play 43 hands of poker. In fact, he was entered into more than 27% of the total tables that ran.

Despite the bad luck, Seiver was in good spirits throughout. At one point, he even ordered 120 drinks, sharing with his tablemates and those watching on the rail.

As it turns out, even if Seiver had made it into the field on his last attempt, he would have needed to finish in fifth place or better to show any profit.

This year’s event drew a field of 1,256, creating an overall prize pool of $1,117,840. A total of 157 players won their Flip & Go, all automatically earning a min-cash of $2,000. The winner will ultimately earn $187,770, and the customary gold bracelet.

Last year was the first time the event was held, with Dejuante Alexander earning his first bracelet and $180,665.

The tournament has drawn some criticism in the poker community from those who feel players are buying their way to a guaranteed cash. Although as we learned this year, even the most stubborn players aren’t guaranteed entry.

But while some don’t like the event, others have pointed out that there are tournaments for other groups of people, so why shouldn’t the gamblers have a tournament of their own as well?

You can follow the 2022 World Series of Poker on Card Player’s series landing page, sponsored by Global Poker, the fastest growing online poker room in the world. Check out the series schedule, as well as event recaps, news, and player interviews.

 
 
Tags: 2022 WSOP,   2022 World Series of Poker,   Poker Tournaments,   Las Vegas,   Nevada,   Summer Series,   Scott Seiver,   Bracelet,   Flip & Go,   WSOP Event,   Gambling
 
 
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