Nguyen vs McBride
World Series of Poker, Main Event, 1998. The final hand.
The final hand of the 1998 Main Event
Why it is famous
The last hand of the 1998 Main Event. Scotty Nguyen told Kevin McBride, "You call, it’s gonna be all over, baby," and McBride called anyway: "I play the board." McBride said afterwards that without that line he would have folded.
What to take from it
When the board is your hand, the best you can do is split. Ask what beats the board, and whether their play says they have it.
The hand
McBride Q♥10♥
Nguyen J♦9♣
Before the flop
Blinds 25K and 50K. McBride has the button.
McBride raises to 100K.
Nguyen calls.
The flop
Board 8♣9♦9♥
Nguyen checks.
McBride bets 100K.
Nguyen calls.
The turn
Board 8♣9♦9♥8♥
Nguyen checks.
McBride bets 100K.
Nguyen calls.
The river
Board 8♣9♦9♥8♥8♠
Nguyen moves all in.
McBride calls all in.
Nguyen wins at the showdown with Full house, Nines full of Eights.
The decisions
- Nguyen. McBride is short-stacked and keeps betting. A call lets him bet again with whatever he has, while a raise could scare him out of the hand.
- McBride. Playing the board only ties, and only if the other player has no nine and no eight. Nguyen called two bets on a board with two nines, so he very likely has a nine. Any nine makes nines full and beats the board. McBride called, and it was a mistake: nines full beat the eights full on the board. A fold would have kept him in the match.
What the sources do not say. The stacks are not documented. McBride is said to have had about 600,000 of the 3.5 million in play, so the other stack is worked out from that and not shown. The antes, and the size of Nguyen’s all in, are not documented. McBride’s two cards are a queen and a ten. One source says both were hearts, and the broadcast shows two red cards, so hearts are used here. Who held the button is worked out from who raised first.
Sources
- PokerPlayer broadcast transcript
- Wikipedia, 1998 World Series of Poker
- FlopTurnRiver
- GGPoker blog, the 1998 Main Event
Practise it in 5 minutes Play this hand, one decision at a time.
Quads is for adults, 18 and over. It teaches with play chips only: there is no real money, ever.