It’s a remarkable feat to have the skills and the money to make it to the World Series of Poker by the age of 25, as Connor Drinan did. It’s even more remarkable—though utterly disappointing for him—that he lost $1 million in one hand while holding two aces.
Drinan went all-in with his pocket aces before the flop—hold ‘em poker speak for the first three cards laid out for the table—as statistically, he only had a 2% chance of losing the hand at that point. What Drinan didn’t know is that his opponent Cary Katz also had pocket aces. What happened next will shock you… provided that you understand how hold ‘em works.
If Drinan can find solace in anything—and we’d bet $1 million of our own that he can’t—it’s that his skills weren’t to blame here. It was quite literally the luck of the draw.