Top 10 Stories of 2016, #1: Qui Nguyen Wins the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event

This year’s Top Stories are brought to you by the VerStandig Law Firm, LLC. Combining a keen understanding of the gaming world and an equally keen understanding of the law, Mac VerStandig and his colleagues are devoted to fighting on behalf of the poker community and its members.

When play was halted on July 18, nine players remained in the World Series of Poker Main Event. The November Nine was set after seven days of tough battles. Cliff Josephy, often referred to as the godfather of online poker, led the final table. A set of (former) online poker players and regulars trailed him.

And then there was Qui Nguyen, second in chips and a wild card in every sense of the word. Right of the bat, he admitted to preferring baccarat to poker and the poker fans smiled.

“This is so crazy right now, I really did not expect this to happen,” a giddy Nguyen said in the aftermath of the final elimination. “It’s amazing.”

While he had amassed almost 68 million in chips, placing him second behind Josephy, not many insiders put Nguyen on top of their players most likely to take down the title list; he was considered the least experienced player of the group and the gambler.

“I gamble a lot,” he said with a laugh to PokerNews back in September.

While a simulation did tip Nguyen for the win, the betting markets placed him as the underdog to win it all.

The Qui Nguyen bot was an interesting outlier in the PokerNews and Advanced Poker Training simulations, suggesting that Nguyen would win 26 out of 100 times, the most of any player. Designed to gamble and to do so successfully, the Nguyen bot surprised by displaying savvy and aggression at the correct times and by getting lucky at the right times. So when the bot was advised to take advantage of timid opponents and use his reputation as a gambler to make others fear confrontation, no one knew how accurate and spot on those words of advice would be.

When the final stage of the year’s most important poker tournament commenced, the fans came out for Nguyen. All nine players had brought their friends and family, often sporting matching T-shirts with a catchphrase and the name of the one they were rooting for on it. Every year, one group of fans stands out.

This year, it was without a doubt Qui Nguyen’s fans that shouted the loudest, that were dressed up the best, that supported their man through the ups and downs and that were the most energetic. All of them, like the man in the spotlight they were supporting, wore the hat displaying Rocket from the movie, Guardians of the Galaxy.

As the final table got underway, Nguyen’s wild style paid off. The high variance such a style brings along with it worked in his favor this time. While many players struggled to find a rhythm and were visibly impressed by the arena and setting, Nguyen shook off the added pressure like he was playing in his $5 home game: no bluff too crazy, no …

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