What is shuffled, stripped, cut, pitched, squeezed, and then spread on a brightly lit section of green felt? If you play poker, you know the answer. If you don’t play poker, think Dead Man’s Hand – Aces and Eights! Yes, cards! Cards are only part of the great game of poker but the milestone hands are recorded in PokerWorks’ Historical Poker Hands where millions are won or lost. You can feel the agony of defeat or the triumph of the win as you read through poker history here.

If you find something not reported correctly or have more information to add, please notify us.

The final hand found Greg Merson min raising to 4 million on the button and Sylvia three-betting to 9.5 million. Merson moved all-in and Sylvia exclaimed, "Wow!" Sylvia took a moment to think it over and stared down Merson but Merson gave up nothing. Finally, Sylvia called.

Merson:
Sylvia:

With a massive 139.2 million chip-pot in the middle, Sylvia would need help to stay in the game since Merson was in the lead.

The Flop brought the - no help for Sylvia and Merson was only two cards away from being crowned the 2012 WSOP Main Event Champion.

The turn peeled off the .

The audience in the Penn & Teller Theater were on the edge of their seats as the River brought the .

It was official — Greg Merson was officially crowned the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion!

Martin Staszko open-shoved all-in from the button for 39.5 million with . Having Staszko covered, Pius Heinz made the quick call after squeezing out the . Fans on both sides erupted with enthusiasm for their favorite players.

The first three cards on the board were the . A momentary lull hit before the fans for each player started screaming again.

The turn card brought the and another four outs for Staszko to win the hand. It would take a 7, 8, or 10 to double back into contention. He had 10 outs once and he was looking for a life line.

The river peeled off the and the stage became a raging river of fans as Heinz rushed over to the rail. The celebration had begun.

Martin Staszko was at the rail, head down, wrapped in the arms of his fans that were closest to him. The smiling man from the Czech Republic was not smiling now but he played his heart out and the world knows it! He took home $5,433,086 for second place. He'll be back.

Pius Heinz is the first WSOP Main Event Champion in history from Germany. At the ripe young age of 22, Heinz took down the most coveted title in the poker world, the gold bracelet, and $8,715,638 for his victory.

Heads up play began with Jonathan Duhamel holding a 6 to 1 chip lead over John Racener and Racener only managed one double up when Duhamel went all-in with k-4 and Racener found Q-Q.  Duhamel played fairly aggressive poker throughout the 43 hands it took for him to vanquish Racener.  

Duhamel kept the pressure on and when Racener was down to his last 14.95 million chips, he finally stood his ground and called Duahmel's ongoing barrage of raises with . Duhamel showed the .

The Flop of still left hope for Racener; he could win with two running diamonds or a K or an 8.
The Turn of the and the River erased any hope for Racener.

Jonathan Duhamel was the first Canadian to win the World Series of Poker Main Event Bracelet and title in the 41-year history of the WSOP and was the 6th non-American to ever win the event.  At 23 years of age, Duhamel also took home $8,944,310.  John Racener had to settle for second place and the consolation of his fans as he pocketed $5,545,955 for his efforts.

Eight hands before the final hand was dealt, Moon sat with 86,500,000 in chips to Cada's 108,300,000.  The blinds were 600,000/1,200,000.

The 356th hand found Cada raising 3,000,000 in chips with the and Moon raised it 8,000,000 more with .  Cada took a moment to look back at his cards and after a few seconds announced that he was all-in.  Moon looked back at his cards one more time and called.

The Flop of was good for Cada.
The turn brought the and the River was the .

Darvin Moon won $5,182,928 for his second place finish. Joe Cada claimed the third largest payout in poker history of $8,547,042, and he also became the youngest WSOP main event winner at the age of 21 - he beat Peter Eastgate's record.

The final hand started slowly. Eastgate limped in and Demidov checked his option to raise. The flop brought , and the action took off. Eastgate bet 1.25 million and Demidov check-called.

The on the turn brought a 2 million bet from Eastgate. Demidov was not shy about check-raising to 6 million. Eastgate called.

The on the river found Demidov pushing all-in; he had the for two pair. Eastgate instacalled and showed his for the wheel and the best hand.

Ivan Demidov won $5,809,595 for his second place finish. Peter Eastgate claimed the second largest payout in poker history of $9,152,416, and he also became the youngest WSOP main event winner at the age of 22 - he beat Phil Hellmuth's record.