There are few worse feelings in poker than holding what you believe to be the best hand, only to be shown one of the few better hands, costing you a huge pot. In poker terms, this is the dreaded Cooler.
Things get even worse when the stakes being played for are massive, which is often the case in televised poker games like those on High Stakes Poker, Triton Poker Series, or Hustler Casino Live.
Over the years, we have seen dozens of coolers and bad beats dealt out on these shows, with heroes and villains made along the way.
For the players on the losing side, these were some of the most painful moments in their poker careers, but for the thousands of fans at home, they were some of the most entertaining moments in TV poker history.
We bring you a look back at the top 7 televised poker coolers of all time, featuring some of the biggest names in the world of poker and some extraordinarily big pots.
- Cooler #1 – Gus Hansen v Daniel Negreanu – High Stakes Poker
- Cooler #2 – Santhosh Suvarna vs Andrew Robl – High Stakes Poker
- Cooler #3 – Tom Dwan vs Phil Ivey – Million Dollar Cash Game
- Cooler #4 – Alan Keating vs Rahul – Hustler Casino Live
- Cooler #5 – Tan Xuan vs Adrian Mateos – Triton Poker Series
- Cooler #6 – Elton Tsang vs Tony G – Triton Poker Series
- Cooler #7 – Patrik Antonius vs Daniel Negreanu vs Phil Ivey – High Stakes Poker
Cooler #1 – Gus Hansen v Daniel Negreanu – High Stakes Poker
One of the most iconic televised poker hands of all time was played during Season 2 of High Stakes Poker, one of the most epic poker shows ever.
This hand had everything a poker fan could hope for, from big names like Gus Hansen, Daniel Negreanu, and Doyle Brunson seated at the table to two big hands colliding and a massive pot building up.
The hand may have been played nearly two decades ago, but both Hansen and Negreanu were already poker superstars, and playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars did not faze them too much.
With blinds at $300/600, Hansen opened the pot to $2,100 with 5d5c, and Daniel decided to 3-bet to $5,000 with 6s6h, a play you would not see too much these days.
That said, other players got out of the way, and Hansen naturally called, revealing the flop of 9c6d5h, which both players surely loved to see despite the possibility of a straight.
Hansen check-raised Negreanu to $26,000, and the Canadian poker champion made the easy call. It seemed like he was destined to win a big one until the last remaining five in the deck, the 5s hit the turn.
Hansen kept betting but made it very small, betting just $24,000, and after some Hollywood, Negreanu made the call.
The 8s did not change too much, and instead of barreling once again, Hansen decided to check this time, giving Daniel a chance to hang himself.
With one of the best hands he could possibly have, Daniel bet $65,000 for value, only to be met with an all-in from the Great Dane, which Daniel did not want to hear.
It was another $167,000 to call, and being as curious as he usually gets in spots like this, Negreanu paid off the bet, saw the bad news, and could not do much but shake his head in utter disgust at what went down just seconds before.
Cooler #2 – Santhosh Suvarna vs Andrew Robl – High Stakes Poker
Andrew Robl has been around poker longer than most others, coming up during the days of the Poker Boom and playing on High Stakes Poker and other TV poker shows ever since.
In early 2024, playing on the 12th season of the popular show, Robl was faced with one of the up-and-coming players, the Indian businessman Santhosh Suvarna.
The two played a pot that would go down as the biggest in the show’s history, just nearly missing out on the million-dollar mark.
With the blinds up to $1,000/$2,000 and each player playing with at least $500,000 to start with, things were always going to get hectic.
Suvarna started things off with a $4,000 poker straddle, and Robl opened the pot to $16,000 from the small blind holding 5c4c. Suvarna woke up with a monster in the form of AcKh in the straddle and decided to pump it right back to $54,000, which Robl called out of position.
Robl got the dream flop of 4s4d2s and was holding trips in a spot where few would believe he had such a strong hand.
Hoping that he was on the winning side of a poker cooler, Robl checked his option and allowed Santhosh to fire out a standard $45,000 c-bet. Robl smooth called the bet and was going to let the Indian casino owner hang himself.
The turn was an absolute disaster for Santhosh, as the Kd now gave him top pair, a hand that would beat nearly all of Robl’s potential holdings.
Both players checked, believing they were trapping the other, before the Ks hit the river and brought the unlikely win for Santhosh.
Holding a full house and up against what is likely to be a pocket pair at this point, Robl overbet the pot for $300,000, only to be met with resistance in the form of an all-in from Suvarna.
It was only $95,000 more for Andrew to call, but it seemed like his hand was always going to be beat. The high-stakes legend made the call after some deliberation and ended up losing one of the biggest pots in TV poker history.
Cooler #3 – Tom Dwan vs Phil Ivey – Million Dollar Cash Game
Back in 2009, poker was booming, and Full Tilt Poker was one of the big brands in the industry. As part of their promotional efforts, they hosted a Million Dollar Cash Game on Sky Sports for a few years straight, with some of the biggest names in the game playing for insane stakes.
In the dying hours of one of the sessions, the game was down to just three players, and these three were Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, and Patrik Antonius, three of the most beloved players of the time.
With only 3 players, and especially with these 3, the poker ranges were always going to be wide and lead to some extremely interesting situations.
Dwan opened the pot with his 7h6s and was met with a 3-bet to $23,000 from Ivey’s Ac2d, which he called on the button to see the flop of Jc5c3d.
Ivey fired a $35,000 bet and would have won the pot on many turn cards. The 4h, however, was not one of them, as it gave both players the straight and created the ultimate cooler scenarios.
With both players believing they just struck gold and Dwan still sitting on nearly half a million in chips, this pot was setting up to grow insanely big.
Ivey fired a $90k bet and Tom responded with a raise to $232.6k. Phil didn’t take too long before moving all-in, as he knew Tom was committed to the pot and would not fold if he had a hand like a set or two pair.
Yet, Dwan had the absolute nuts this time around and would walk away as the winner of a $1.1 million pot, a number that left most poker fans in awe of the young internet poker prodigy.
Cooler #4 – Alan Keating vs Rahul – Hustler Casino Live
The Hustler Casino Live Million Dollar Game has offered us some of the most epic lineups and biggest pots in TV poker history, including this huge cooler situation between Alan Keating and Rahul.
With blinds at $1k/2k and a $4k straddle on, Rahul opened the action to $15k holding 8s7s, and Thomas, Stanley Tang, Brandon Steven, and Alan Keating all made the call to create a massive $77k pot before the flop.
The flop saw Js8h4s, giving Rahul a pair and a flush draw, while Keating held Ts9s for an open ender and a flush draw.
Rahul bet out for $40k, and Keating uncharacteristically decided to call with his massive draw, taking us to the Ad turn card.
Alan checked once again, and Rahul wagered $140k this time, putting Keating in a bit of a tough spot with his draw.
Once again, Keating decided to just call out of position. The dealer put out the 7h, which was one of the worst cards Rahul could possibly see.
With a million dollars back, Keating once again checked, and Rahul had a decision to make between showing down his hand or going for the value bet.
He opted for the latter and put out a $200k bet, which was naturally met with a million-dollar shove from one of the most fearless players in the game.
This might not be much of a cooler against most other players, but with Alan Keating being capable of bluffing in nearly every spot, Rahul decided he had enough hand to bluff catch.
The newcomer to the game made the call and sent the pot to $2.4 million, prompting Keating to take a short walk around the table after winning one of the biggest pots in HCL history.
Cooler #5 – Tan Xuan vs Adrian Mateos – Triton Poker Series
The Triton Poker Series has taken the meaning of high-stakes poker to a new level, creating some of the biggest poker tournaments and cash games ever seen.
In early August 2024, Triton Poker set up a super high-stakes cash game in Montenegro, with the likes of Phil Ivey and Adrian Mateos taking on the Asian pros and businessmen in the beautiful Mediterranean location.
In one of the sessions, the Spanish tournament super-pro Adrian Mateos clashed with a Triton Poker regular, Tan Xuan, right out of the gate, leading to a massive pot worth just under a million dollars.
Holding AdKs, Mateos 3-bet over the top of Xuan’s open, making it $32,000 to go, and Tan called with a pair of tens, revealing the flop of Th7s5c.
Unimproved, Mateos c-bet for $40k and got the call from his opponent, which would probably not have cost him too much had the turn card not been the Ah.
Now beating many of the hands Xuan calls with on the flop, Mateos once again bet, this time making it $90,000 to go.
Once again, Xuan called, and once again, the board decided to punish Mateos by putting out the Kc on the river, now making his hand very close to the nuts.
Barring a few sets, Mateos could beat any other card combo in Xuan’s hand, which is why he confidently bet out for $168,000 on the river as well.
Xuan pushed all-in for $336,000, and Adrian was forced into making a call in one of the ugliest poker coolers of the session. This awarded Tan Xuan a million-dollar pot very early in the day.
Cooler #6 – Elton Tsang vs Tony G – Triton Poker Series
The recent Triton Poker Series Invitational Cash Game in Montenegro created more than one massive cooler, including this one that involved the “Bad Boy of Poker,” Tony G.
Known for his aggressive playing style and abrasive demeanor, Tony G is usually the one putting bad beats on players, but this time, the tables were turned.
Starting the hand with nearly three-quarters of a million dollars, Tony looked down at a pair of red cowboys and, facing an open limp from Elton Tsang, bumped it up to $20k, with blinds sitting at $1k/2k and a $5k ante in play.
To his great misfortune, Tsang had ignored GTO poker principles completely and limped pocket Aces, and he 3-bet to $70k when action folded back to him, to which Tony responded with another raise, this time to $245k.
Elton decided to just call, and with half a million dollars in the pot, the money quickly got all-in on a board of QhJc7h that didn’t really change much for either player.
Tsang held the Ah in his hand, denying Tony’s chance to make a flush, and eventually made a set of Aces on the river, awarding him the $1.45 million pot, the biggest of the session.
With that, Tony G suffered one of the biggest coolers in TV poker history in terms of dollar value, but certainly not the biggest of his illustrious poker career, which includes plenty of games even bigger than this one.
Cooler #7 – Patrik Antonius vs Daniel Negreanu vs Phil Ivey – High Stakes Poker
It’s not every day that a poker cooler involves three players in a meaningful way, but this hand that was played on Season 9 of High Stakes Poker did, and it was three of the most iconic players in the game.
The action started with Patrik opening to $2.5k, and Gibbs, Negreanu, and Ivey all calling to see the flop of Th9d5c, giving Patrik a set of 5s and Negreanu a set of 9s, while Ivey held KcTd.
Patrik continued for $5k with his set, Daniel called to trap, and Ivey overcalled holding top pair with a good kicker that’s often going to be the best hand.
The Tc on the turn improved Ivey’s hand significantly, giving him every reason the believe he now holds the best hand of the three.
Everyone checked to Negreanu on the button, and he bet out for $26k, a bet that both players called before the inconsequential Qd hit the river.
With $104.5k in the pot, everyone checked to Daniel again, and he bet $54k with his full house, one of the best poker hands he will have in this spot. Ivey took some time but eventually found a great laydown, while the stoic Finn decided to bet all his chips, still believing he had the best hand.
Despite holding a very strong full house and getting over 3:1 on his money, Negreanu eventually decided to make a very big fold, which turned out to be wrong this time.
Patrik walked away as the winner despite not having the best hand in this ultimate poker cooler, while Negreanu was left lamenting his decision, which perhaps had to do something with the pot he played against Gus Hansen many years earlier.
