Nguyen vs McBride

World Series of Poker, Main Event, 1998

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The final hand of the 1998 Main Event

The Hand

J♦9♣Nguyenabout 2.9M
Q♥10♥McBrideabout 600KD
Blinds 25K / 50K
8♣9♦9♥Pot 200K
8♣9♦9♥8♥Pot 400K
8♣9♦9♥8♥8♠Pot 600K

Kevin McBride and Scotty Nguyen. Blinds 25K / 50K.

Before the Flop

  • Blinds 25K and 50K. McBride has the button.
  • McBride raises to 100K.
  • Nguyen calls.

The Flop

  • Nguyen checks.
  • McBride bets 100K.
  • Nguyen calls. Why

    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.

The Turn

  • Nguyen checks.
  • McBride bets 100K.
  • Nguyen calls.

The River

Play Nguyen vs McBride, decision by decision

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The river

The Famous Decision

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, hoping to split, and Nguyen’s nines full beat the board. McBride said afterwards that without Nguyen’s line it would have been a fold.

The Result

Nguyen wins at the showdown with Full house, Nines full of Eights.

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.

Sources

What the sources do not say. The stacks are about 600,000 for McBride and about 2.9 million for Nguyen. The broadcast says Nguyen had "all the chips except for about 600,000" of the 3.5 million in play (350 entrants at 10,000 each), so his stack is worked out from that. 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.

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