Gamblers Gone Wild: 7 of the Craziest Poker-Related Bets Ever Made

Poker players might be smart, but they sure make some of the stupidest bets. Like the ones we’re going to list here…

If you regularly follow international gambling news, you know just how eccentric professional poker player can be. They dress and look weird, they make outrageous bets and sometimes they behave quite unconventionally. But most of all, they are reckless.

The atmosphere in American poker rooms can get very tense and players are always looking to spice things up by making silly side best. This is how the practice of prop betting has come to be more and more popular at the poker table. And they certainly make the game more interesting.

Here is a list of some of the wackiest wagers made by professional players. Let the countdown begin!

7) In February 2011, Ashton “theASHMAN103” Griffin became famous for more than his poker skills. The Pot-Limit Omaha expert, also a former college wrestler, ran 70 miles on a treadmill in 24 hours’ time, just to prove his friends wrong.

$2 million debt

Mike “The Mouth” Matusow lost two weight-loss bets with Ted Forrest. The first $1 million wager against Forrest’s $100,000 and another $1 million against his $50,000 got The Mouth into a jaw-dropping $2 million debt. He later admitted that he can’t afford to pay it.

The idea came to them after discussing running endeavors on Skype and Griffin stood to lose $900,000 if he failed. But he made it and even took Full Tilt Red Pro Haseeb Qureshi for $300,000. Justin “BoostedJ” Smith booked a small $15,000 win at the end of the bet.

The result was even more impressive, considering that Griffin had only slept 4 hours after going to a basketball game and concert the night before.

6) Some people can’t simply enjoy their vacation without getting in trouble. Rumor has it “Poker Brat” Phil Hellmuth challenged World Series of Poker champion Huck Seed to spend 18 hours in the ocean, up to his shoulders, while the two were on holiday.

Seed gave it a try and decided to fold after 3 hours, but claimed that he “bought out early” for a tenth of the initial $50,000 bet.

5) Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier got into an argument and ended up actually fighting. The two started a small kickboxing match, which Elky eventually lost in the second round. Veteran poker pros Doyle Brunson and Daniel Negreanu enjoyed the show and even weighed in on Twitter, exchanging bets.

4) Mike “The Mouth” Matusow never avoids a little controversy. A few years ago, he agreed to offer odds of 20:1 on poker pro Ted Forrest dropping from 181 to 140 lbs before a World Series of Poker tournament.

Things started out just fine for Forrest, but when he was left with 15 lbs to lose in just 9 days, the player started to starve himself. This extreme measure helped him win the bet, as the five time bracelet winner tipped the scales at 138 lbs at the end of the bet. “The Mouth” was left with a huge debt, which he was supposed to pay off in $5,000 weekly increments.

3) Some people will do anything for the right price. Poker pro Nick DiVella agreed to spend six straight days in the bathtub, for a prize of $22,500. The rules of the game were that he was only allowed to have a few books around and eat the same sandwich five times a day. This didn’t scare our brave poker player at all. He even tweeted a photo of himself getting comfy in the tub.

This was not the first time when DiVella agreed to do something crazy to prove his rivals wrong. The player once smeared icing all over his face during a tournament. All this for $1,260.

2) A devout vegetarian, former Full Tilt Poker owner Howard Lederer was challenged to an interesting bet by fellow player David Grey. He dangled a cheeseburger and $10,000 in front of him and this was enough to get Lederer to toss his ethics aside.

Grey was offered the chance to win his money back by eating a single olive, but he refused to do so. Apparently, he hates olives so much that he won’t even eat one piece for $10,000. Now those are some strong principles!

1) So we’ve introduces you to some of the craziest bets ever made by poker players, but this last one beats them all. First place in the wacky wagers competition goes to Brian Zembic, who agreed to get breast implants and keep them for an entire year! Zembic stuck to it and won the wager, pocketing a cool $100,000 prize.

It looks like poker players are all about impressing their rivals and audience. And not just with their skills. Some of them are willing to go much further to get some attention.