What Are Prop Bets? Short for proposition bets, a prop bet is wager on whether an event will happen or not. Prop bets have long been a part of poker lore and have experienced a surge in popularity in betting markets outside of poker in recent years. The Super Bowl draws by far the biggest market for prop bets each year. Seed has been involved in many 'prop bets'. He once made a $10,000 proposition bet with Phil Hellmuth and Konstantin Othmer that he could float in the ocean for 24 hours without touching the bottom. By bet rules, he was not allowed to bet more than an additional $15,000, and could settle the bet without attempting the feat for $5,000. The World Series of Poker is less than a week away, with Event 1, the $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em tournament, set to begin on Sunday, May 27. As always, Bodog Sportsbook and Racebook and Bovada are opening up markets to bet on, and if you think you can predict turnouts for events, bracelet and money winners, you can win big on the WSOP without ever stepping foot in Las Vegas.
If you happened to be strolling through the jam-packed hallways of the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino earlier this year – soaking in the sights and sounds of the 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP)– you might just have met a man dressed as a shark passing out $1 bills.
No, this wasn't a promotional stunt for poker sunglasses company Blue Shark Optics or one of the weirdos who come to the WSOP every year looking to play dress-up.
Instead, recreational player Brandon Potter of Connecticut wore the shark costume while paying passersby a buck apiece to tell him a bad beat story.
During a segment of ESPN's coverage of the WSOP Main Event, reporter Joe Stapleton caught up with Potter to find out exactly how he came to find himself in such a curious position.
As it turns out, Potter recently lost a 'last longer' bet to a poker pal, with the mutually agreed upon punishment being a day spent listening to bad beat stories.
When his friend survived longer in the tournament both were playing, Potter came out on the wrong end of the painful prop bet, forcing him to don the carnivore costume while doing the worst dutyin poker.
As you can see here in this photo snapped by former Bluff Magazine editor Lance Bradley, Potter didn't seem to be all that happy about his predicament, but then again, that's the wholepoint.
Brandon Potter is paying people $1 to hear bad beat stories. He's gotta get rid of $100 in two hours after losing a last longer bet.
I love the WSOP Main Event. pic.twitter.com/wQRsLGnFNx
In this post, I'm going to explore the weird and wonderful world of prop betting among poker players. You might think that these people are fully committed to their gambling on the felt, butthat's obviously not enough excitement for them.
09:1805 Mar
Controversial poker pro Dutch Boyd has lost his WSOP prop bet lawsuit against former friend and fellow pro Joe Bartholdi, a court ruling that because the $10,000 bracelet bet was only made verbally, it could not be considered binding.
Boyd and Bartholdi entered into the prop bet back in 2006, the eventual winner being whoever won more WSOP bracelets over the next 10 years. Boyd bagged three golds in that time, while Bartholdi failed to trouble the scorers.
However, Bartholdi only paid Boyd $1500 of the $10k owed according to press reports, and Boyd took his former fellow member of poker group ‘The Crew' to a small claims court for the outstanding sum.
Unfortunately for Boyd, any verbal contract of over one year duration needs to have a written version to be valid, and that's where his claim fell apart.
Hearing Master Amy L. Ferreira judged Boyd's case and stated her decision last week:
'The agreement was made verbally and no written document was created at the time of said agreement. Therefore, according to NRS [Nevada Revised Statutes] 111.220, the agreement is void. As a result, Boyd is awarded nothing against the defendant.'
PokerNews have reported that Bartholdi still plans to make things right with Boyd.
'I am paying what I owe to Dutch — but I guess it wasn't fast enough and he sued me. I am still paying what I owe,' said Bartholdi.
Boyd told the site:
'I guess the lesson is to make sure to always have your prop bets written down and signed. And also, I guess, not to make prop bets with friends for too much.'
Boyd, who has also worked as a poker dealer over the past few years and recently turned to law as a new career, has a chequered history in the game.
He can boast of more than $2.7million in career tournament winnings to his credit, along with those three bracelets, but was also behind the failed online cardroom PokerSpot, which closed in 2001, owing more than $400,000 to its customers.
According to PokerFraud Alert's Todd Witteles, PokerSpot '…failed after his payment processor stole all the money. Dutch did mishandle it somewhat, not being fully up front with players after it happened, and attempting to get more deposits in order to keep it afloat.'
Wsop Prop Bets Play
A decade later he lost a lawsuit brought by Mason Malmuth, the founder of the popular 2plus2 poker forum.
If you happened to be strolling through the jam-packed hallways of the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino earlier this year – soaking in the sights and sounds of the 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP)– you might just have met a man dressed as a shark passing out $1 bills.
No, this wasn't a promotional stunt for poker sunglasses company Blue Shark Optics or one of the weirdos who come to the WSOP every year looking to play dress-up.
Instead, recreational player Brandon Potter of Connecticut wore the shark costume while paying passersby a buck apiece to tell him a bad beat story.
During a segment of ESPN's coverage of the WSOP Main Event, reporter Joe Stapleton caught up with Potter to find out exactly how he came to find himself in such a curious position.
As it turns out, Potter recently lost a 'last longer' bet to a poker pal, with the mutually agreed upon punishment being a day spent listening to bad beat stories.
When his friend survived longer in the tournament both were playing, Potter came out on the wrong end of the painful prop bet, forcing him to don the carnivore costume while doing the worst dutyin poker.
As you can see here in this photo snapped by former Bluff Magazine editor Lance Bradley, Potter didn't seem to be all that happy about his predicament, but then again, that's the wholepoint.
Brandon Potter is paying people $1 to hear bad beat stories. He's gotta get rid of $100 in two hours after losing a last longer bet.
I love the WSOP Main Event. pic.twitter.com/wQRsLGnFNx
In this post, I'm going to explore the weird and wonderful world of prop betting among poker players. You might think that these people are fully committed to their gambling on the felt, butthat's obviously not enough excitement for them.
09:1805 Mar
Controversial poker pro Dutch Boyd has lost his WSOP prop bet lawsuit against former friend and fellow pro Joe Bartholdi, a court ruling that because the $10,000 bracelet bet was only made verbally, it could not be considered binding.
Boyd and Bartholdi entered into the prop bet back in 2006, the eventual winner being whoever won more WSOP bracelets over the next 10 years. Boyd bagged three golds in that time, while Bartholdi failed to trouble the scorers.
However, Bartholdi only paid Boyd $1500 of the $10k owed according to press reports, and Boyd took his former fellow member of poker group ‘The Crew' to a small claims court for the outstanding sum.
Unfortunately for Boyd, any verbal contract of over one year duration needs to have a written version to be valid, and that's where his claim fell apart.
Hearing Master Amy L. Ferreira judged Boyd's case and stated her decision last week:
'The agreement was made verbally and no written document was created at the time of said agreement. Therefore, according to NRS [Nevada Revised Statutes] 111.220, the agreement is void. As a result, Boyd is awarded nothing against the defendant.'
PokerNews have reported that Bartholdi still plans to make things right with Boyd.
'I am paying what I owe to Dutch — but I guess it wasn't fast enough and he sued me. I am still paying what I owe,' said Bartholdi.
Boyd told the site:
'I guess the lesson is to make sure to always have your prop bets written down and signed. And also, I guess, not to make prop bets with friends for too much.'
Boyd, who has also worked as a poker dealer over the past few years and recently turned to law as a new career, has a chequered history in the game.
He can boast of more than $2.7million in career tournament winnings to his credit, along with those three bracelets, but was also behind the failed online cardroom PokerSpot, which closed in 2001, owing more than $400,000 to its customers.
According to PokerFraud Alert's Todd Witteles, PokerSpot '…failed after his payment processor stole all the money. Dutch did mishandle it somewhat, not being fully up front with players after it happened, and attempting to get more deposits in order to keep it afloat.'
Wsop Prop Bets Play
A decade later he lost a lawsuit brought by Mason Malmuth, the founder of the popular 2plus2 poker forum.
Boyd was accused of a form of cybersquatting, setting up a domain similar to 2plus2 with the intention of diverting traffic away from it. Boyd was ordered to pay $25,000 in damages, and a further $33,000 in legal fees.
Wsop Prop Bets
Although he is considering challenging his most recent lawsuit, Boyd is unlikely to make any similar bets to his one with Bartholdi, telling PokerNews:
'This whole experience has turned me off of ever making a prop bet with a friend again. I wish we never made the bet.'