Nine of the Best Poker Prop Bets
Poker players love to gamble, especially when the bet is weird and wonderful. In this article, the Betfair Poker Blog takes a look at nine of the best poker prop bets in the history of the game. Enjoy!
Howard Lederer's $10,000 Burger
Howard Lederer may not be the most popular man in the poker world -- that's probably the understatement of the year -- but he was once part of a great prop bet. Lederer, a vegetarian, was offered $10,000 by David Grey to eat a burger. Seeing it as an opportunity to make a quick buck, Lederer wolfed down the meaty dish.
Grey could have got his money back by eating a single olive, but hated them that much that he paid Lederer his $10,000!
Johnny Moss Takes on Bar Fight Champion
Legend has it that Johnny Moss was offered 15-to-1 odds to take on a hulk of a man who had never been beaten in a bar fight. Moss tried to sucker-punch the brute in the back of the head but it did little damage and he was beaten up!
"15-to-1 was too great to turn down," said Moss.
Huck Seed's Standing Backflip and Ocean Bet
Huck Seed has been part of many prop bets in his career, although two of them stand out more than the rest. Seed once won a bet by learning how to perform a standing backflip in two months -- he's 6'7" tall -- and then lost one to Phil Hellmuth where he had to stand in the ocea up to his shoulders for 18 hours!
Other Seed bets include running a marathon with no prior training and attempting to run a mile in less than 4:39.
Ashton Griffin Runs 70-Miles in 24-hours
Ashton Griffin once bet $300,000 at odds of 3-to-1 that he could run 70 miles on a treadmill in 24 hours! He took up the challenge despite having had little sleep the previous night after going out on the town drinking!
Griffin's parents flew to their son's side in an attempt to stop the challenge after fearing for his safety, but he carried on and completed the challenge with around 50 minutes to spare!
Erick Lindgren Wins $340k For Four Rounds of Golf
Many poker players like to relax with a round of golf, but the bet Erick Lindgren took part in was anything but relaxing. Lindgren bet he could play four rounds of golf from professional tees and shoot sub-100 scores at the Bear's Best golf course while carrying his own clubs.
Lindgren lost 15lbs in the sweltering heat but scooped the $340,000 prize when he shot his fourth under-100 round.
Ted Forrest Wins $2m In Weight Loss Bet
Ted Forrest won $2 million from Mike Matusow after losing a staggering 50lbs in a couple of months. Forrest's weight loss was so dramatic that Matusow delayed payment to Forrest because he was certain Forrest was going to die!
Jay Kwik Bathroom Bet
Andrew Robl once bet his friend Jay Kwik six-figures to live in the bathroom of a Bellagio hotel room for 30-days stating he thought it would be impossible. Four days later, Kwik looked to be enjoying himself so much that Robl bought out of the bet for $40,000!
Nick Divella Bathtub Bet
Although this particular bet is yet to happen, it still makes it into our list. You see, Nick Divella plans on living in a Bellagio bathtub for 30 consecutive days for $20,000 and this means he's not even allowed to step foot outside of the tub! It will cost him $4,000 to buy out of the bet.
Amarillo Slim Table Tennis
Amarillo Slim was famous for finding an edge in his prop bets and came up with some amazing bets. Two such bets revolved around table tennis. One saw him take on a former tennis pro at the game but Slim was allowed to choose the paddle -- he chose a frying pan because he'd practised for months previously!
The second saw Slim bet he could bet a Taiwanese table tennis champion, again with Slim choosing the paddle. This time Slim chose a glass cola bottle! Slim won both bets!
Do you know of any crazy prop bets in the poker world? Let us know them in the comments box.
Prices quoted in copy are correct at time of publication but liable to change.
