It started with the kind of hand that poker players dream about: an Ace and a Queen. He raised the bet by $60,000. Immediately, seven of the nine other players “folded”. When the five cards on the table were turned, all he needed was another Queen or Ace for a high-value pair.

Two, however, stayed in the game: Phil Ivy and Jason Lester. They matched Moneymaker’s $60,000. Three cards were turned over by the dealer. They were a Queen, a six and another Queen. Moneymaker now had three Queens, a devastating combination.

The six and one of the Queens, however, were spades, meaning that if either of his opponents had a spade-heavy hand, they could get a “flush”, beating his three of a kind.

Moneymaker bet another $100,000. Lester folded, but Ivy matched it. Another flop turned up a nine, but not a spade. The next card had to be a spade to give Ivy any change of winning, so Moneymaker bet $200,000. Ivy, even more confident, bet all his chips: $460,000.

Everyone, apart from Moneymaker, assumed Ivy had a Queen, but Moneymaker, the real holder of the Queen, knew better. Then came the shock.

Ivy showed his cards: two nines, making the nine on the table a hugely valuable asset. With his three nines and the two Queens on the table, he had a full house, beating Moneymaker. Then one more card flopped: an ace. Pure, blind, vintage Las Vegas luck.

Moneymaker had three Queens and two Aces, and only four cards in the pack could have done it. So he got the $750,000 on the table and a place in the final.

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