Online Poker Pro Hits Two Royal Flushes in 20 Minutes!

October 03, 2023

Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

Poker Star Seeing Double
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Some poker players will go an entire lifetime without hitting a single royal flush. Patrick Leonard, on the other hand, hit two within a 20-minute span during the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) series on PokerStars.

"Pads" is difficult enough to compete against when he isn't hitting monster hands, but when he is, good luck. The online poker star already has two WCOOP titles this series and won a Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) event in May, the seventh of his career.

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Leonard, a 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, has been competing in and crushing the 2023 WCOOP. On Monday, he hit a statistical improbability when he spiked two royal flushes over a short period of time.

The first one, as he shared on X, came in the $2,100 8-Max No-Limit Hold'em (Progressive KO High Roller) final table. With four players remaining and Leonard second in chips, he limped on the button with KxQ♣ and went heads-up to the flop against "RomeOpro."

The flop came out 10♣A♣J♣, giving Leonard a royal flush on the flop. He didn't provide details about how the hand transpired, although obviously he won the hand. But the odds of flopping a royal flush are approximately 1 in 650,000.

Leonard's good fortune didn't stop there. As he explained in a tweet, he hit a second one 20 minutes later. This time, however, he didn't flop it, but it instead came on the turn. The second one took place in $109 No-Limit Hold'em (Progressive KO Series Saver) against "99Palanke."

The board texture showed A♣J♦A♦Q♦ and Leonard had K♦10♦ in the hole. With the blinds at 6,000/12,000, he bet 46,800 and then his opponent check-raised to 93,600 (min-raise).

Leonard, who had 259,142 behind before making the call on the turn, wrote on Twitter that "99Palanke," who had him easily covered, put him all in on the river with QxJx. So, he was able to get maximum value out of a royal flush, which doesn't happen often.

Speaking of not happening often, it is extremely rare for a poker player, even online, to spike two royal flushes so close together. But it did happen at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas when Vasu Amarapu hit two within four hands during Event #87: $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better. PokerNews captured the action of the hands at Paris Las Vegas.

Despite the multiple royals over a four-hand span, Amarapu didn't cash in the tournament. The 2023 WCOOP $10,300 buy-in Main Event, a $6 million guaranteed tournament, is currently on Day 3 and being live reported by PokerNews.

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