button in SafariMartin Kabrhel Torches $25k Buy-in WSOP High Roller in One Hand
Yes like that. Poker villain and fan favorite Martin Kabrhel had an early exit from the $25,000 High Roller Six Handed No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP), lasting all but one hand to earn himself a "free afternoon."
There were dozens of late registrants in Day 2 of the $25,000 buy-in event, and Kabrhel was one of them. But his second and final bullet would be short-lived as he tangled with fellow high-stakes pro Nick Petrangelo with a hand that he described as "miniature Casino Royale."
"That's It For Today"
The hand took place during Level 10 with blinds of 6,000/12,000/12,000. As captured by the PokerNews live reporting team, Kabrhel was all in for his starting stack of 150,000 against Petrangelo, and a few words were exchanged before the cards were flipped.
"Miniature Casino Royale only," said Kabrhel. "Okay, Nicky boy, you want to have free afternoon or me? What do you want? You want to win or lose?"
"I don't care," Petrangelo said.
"I kind of want to have free afternoon, so I'm undecided."
Martin Kabrhel: 6♠6♥
Nick Petrangelo: A♥K♠
Kabrhel may have been undecided, but the dealer decided for him as the board ran out J♣A♣9♠4♣3♠ to pair Petrangelo's ace.
"Okay, that's it for today. One hand and one hand only. See you later, alligator. I really enjoyed this."
One player joked that Kabrhel could fire the $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event to earn Fantasy points, but he should have known better than to try to out-quip the quip king.
"You funny, eh?" replied an unamused Kabrhel.
Kabrhel had a breakout year at last summer's WSOP but has yet to put up any serious results this year. His best score so far is a $15,879 cash from finishing 28th in Event #2: $5,000 NLH 8-Handed, while he also finished 17th in Event #15: $600 Pot Limit Omaha Deepstack for $7,461.
The $25,000 High Roller drew 242 runners for a prize pool of $5,687,000. There will be 37 places paid, with a minimum cash being worth $50,207 and $1,286,285 reserved up top for the eventual winner.
