Scotty No Nguyen

To understand the demise of Scotty Nguyen, we need to rewind the action on his final hand to the river of the previous hand. He was facing Dan Shak, with Shak playing from the small blind. Nguyen either bet or raised to 20,000 on the river, leaving himself about 18,500 behind. Shak raised all in, forcing Nguyen to muck his hand in disgust.

The very next hand, Nguyen opened for 5,000. Shak, now seated with the button, called the raise before the big blind moved all in.

"Alright, baby," said Nguyen, tossing his last 13,000 into the pot. Shak, however, needed a count on the big blind. The number: 61,300. 56,300 more to call.

While Shak was considering a call, a Russian player in the 10-seat popped out of his chair, opened up a video camera and started filming. "Is that allowed?" Shak asked. "I don't mind. I just wonder if it's allowed to play and be a photographer at the same time."

"The question is, 'Will I go on tilt if I lose this hand?'" Shak asked himself. "I don't think I will, but it's not worth it." He open-folded {A-Spades}