Mattioda Loses Cards, Wins Pot

PokerNews was told of a very interesting hand from a little earlier in the day by Paul Mattioda.

As told by Mattioda, action opened with the player under the gun raising to 5,500. A player in middle position called. Mattioda, in the hijack, then went all in for 6,500. Both players called.

As the 9x5x2x flop was being dealt, the player in middle position wished Mattioda luck. "Thanks," he said, "it's been a long day."

Mattioda then looked down to see that he had no cards in front of him, and that his cards appeared to have been placed on top of the muck. Tournament staff was called over, and it was determined that the dealer had accidentally mucked Mattioda's cards. After a lengthy discussion and video review, a tournament official pulled Mattioda aside and asked if he could name his exact two cards.

"Ace of hearts, ace of clubs," said Mattioda. The staff retrieved the top two cards from the muck (out of view of other players still in the hand) and returned them to Mattioda. With action restarted, the player under the gun bet 10,000, and the player in middle position folded.

Paul Mattioda: A♥A♣
Opponent: 10♣10♠

The turn and river ran clean, and Mattioda tripled up.