Jack Straus - 1982 WSOP Main Event, "A Chip and A Chair"

1982 WSOP Main Event, "A Chip and A Chair"

Famously, Straus's 1982 win was a comeback after being down to a single $25 chip, supposedly the origin of the common tournament poker aphorism: "a chip and a chair." Although accounts vary, the most common story is that he pushed his chips into the pot, was called and lost the hand. Getting up, he discovered he had one chip left under a napkin on the table.

Because he didn't declare himself all-in, the tournament directors allowed him to continue playing. Modern lore says that this feat occurred at the final table, but the 2005 book All In, which documents the history of the WSOP, confirms that it occurred early in the second day, and did leave him with a $500 chip before his comeback.

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