Top Crazy Bets by Poker Players

The game of poker can be very exciting since you play different opponents, learn to analyze poker hands, and read the action.  

On top of that, people who play poker professionally often put huge bets against their opponents and try to beat them in the game. They take huge risks, and many players are known to win a huge amount of money by defeating their opponents. 

The players often make the game more interesting by wagering controversial and dangerous bets that can be fatal to the person if he loses the match. These bets are commonly known as proposition bets or prop bets in the world of poker.

Here we have listed some of the craziest and outrageous bets wagered by the poker players:

Antonio Esfandiari Lunge Bet

Amir Esfandiari was born in Teheran in 1978, and he moved to California when he was just nine years old. During his 19^th birthday, he changed his name to Antonio and started pursuing a career as a professional magician. Later on, he moved to the world of poker and was nicknamed ‘The Magician’ as sometimes he showed his magic tricks at the poker table.

He has performed many crazy bets for winning money, but his Lunge Bet was by far the craziest bet he has ever played.

It happened during the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, where the businessman Bill Perks challenged Antonio to move around only by doing lunges. He was not allowed to walk for 48 hours and had to do everything while performing lunges. It was a bet of $50,000, and Antonio gladly accepted it. 

The first few hours were fun for Antonio, but he started having muscle fatigue and leg cramps soon after that. After some time, he had to use the bathroom but could not move his legs due to the constant lunges. He decided to relieve himself in a bottle under the table, but it had caught the tournament officials’ attention, and he was disqualified. 

However, Antonio successfully won the bet of $50,000 and donated all the money to charity.

Dan Bilzerian Cycling Bet

The businessman Bill Perkins challenged poker player Dan Bilzerian to cycle from Los Angeles to Las Vegas within 48 hours for a bet of $600,000. 

It was the most iconic bets in the entire Dan Bilzerian poker journey. Bilzerian accepted the challenge and started training with Lance Armstrong to build his stamina for the challenge. In the end, he was successful in covering the 300 miles from Los Angeles to Las Vegas within 48 hours and won the bet.

Phil Ivey: Go Veggie for One Year

Tom Dwan challenged Phil Ivey, a professional poker player, to refrain from eating meat for a whole one year for bet money of $1 million. 

Phil was already thinking about shifting to a healthy food habit, so he accepted the challenge. However, just after 9 days of the bet, Phil succumbed to his cravings for meat and lost the challenge. He had to pay $150,000 to Tom for losing the bet.

Mike Noori and McDonald’s Challenge

The poker player Mike Noori struck up a strange bet in 2017 that he could eat $1,000 of food from McDonald’s within 36 hours. 

There were also many terms and conditions. He had to consume at least $300 of hot meals and could eat only $200 of salads. He had a very casual approach towards the challenge and ended up partying with his friends the night before the challenge.

He lost the bet miserably, consuming only $95 of McDonald’s food before quitting the challenge.

Mike Timex McDonald and Air squats

Mike Times McDonald, a well-known poker player, was challenged by Bill Perkins to do 300 air squats in one hour for prize money of $10,000.

Mike gladly accepted the challenge and won it without any difficulty.

Brian Zembic and Boob Implants

In 1996, Brian Zembic was given a rather strange prop bet where he had to get boob implants. He was promised a huge sum of $100,000 and an additional $10,000 for every year that he kept it.

He went through the surgery and won the $100,000 easily. He had even won the $4,500 needed for the surgery from a cosmetic surgeon while playing backgammon. He kept the implants for 20 years before removing them.

Aston Griffin and the Treadmill challenge

In 2011, Aston Griffin, a poker player of 22 years, bet that he could run 70 miles on a treadmill under 24 hours. A huge sum of $300,000 was raised in case he won the challenge. Griffin was physically fit and active during that time, and he easily completed his 70 miles on the treadmill with 45 minutes to spare. 

John Hennigan and His Exile to Iowa

John Hennigan, a dedicated professional gambler, was challenged to spend six weeks in Des Moines, Iowa, where there were no casinos. It sounded like an easy win for John.

However, just after spending two days in Iowa, John returned to Las Vegas and lost the bet.

Titanic Thompson and the Golf Ball Challenge

Titanic Thompson is a witty poker player who always manages to find a way out to win any challenge he is put up against.

Once, he had bet that he could drive a golf ball 500 yards more than any professional golf player can. Many professional golf players took up the challenge and hit their best shot.

Thompson patiently waited until it was winter when the fields were frozen and drove the ball far over a frozen lake, winning the challenge.

So you can see that the world of poker is full of crazy and dangerous prop bets, and even if you don’t know how to play it well, you still can have a lot of fun.