The Controversial Poker Fallout That Shook The Poker World

In this video we talk about the epic poker feud between Jason Mercier and Vanessa Selbst at the 2016 WSOP which led to one of the greatest WSOP poker moments in history. This is a roller coaster poker tale of regret, bravery and insane wagers which made Jason Mercier a legend.
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[@ShewasIwas-biden]

Vanessa has to be the most insufferable poker player ever. She's just unpleasant all the time

[@notallowed337]

She looks like a dude and has self esteem issues

[@5starUBERabba]

Correct, that's why she is never on today's modern era of live streams...glad to see her blacklisted from the poker community. Using the drunk card? That's such an entitled punk move

[@antonycostantine2457]

probably has to do with the fact that she does not have kids and does not have a husband to calm her

[@jamesmacabre4804]

money will do that

[@jyyyb]

Raise you Martin kabrel

[@imnotyourp]

Just two dudes betting on cards and now and one trying to back out of the deal.....happens every day

[@timmyp34]

Yeah we caught that. Stay classy!

[@davidhammer154]

Haha truth!

[@burtondavid1054]

lol 😂😂😂

[@tipsy09]

@@timmyp34 i almost missed it lol

[@runningriot6399]

Did she try to back out? She offered him 100k. I bet he wishes he took that now.

[@UnicornOfDepression]

Vanessa's attitude make everyone cheer against her.

[@tux1968]

She's the masculine Phil Hellmuth, without the personal charm or charisma.

[@keithmcintosh8902]

Unlike many, I actually met Vanessa....or met her drink that is. I was playing Baccarat during the PSPC in the Bahamas in 2019. I heard a commotion and noted Selbst arguing with a dealer at the blackjack table that was at a right angle to my table.... It appeared that she had lost a series of hands and was upset at something the dealer had done. She had the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Next thing we knew, she threw her drink at the dealer. She mostly missed him; however, my table was collateral damage. We were all sprayed. She then proceeded to quickly walk away from the table, and, in the distance, we could see she was being pursued by men in suits. I don't know what the fallout was, and I didn't see any mention in social media. Which led me to think....was this an unremarkable event for her and, for her, just an otherwise average Tuesday night at the casino? That was the highlight of an otherwise dismal series for me, until I was fortunate enough to play with comedian Norm MacDonald in one of the side tourneys. Funny guy he was. Mean girl she was.

[@andrewdinns1746]

you see her lose HU in a ladies event? go watch it if not. her behavior to a full-blown mega donk new player was beyond disgusting. I can't believe Stars didn't drop her.

[@jimsty7550]

That's an incredible story! Wasn't expecting the Norm McDonald mention at the end either. He was one of my favorite comedians, too. RIP to a comedic legend.

[@andyh9030]

Norm is a legend 🙌

[@matkodoris9099]

Playing with Norm must have been fun. So that series was not that bad, after all.

[@jasonbatteiger2421]

probability-wise it's FAR more likely you just witnessed a regular day in her life. just like the CAR panthers owner (a billionaire) who got caught throwing his drink on a fan/fans lately. that's extremely likely not some one off event, these people are just giant assholes.

[@EGarrett01]

3:39 Watching her try to bet against herself at worse odds in order to buy-out for a forced loss is amazing.

[@jyyyb]

Geez Doug Polk has let himself go😂

[@jimsty7550]

Took me a second to think about what you were saying as I was at the end of the video and all I saw was Jason but then the video ended and paused on the thumbnail and THERE IT IS! DOUG POLK THERE ON THE LEFT!! 🤣

[@victorfrankenstein50202]

Looks like Doug porked up a little.

[@DustinPlatt]

She should call them Polker Hands.

[@mpup54]

to be fair, Doug has managed the coif much better

[@-oBg]

So per Vanessa if anyone she's felted came back to her later on and said they were drunk and made a mistake...she would give them their money back. I really wonder the outcome of that conversation.

[@toynoob2051]

Woman privilege

[@chexnfx7161]

@@toynoob2051gay woman liberal privilege

[@toynoob2051]

@@chexnfx7161 ewwww, you are right. Can't believe I didn't think of that. +1 bro

[@jimrustle3321]

@@chexnfx7161 she is not gay, she let me hit in 06, amazon style bro, was CASH

[@donrane]

It was a stupid bet that might not have been paid out if it won. Vanessa had no idea have much you can manipulate your win chances. Rebuy tournaments you just blast until you have a stack. He even lost a heads-up, that just shows Mercier is an honest player. He could have paid him to win. 180 to 1 is obv shit odds untill a world class player bets it and goes hard for it.

[@stepbackandthink]

I was in the audience in 2016 watching Jason getting presented with his second bracelet and I remember thinking, this guy is absolutely crushing it. I was actually surprised he didn't win another one.

[@Manimal5279]

If Vanessa wins, she’ll finally be able to afford a hair cut.

[@joeuser633]

Thank you, I came here just to say how stupid it looks.

[@nunyabizness1708]

Boy, if we had to cancel every bet that was made by a drunk person we wouldn't have that many bets left. Vanessa Selbst is a player you loved to hate. She just made it so easy.

[@leoclavel]

Vanessa's $1k buyout offer was ridiculous. The $100k offer was way more reasonable - locking in $100k when he is still 2 bracelets short. Altho 180 to 1 seems insane (and could certainly be disasterous financially) it's almost surely under-priced. Wining 3 bracelets is hard. Doing it in one given year is astronomical, even for a top pro.

[@ivorscrotumic3556]

"Shook the poker word"...😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@steveb9525]

Jason is a great player, cash game as well. HIs dog looks like mine. I am cheering for him.

[@andyh9030]

Lol 😂

[@mikewilliams3509]

@andyh9030 this guy lol best comment

[@andyh9030]

@mikewilliams3509 haha yea it was the dog affinity 🤣 I can relate

[@nathanhouterman3440]

wow vanessa is one of the most toxic characters of the poker community.... warms to heart to see Mercier take her wealth

[@PippaPeerless]

Vanessa won the bet though...

[@nathanhouterman3440]

@@PippaPeerless no she didnt lol

[@andrewdinns1746]

@@nathanhouterman3440 technically won the bet of 10k. lost much more than 10k hedging against though. warms my heart too!

[@nathanhouterman3440]

@@andrewdinns1746 hehehehe

[@jasonbatteiger2421]

did you finish the video, jason only got to 2 bracelet's that year, so he lost 10,000 to her in this bet. he didn't accept either buyout of 1k or 100k.

[@KingFrej]

That Selbst guy was lucky not losing that bet

[@krismcstay1325]

He's not likeable

[@MikeGervasi]

Never been a fan of Vanessa.

[@paulpascoe663]

you are in the huge huge majority

[@jimpryor99]

@@paulpascoe663she’s an incredible person. Typical poker “fans” who don’t know the players personally but judge them by what they see on the internet

[@slowery43]

nobody asked you, this isn't the "Who is Mke a fan of" channel

[@exitscreaming4637]

@@slowery43 Nobody asked you for your opinion of his opinion . See how that works

[@Oheeeoh]

Vanessa looks like the type of person that should stay away from drinking LOL

[@tipsy09]

shes the type that looks better with drinking

[@artvandalay7632]

Not taking accountability for her actions? Blaming alcohol? Ok.

[@stanhartman6662]

Sounds like she's got a drinking problem...😮

[@Charles.Wright]

likely DV issues in that relationship

[@joshuapatrick682]

It’s intriguing because I honestly think that the only reason jason didn’t let her buy out is because he said in an interview it would take a shockingly low amount of money for him to walk away from poker forever. 5 million is the number I think hr mentioned? If he had all his own action this would have got him damn close.

[@Mrt-yg9mw]

he pretty much did anyway, he was out for atleast couple of years, now hes back playing abit, but not that much, was playing pineapple for few more years as well. Not a grinder life for sure anymore.

[@carlosnyc13]

Venessa is a really good player but her attitude sucks. She’s a sore winner.

[@karlmuckit2968]

even worse loser

[@brandongallant1790]

Yeah 6 betting with j 7 is a really good poket player lol

[@ag6248]

She’s insanely over rated

[@ricflair9717]

So the lesson is this. If you want to succeed in life, make a bet against Vanessa Selbst.

[@jenniturtleburger3708]

He got as close as he could possibly get, that’s for sure.

[@slowery43]

thank you Cpt Obvious

[@andyward8062]

Proves she is 'classless' . . . in her mind - just give her the money, nobody has skills to beat her.

[@alanbutler43]

I actually played 1/2 no limit against her at O'Shea's in Vegas back in the day. She was insufferable and pissed drunk then too 🤣

[@michaelharrington75]

I didn't know you could use being drunk an excuse for making a bad bet, but I've never played the game sober, so I wouldn't know.

[@b152349]

Yea every time I whine to the casino about them taking advantage of me on Twitter no one cares :( Why doesn't anyone see that I'm a victim?

[@bipolarpunt5721]

Jasons one of my favorite players, because he won and didnt get greedy and degene it away.

[@naswiipp]

I don't care if you're drinking or smoking crack, if you make a bet and shake on it then you pay. In life, you bet with your head not your ass!

[@danielmeuler2877]

this is her taking advantage of being a woman. A man would get the shit kicked out of them for pulling this.

[@dingaonhockey]

I would still have empathy towards the other person if they came to me offering buy out. Especially because she approached him before he played in any event asking.

[@JohnpaulDejoria666]

@@dingaonhockeyshe’s a horrible human, no mercy😊

[@chrisdavidson5044]

She does have some toxic vibes about her for sure.

[@shawnsmith2540]

She's a Dyke. Of course

[@rong.thej.d.5969]

she's the type to avoid, she's toxic and if you get into it with her she'll make you the bad guy and say it's because she's...

[@zachreese6540]

a fruitcake

[@Charles.Wright]

it's right there in her twitter bio

[@glennwatson3313]

She is one of the guys until suddenly she is not.

[@no1raniuk854]

Jason Mercier looks like Nick Mullen.

[@matthewjohnson1035]

wtf! 100k was waaay over expectation. How is this whole story not just making fun of Mercier for being so wrong about that?

[@kristoffernilsson6043]

Give it a break Vanessa 😅

[@jonathansimons8569]

Picking up pennies in front of a steamroller.

[@jasonbatteiger2421]

wow, can't believe i didn't hear about this for over 7 years, so she tried to welch, offered a completely ridiculous buyout (THAT part sounds like she was drunk for sure) of 1 dime, the very next day 100 dimes, and AFTER that asks mercier for MORE action if he wants it as to that year's bracelets; o k. in what world would somebody doing this expect to get more action EVER again.

[@jasonbatteiger2421]

oh, and i never was one of those people that thought badly of v.selbst before just seeing this here. am for sure now, based just on this (and this above isn't some hearsay situation either). welcher's are a little step above cheaters in the gambling world (for me), ethically. techically she didn't welch since he never won 3 bracelet's that year but sure was trying to in advance.

[@mpup54]

shes mental

[@mrright1716]

What an odd fellow Vanessa is.

[@dshadow3173]

I knew Selbst was a complete idiot on the table, but it seems off the table as well.

[@samsammmm470]

best poker channel

[@paulgerber6723]

I am not a professional but would think one would never gamble with money they cannot afford to loose

[@Flackbox]

Don't worry no poker pro's ever gone broke from gambling

[@antzooma]

That's so sick though he came 1st 1st 2nd

[@thewolf5444]

Mercier upgraded from Selbst to Polk

[@jackofallgames3097]

I still remember the first time i saw her play. For the first 45min or so I thought she was a dude

[@jyyyb]

Risky😂 Doug Polk

[@jackofallgames3097]

Yes!! Didn't want to say it

[@michaelsweaney3890]

Doug Polk is a dude. A very popular KZbin personality.

[@jackofallgames3097]

@@michaelsweaney3890 I know

[@jimpryor99]

Because you’re blind

[@slide_drexler]

Nice

[@redlaw8760]

This Vanessa is the Danicrash Patrick of Poker. All fluff and no substance. Every time there’s a video of someone getting owned at a poker table, this lady is featured in it. She’s also insufferable.

[@JC-is1nl]

Good to see Doug didn't go busto

[@libs-Suk-Balz]

You made a bet, it was booked.

[@mcfly7]

Vanessa made a great bet initially but they Fear which is the mind killer appeared...

[@jojonodancer]

Jason was the one who was drunk, he should have took that 100k.

[@howard5992]

a good ten to one payoff, but 180 to one is far better I think basically it was prompting him to play every possible event so he won in either case because of cashes

[@freethis222]

The Void of Charisma

[@mikecantreed]

The poker world is still shaking!

[@junito1008]

Vanessa is the type that cheats if necessary !!

[@brucelee5576]

These two player personalities are on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Vanessa is a bit of a crybaby.

[@bigstew9724]

How does this not surprise me?

[@MikeO8585]

Greed gets the best of people

[@shaunelliott8583]

Isn't what they're doing considered illegal gambling?

[@sludge8506]

Getting drunk with Vanessa? Sounds like a ton of fun!!

[@jasonbatteiger2421]

as much as hellmuth deserves to be hated, never once heard of him being a welcher on bets, and he comes from the 80's back when doing that might get you a LOT worse than being caught welching now might.

[@robdedominic8758]

People who puke their lives onto the internet confuse me.

[@rickybrown3721]

Liv Boerree is the Queen of hearts

[@CornPop2]

Vanessa is overrated and I'd prefer Jennifer Tilly to be the face of womens poker

[@cbrreezzyy69]

The worst

[@ShewasIwas-biden]

The "face", riiiight...😂

[@notallowed337]

Tilly isn't in Polk's class at all

[@ZeeZeeFaa]

​@@ShewasIwas-biden lol. Does she have a face?

[@jjc8873]

LOL no thanks bro. Russo or Maria Ho much preferable

[@rugbywhisperer-coachkane3038]

Vanessa when she wins... pride, bravado, boisterous... when de loses... boo hoo feel sorry for me. Pathetic

[@Scottydontbutscottydoes]

This clown was trying to get on record that she was drunk when she entered into the contract in her attempt to nullify it. She's an attorney. She knew what she was doing.

[@nedtaylor1983]

Exactly. She is pathetic.

[@derikjbrandt]

Reminds me of Garrett Adelstein.

[@soulreadanalytics9781]

Shook the poker world lmao..

[@hansel2001]

Nobody is Team Vanessa. For so many reasons, she is in the wrong here and put Mercier into a bad position on social media. Shame on her.

[@kagepoker]

Doug Polk needs more protein.

[@dkastil]

Do not say that about Doug Polk before he transitioned.

[@seanmorelli2510]

Never been a Vanessa fan ever!!!! Love watching her blow up on the felt tho :) yeah I'm a hater I know...just the truth!!

[@mikewilliams3509]

Her hedging her bet was stupid... it is hard to win 3 braclets but i get it.. if she loses shes toast .. either way shes a dirtball

[@odysseusnissan]

The big question is...was she going to be honorable and pay off the bet if he won? I doubt it.

[@playboicasti]

100% yes she was gonna pay

[@wesgrubbs8437]

​@@playboicastiLIES. Vanessa Selbst is a dude that is known to habitually lie.

[@howard5992]

she was smart enough to buy coverage so if she lost she had insurance

[@TheWiryWoodchuck]

Vanessa and Phil Hellmuth are two peas in a pod

[@aaronpeddicord4175]

So what exactly was the controversial fallout the shook the poker world???

[@jasonbatteiger2421]

nothing, she made 10,000 as he never won 3 bracelet's that year. the controversy is that she was trying to welch before the stipulations of the bet had finished. the only thing worse in poker/gambling than being a welch, where your word is worth nothing, is being a cheater.

[@Crash33333a]

Any tournament I'm watching and when Vanessa is on and I hear her voice it reminds me way to much of the teachers nails and the chalkboard. She accused a player once of talking to much yet she rambled on and on and on. I don't think she needs to shut up and take a breath.

[@bigjohn7057]

Vanessa is the most masculine man at any poker table

[@aaronbushue499]

So what happens if you just decline to honor a prop bet

[@ryanmundt8489]

Legally? Probably nothing. But she would basically get blackballed from the poker/gambling community of degenerates that she would ever want to sell action, bet with, play high stakes cash with. No more invites from your friends to private poker games with the whales, etc

[@GoogleMeAgain]

Leave Doug Polk alone man.

[@Splackavellie85]

If the bet was 1.8M for three bracelets, Vanessa should have offered 600K to back out after Jason winning the first bracelet. No way 100K is a “generous” offer.

[@whitedevil2]

that's not how odds work

[@jimpryor99]

Tell me you don’t understand math without saying you don’t understand math

[@BCNeil]

Her math was fine. Jason could easily take that $100,000 or $110,000. Not sure if her offer includes his initial $10,000. Then he sells action that he will win 2 more bracelets at 18 to 1 or higher. Which he would have been able to do easy. We know this because she was selling action at 25 to 1 as a hedge.

[@MuddyPoppins]

Vanessa is just that kind of dead beat. Always ❤ to see her lose.

[@mpup54]

Jason should have known better and just made the bet for 2 bracelets, seeing as he had only won one before this

[@skirtchaser4218]

I seriously doubt this shook the poker world. It didn’t even register with me.

[@trootzy]

do a video about Dwan's 2010 bracelet bet. him not winning a bracelet saved the poker community $10-$20million

[@PokerBounty]

already made this video few months ago! Do check it out

[@dingaonhockey]

​@@PokerBountyany shot you can link it? Would like to watch it but I can't find it in your vids.

[@michaelsweaney3890]

Its 2024 and Dwans bracelet count is still 🍩

[@sludge8506]

@@michaelsweaney3890 I want that donut!!!

[@izzyduzzit00]

“Poker community” lol you mean the high rollers. Which fyi they are 1% of the poker world.

[@yevgeniygrechka6431]

Selbst is definitely much more in the wrong here, but Mercier should have taken the 100k.

[@jasonbatteiger2421]

mathmatically he should've needed better than 180-1 against to take the bet in the first place, and yes, that same math would say he should've taken the 100 when offered to take a slam dunk 90,000 profit. but probably didn't for same reason people buy a lottery ticket, or bet ever in roulette against a casino or a parlay bet against a bookie, you put in a small amount and dream of the huge score. difference between at least 99% of those in here commenting and j.mercier in 2016 (probably still now too) is that to him 10,000 isn't a lot of money. in every one of these bets mentioned your payout on the backend isn't commensurate to the odds of you winning, thus a bad bet. he clearly found it more valuable to possibly win this bet than just take the 90,000 profit. her fears of having to maybe some small % of the time owe him 2 mil lead to her offering a horrible "here just take this 100,000 (90,000 profit) so i don't have to worry for the next weeks of losing 2 mil to you".

[@ladyofthelake223]

A true friend would have taken the offer.

[@quercusquercus532]

Yes. But people like Vanessa don't have "true friends".

[@mikewilliams3509]

Doug polk messed up

[@Lugenfabrik]

Where the hell would Vanessa get $2M?

[@NoleInJax]

Pretty dumb imo to turn down 100k after only winning one of 3 needed.

[@garyh3597]

Just when I thought Vanessa couldn’t be any more dislikable

[@Nikkithedog-t6b]

I wouldn't give 200 to 1 to any human over any bracelet win, even then just too many events.

[@nedtaylor1983]

If for some reason you did then all you have to say is you were drunk.

[@billymabum3514]

I would for just the main event

[@patrickmcgraw4646]

Why would anyone do this?

[@monsterstackwizard9313]

Why is everyone in the comments victim-blaming my man Doug Polk

[@larrywheels762]

If she lost those wagers, shed never pay up. Shes cringey, and cringey people never part with a dollar, without alot of drama.

[@ManOfMonism]

Maybe Selbst should stop drinking!

[@billycasper289]

As if he never took 100k to win 3 bracelets is nearly impossible bet she'd of paid 300 when he was sat on 2 bracelets

[@studentoflife7535]

What about Anythiny Zinno stealing 10k from a backpack at the wynn December series?

[@naswiipp]

Any validity to this story?

[@studentoflife7535]

@naswiipp I personally witnessed him being surrounded and questioned by security. As well, know the Florida poker player who's backpack it was. It's interesting that no poker media has mentioned anything about it. Even though many know.

[@naswiipp]

@@studentoflife7535 thank you. Why don't people speak on this? The "poker community" is a nest of vipers.

[@jerrygarcia4390]

😳

[@naswiipp]

@@studentoflife7535 a day later the story drops. Thank you for being informed.

[@Bhodisatvas]

Her own fault, handle your liquor lady.

[@3328music]

Vanessa is my least favorite poker player of all time.

[@alexanderpeyman1997]

Game of luck ,it has nothing to do with skills period !

[@pugsnhogz]

Vanessa was brilliant but her ego got in the way. It's sad such a great career can be summed up so briefly.

[@markparkerjr.8220]

The issue is that if Vanessa won, would she expect to be paid??

[@PokerBounty]

She was already paid the 10K beforehand

[@sk8hillzz]

she was paid, she got the 10k that was bet.

[@postcardsfromprotest]

The first rule of gambling is, do not bet with money you can not afford to lose. Selbst is the Helmuth of female poker players. Whines everytime she loses a hand.

[@shady4evaggunit]

Vanessa is the absolute worst 🤦‍♂️

[@user-ns1xx6uy3d]

They have backers. That's how they spend millions to make thousands.