Michael Rodrigues Wins First Badugi Event at World Series of Poker, David Baker Scores His Third in Razz

3 min read

The first World Series of Poker bracelet in an event dedicated to the game of Badugi is heading to Portugal. Michael Rodrigues Pires Santos won his first bracelet run the inaugural event, outlasting 515 and winning $144,678. It’s the third cash for Rodrigues this Series. He’s had had some success playing online and in international events.

Michael Rodrigues is the first winner of a WSOP Badugi bracelet. (Image: WSOP)

Badugi has been part of the mixed-game rotation at the WSOP for years, but the $1,500 event was the first for the low-hand variation. For those who don’t know, Badugi is a four-card triple-draw game where the best lowest hand wins. The goal is to make a four-handed Badugi, which means none of the cards must be the same suit.

The best hand is A234, all rainbow.

The event was so popular this year, that an unscheduled fourth day was needed.

Top six finishers of 2023 WSOP $1,500 Badugi 

  1. Michael Rodrigues — $144,678
  2. Yingui Li — $89,415
  3. Serhii Popovych — $59,879
  4. Matt Vengrin — $40,996
  5. Danny Tang — $28,270
  6. Owais Ahmed — $20,557

David “OBD” Baker wins third bracelet

Professional poker player David “ODB” Baker bagged number three in the $1,500 Razz event that brought in 556 players — the biggest Razz event in WSOP history in terms of entrants. He added $152,991 to his WSOP cashes that will soon hit the $4 million mark.

David Baker
David Baker is the winner of the $1,500 Razz event at the 2023 WSOP. (Image: WSOP)

Baker performed a miracle comeback to take this event down. When play began on the last day with 15 players, he was down to two big bets, but by the time half that field was eliminated, he was back on top. With four players left, he found himself again as the short stack, but mounted a comeback and ended up with all the chips and the bracelet.

Justin Liberto was vying for his second bracelet, but instead became the bride’s maid for his first time, finishing second. Liberto is a regular on the WSOP Circuit and owns four rings for his work.

Jeff Lisandro brought $4.4 million in WSOP cashes and six rings to the final table, but he finished in fifth.

Final table of WSOP $1,500 Razz

  1. David Baker — $152,991
  2. Justin Liberto — $152,991
  3. Chris Hundley — $94,558
  4. Takashi Ogura — $66,659
  5. Jeff Lisandro — $34,752
  6. Everett Carlton — $24,714
  7. William Burke — $19,347
  8. Dzmitry Urbanovich — $14,805
  9. Rafael Concepcion — $11,527

Baker, 50, joins Brad Ruben, Kevin Gerhart, Max Pescatori, and Phil Hellmuth as winners of this event.


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