Everybody has regrets in their lives, things that they wished would have gone differently, whether or not they were within their control. In 2009, Andrew Badecker won his first table at the World Series of Poker’s $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout, only to come up short at his second table. As if it was fated, Badecker returned to the scene of the crime Friday night, winning the same event that eluded him two years ago.

For his win in this year’s version of the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout, the 23-year-old Connecticut native won his first two tables before beating out 15 other players on Day 3 to claim his first WSOP gold bracelet and $369,371. Badecker defeated Robbie Verspui heads-up.

On the final hand of the tournament, Badecker four-bet all-in, and was called by Verspui’s AJ. Badecker had just a K2, but his hand was live. The flop of 752 put him ahead, and the K on the turn produced some drama, giving Verspui a few more outs. But the 5 on the river sealed the deal for Badecker.

The win was provided a much-needed bankroll boost for Badecker.

“Honestly, I came out pretty under bankrolled,” said Badecker. “I was going to play three events, but I had to sell some action to get into all three. I was just going to see how the first few events went, and if I ran good I’d play more. I guess that’s what happened.”

The $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout drew 1,440 players, building a prize pool of $1,944,000. They were broken up into 160 tables of nine players, with the winners advancing to Day 2. The 160 winners played at ten-handed tables, leaving 16 players to fight it out on Day 3 in a more traditional freezout format.

Because of two eliminations on the final table bubble, players condensed to a single table of nine, with a formidable lineup of players. The nine remaining players had won a combined six WSOP bracelets.

The first player eliminated at the final table was a multi-bracelet winner. After losing one-third of his chips without seeing a flop, David Pham was all-in on the very next hand, holding AK against Eric Cajelais’ QQ. The board ran out T6392, providing no help for Pham and eliminating him in ninth place.

Pham’s elimination was the last all-in and call for more than a level. Just before the dinner break, however, a large pot developed seemingly out of thin air. Jon Spinks raised to 30,000, and when the action came around to Joseph Webber he went all-in for over 600,000. After a few seconds of thought Spinks called, and we were off to the races between Webber’s AK vs. Spinks’ JJ. The flop was a good one for Spinks, QJ7. Webber had four outs to the straight, but neither the K nor the 6 would get him there, sending him home in eighth.

Following the dinner break, play returned to a snail’s pace for several orbits, until two-time bracelet winner Vitaly Lunkin, the shortest stack of the remaining seven, took his final stand. His AQ was way behind Badecker’s AK, but the flop provided some hope when it cam 842. The K on the turn reduced Lunkin’s outs to just his diamond flush draw, and it wouldn’t connect when the K hit on the river, knocking Lunkin out in seventh place.

After this hand Badecker had a solid hold on the chip lead, but he doubled up Dan Makowsky and Dan Kelly in short order, bringing him back to the pack.

All of those chips were condensed into a single stack when Makowsky and Kelly got into a monster pot. It was a cooler for Kelly, as his AK was well behind Makowsky’s KK. The  K65 flop would require running aces to save Kelly’s tournament life. The 9 on the turn effectively ended the end, with the 4 an afterthought. Kelly hit the rail in sixth, while Makowsky gained control of about half of the chips in play five-handed.

Badecker got back on the right track a few hands later, leading out on every street of a KJJ63, eventually going all-in on the river and getting a call from Cajelais. Cajelais had rivered a flush with T6 but Badecker had flopped a full house KJ, giving him a much-needed double-up.

There were four players who entered this final table who had previously won a WSOP bracelet, and it looked as if for the first time at the 2011 WSOP that there would be a winner who had previously worn a gold bracelet. But three of the first four players knocked out at this final table were the former champions, leaving Cajelais as the last one standing. He was poised for a double-up, getting all-in on a QT9 with T9 for two pair against Badecker’s flush draw with A5. The 3 on the turn changed everything, giving Badecker the nut flush and leaving Cajelais with just four outs to survive. The river was the 3, guaranteeing another first-time champion and eliminating Cajelais in fifth place.

Verspui went on a run at this point, going from the shortest stack back into contention. After coming from behind as a three-to-one underdog and doubling up, he had enough to cover Jon Spinks’ all-in. Verspui was way ahead with KJ against Spinks’ K4. A jack on the flop and no help on the turn had Spinks drawing dead headed into the river, and he would go out in fourth. His finish was another impressive one by a Brit, their ninth final tablist in the first twelve events of this WSOP. It was also a second success for Spinks, who records his second fourth place finish of the 2011 WSOP.

Entering three-handed play, Badecker held the chip lead, with Makowsky close in second and Verspui trailing behind in third. A pair of double-ups for Verspui pulled all three players close to even.

Then Badecker and Makowsky played the pot of the tournament. Following a preflop re-raise from Makowsky, the flop came out 753. They each put 450,000 in on the flop, to see the K on the turn. Badecker bet out 380,000 inducing an all-in of 1.6 million from Makowsky, which was snap-called by Badecker. Makowsky had AA, but was drawing dead to Badecker’s flopped flush with QJ. The chips were counted down and Badecker had more chips, spelling the end for Makowsky in third.

Badecker held a nearly three-to-one chip lead entering heads-up play, but a few mid-sized pots that reached the river went in the favor of Verspui, bringing the match nearly even. But Badecker was just too much, and in the end he would make up for his previous result and capture the most coveted prize in all of poker.

Here are the official results for Event 13:

Andrew Badecker – $369,371

Robbie Verspui – $228,334

Daniel Makowsky – $151,379

Jon Spinks – $108,358

Eric Cajelais – $79,315

Dan Kelly – $58,903

Vitaly Lunkin – $44,362

Joseph Webber – $33,864

David Pham – $26,185

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