Home : Poker News : ‘LUKAKU’ Wins $1.1 Million From Kayhan Mokri In 5 Card PLO Match

‘LUKAKU’ Wins $1.1 Million From Kayhan Mokri In 5 Card PLO Match

The Unknown Grinder Won Nearly 20 Buy-ins From The High-Stakes Regular


One of the highest-stakes ongoing heads-up matches on CoinPoker has been between Kayhan ‘KayhanMok’ Mokri and ‘LUKAKU’ at the five-card pot-limit Omaha tables. Those two have played thousands of hands against each other, and the latest result saw a humongous swing in favor of LUKAKU.

On Oct. 17, LUKAKU crushed Mokri for $1,102,968, almost 20 buy-ins at the $300-$600 with a $120 ante stake they played. They weren’t afraid to battle with deep stacks, frequently playing with more than $200,000 effective.

Mokri is no stranger to seven-figure swings. In August, he won a freezeout against Ossi ‘Monarch’ Ketola where each player put up €1 million, part of a highly-publicized series of matches Ketola has played.

Mokri Bluffs With Two Pair

The players had more than $220,000 in front of them, meaning they were playing 350 big blinds deep, when Mokri opened to $1,800 on the button and LUKAKU called.

On the J102 flop, Mokri continued for $2,850 and called a check-raise to $10,070. LUKAKU then potted for $23,940 on the 5 turn. Mokri called, bringing an 8 river. This time, LUKAKU checked. Mokri potted for $71,820, and LUKAKU called, creating a pot of $215,500.

Mokri showed AQJ85 for jacks and eights. LUKAKU had that beat with KQ10109. They took the pot with a straight.

Hand Analysis

On the flop, Mokri has a hand that he opts to continuation-bet, but it’s not clear that’s the best play. Blocking top pair and the Q makes it unlikely he’ll face a check-raise. But the times it does happen are quite unfortunate, since he has a hand that doesn’t do well against a check-raising range. Having a nut straight draw and potential future blockers for bluffing flushing runouts means he can’t fold against the raise.

Once the players reach the turn as played, LUKAKU’s hand of a set with a wrap is good enough to pot. They’ll still have decent equity the rare times Mokri has a slow played set of jacks, and they’re leading against most everything else.

With two pair, a nut gutshot, and the A, Mokri peels and finds himself facing a check, holding the nut blocker on the river. This is a situation where many players think bluffing is automatic, but it’s not as simple as it looks.

If a player bluffs every single time he has the nut blocker, the opponent can just call all of their bluff-catchers and profit. Some of the hands containing the A should check, and having jacks up along with a Q (making it less likely the opponent has a straight) means checking is probably the play.

In a tight six-max game, bluffing all of the naked ace hands will probably perform pretty well since many players will fold too often. In an aggressive heads-up match where the opponent will call some non-flushes, the results of this play will go downhill in a hurry.

LUKAKU has the perfect hand to look up Mokri, with a club blocker and no spades.

LUKAKU Calls Down in $300K Pot

Just a bit more than 250 big blinds deep, LUKAKU potted to $1,800 from the button, and Mokri made it $5,400 in the big blind. LUKAKU called.

Mokri bet large with $8,250 on the KJ7 flop. LUKAKU made it $20,100, and Mokri called, bringing an A. He came out betting again with $38,400. LUKAKU called. Mokri shoved the last $94,691 in on the 2 river. LUKAKU called again.

Mokri showed AQQ73 for aces up, and LUKAKU showed KK1093. They took down the $317,423 pot with flopped top set.

Hand Analysis

A double-suited ace-high hand with a strong pair makes for a nice three-bet in five-card PLO, even if one would like a little more connectivity between the 7 and the 3. LUKAKU has a clear call with single-suited kings.

Mokri goes for the c-bet again with decent blockers, a high club and a pair on the board. His pocket queens block some continues as well.

LUKAKU has top set, which usually wants to raise. A double-gutter with backdoor spades gives them added playability on turns and rivers, so raising becomes even more attractive. They decide on a small sizing, possibly hoping to keep in some weaker hands like Mokri’s.

Mokri’s hand is immediately in an uncomfortable spot. With nut outs and the Q, it might be too much to fold, but it isn’t a great holding to play out of position against a raise, even a small one.

The turn gives Mokri two pair, but it also gives him two nut blockers. His hand doesn’t beat anything that raised for value on the flop, so he immediately goes on offense again with an aggressive bet. Some Q-10 combos are going to lead this nut-changing card. So, if Mokri doesn’t think his two pair has any showdown value, bluffing seems best. The hand doesn’t have enough equity against a calling range to check-raise all in.

The situation is the same on the river, so Mokri has to follow up if he believes his read was correct.

LUKAKU should fold some of their sets on the river, but the ones with a straight blocker become the best ones to call. Holding a 10, they picked off Mokri for another huge one.

Hungry for more high-stakes poker content? Check out the CoinPoker YouTube channel and Bobby James’ YouTube channel for more action.

 

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