CoinPoker gave high-stakes cash game players and fans alike a treat with the recent Heads-Up Cash Game World Championships, with competitions run in pot-limit Omaha and no-limit hold’em. In the latter contest, ‘SeaLlama‘ prevailed over a stacked field that included Dan Cates, Linus Loeliger, and ‘KraciFisk,‘ who settled for second place in the finals. SeaLlama won $100,000 and a Rolex watch in addition to his $291,594 in winnings from the individual matches.
SeaLlama’s 2,000-hand match against KraciFisk at $50-$100 stakes produced a highlight tape available below from the CoinPoker team, including an interview with the champ. He walked host Gary Blackwood through some of the key hands that brought home the title, including two massive bluff-catches, each with one pair.
SeaLlama Picks Off 3x-Pot River Jam
Playing 116 blinds deep, KraciFisk raised to $230, and SeaLlama defended the big blind.
On the Q♦10♥7♣, SeaLlama checked. KraciFisk bet $138, and SeaLlama called. The turn was the 2♠, and SeaLlama check-called a much bigger size, this time $1,104. On the 6♥ river, SeaLlama checked and faced an all-in jam worth $10,238 effective, about triple the pot size.
SeaLlama called, and KraciFisk showed J♣8♠ for a worthless jack high, no good against Q♣8♦. SeaLlama won a pot worth $23,420.
Hand Analysis
SeaLlama flops top pair in a single-raised pot with a very deep stack-to-pot ratio (SPR) and check-calls. Top pairs are allowed to do some raising, but generally, calling is best with mediocre kickers. Raising should be confined to mostly the top of the top-pair range, which is going to be K-Q and Q-J in this setup.
The in-position player needs to start polarizing on the turn, so very large bets of pot or more are best. KraciFisk does that with a bet of about 1.5x pot.
While SeaLlama says in his interview that he doesn’t love this line and prefers a check, it’s not an out-of-line bluff. While the solver does do more checking than betting with J-8 combos, there are still some large blasts, so this is a fine play. The solver does prefer to be more equity-driven with its bluffs, slamming in chips with open-ended combos like K-J, J-9, and 9-8.
As played, the river bluff is also good from KraciFisk. While the all-in overbet isn’t a standard play for most players, high-stakes regulars are familiar with it these days, and KraciFisk correctly uses it here.
Because the river bluff is so polar, hands that block straights are preferable to hands like K-Q that have more absolute value. Interestingly, while Q-8 is a good hand to call with on the river because it blocks so much value, Q-9 is supposed to mainly fold. This is likely because the in-position player is supposed to get to the river with more J-9 than J-8. In other words, on the river, Q-9 interferes with more bluffs than Q-8.
KraciFisk Bluffs All in With Third Pair
At normal 100-blind depth, KraciFisk opened to $230 and called a three-bet to $1,000 from SeaLlama.
The flop came K♦4♣2♠, and SeaLlama continued for $600. KraciFisk called. Both players checked the J♣, bringing a 10♠. SeaLlama bet $1,280, and KraciFisk shoved all in for $8,400.
SeaLlama called, and KraciFisk showed Q♠10♥. That was no good against SeaLlama’s Q♠J♠. SeaLlama scooped a $20,000 pot.
Hand Analysis
Preflop, SeaLlama has a premium holding worth three-betting, and KraciFisk has a hand that’s mainly supposed to call, though it does mix some four-bet bluffs.
On the flop, SeaLlama expressed some surprise that he didn’t check. He’s correct that checking is the preferred play with Q-J, though the solver mixes in some betting as well. So, the bet is fine.
KraciFisk has one of the worst hands that should consider calling. It has some high-card value, but it only beats a bunch of low-frequency bluffs. KraciFisk does go ahead and call, but folding would have been okay as well.
SeaLlama’s turn check is good since building a huge pot with second pair isn’t appealing, but KraciFisk has a close decision whether to bluff. The hand is near the bottom of their range. Having a backdoor club blocker would be better since it makes bluffing on some rivers easier.
On the river, SeaLlama uses a solver-approved 40% size with his second pair. KraciFisk is supposed to respond mainly by calling. The pair of 10s has some value, and KraciFisk has worse hands to bluff with. Chiefly, their Q-4 and Q-2 combos are worse hands that still block some strong holdings. They can attack 10-X hands with those bluffs, where bluffing with a 10 doesn’t target as much of the bet-folding range.
As for SeaLlama’s river call, it’s a good one. J-X holdings mix, but Q♦J♦ is one of the better combos to use.
Hungry for more high-stakes poker content? Check out the CoinPoker YouTube channel and Bobby James’ YouTube channel for more action.
