‘Giselle54‘ was arguably the end boss of the very highest-stakes pot-limit Omaha games CoinPoker in recent months before taking some time away from the tables. However, they were back in action this week at $1,000-$2,000 heads-up PLO with $400 ante, taking on a non-regular, ‘NV22.’
While the promise of a match against NV22 may have lured Giselle54 out of the shadows, NV22 managed to put together a $450,000 win over the course of a short session. Some of the match is documented below in video format by CoinPoker’s Bobby James, and we’ll take a deeper dive here into two of the wilder hands they played.
NV22 Scoops $508K Pot
Playing 127 big blinds deep, NV22 raised to $6,000, Giselle54 raised to $18,000, and NV22 four-bet to $54,000. Giselle54 called.
The flop came 6♦8♥6♣, and Giselle54 check-raised all in after NV22 potted for $108,800. NV22 called for $200,000 total. They showed A♥A♣7♣2♦ for an overpair, while Giselle54 had 9♦9♠8♠7♦ for a straight draw and a pair.
The turn was the 8♣, giving Giselle54 the lead with trips, but NV22 made a flush on the 4♣ river to win a $508,800 pot.
Hand Analysis
Because the cards are so connected in 9-9-8-7, even the single-suited versions of that hand are going to be fine to three-bet, especially with an ante. Double-suited, it’s a slam dunk three-bet, and Giselle54 has a clear call against the four-bet. The hand has too much equity to fold.
On the 8-6-6 texture, Giselle54 has the advantage at the top of the range with more trips-or-better holdings. NV22 has the overall advantage since aces will usually be best, and they’ll usually be pot-calling if checked to. Still, Giselle54 could potentially develop a leading range here for a very small size. Hands like 10-10-9-8 that don’t do that well stacking off might make sense as bluffs. In a sense, the out-of-position player is “buying” a cheap card in a spot where their range protects them, so long as they lead plenty of nutted hands.
As played, Giselle54 checks, and their hand is a no-brainer all in after the pot-sized bet. According to the Card Player PLO odds calculator, NV22 was about a 57-43 favorite, and their equity came home for the biggest pot of the session.
NV22 Hero-Calls With Bottom Pair
At 128 big blinds deep, NV22 opened on the button for $6,000, and Giselle54 called.
The flop came 10♥6♠5♣, and both players checked. The turn was the K♣. Giselle54 potted for $12,800, and NV22 called. On the 3♥, Giselle54 potted again. NV22 called.
Giselle54 showed A♥2♥J♣2♠ for a pair of 2s. NV22 took the $115,200 pot with Q♥J♥7♥3♦ for a pair of 3s.
Hand Analysis
Preflop, Giselle54 calls with a hand that should only three-bet if it’s double-suited.
Once the players get to the flop, NV22 could bet since they have a hand that’s fine to bet-fold. Not blocking any pairs is bad, but the 7 and the 3 block some continues, and being wrapped around the 10 provides some backdoor playability.
After the players check the flop, Giselle54 pots the turn. The J♣ is key here since it provides the opportunity to bluff flushing rivers. The hand can’t stand any heat at all if faced with a bet, so it makes sense to put it in the bluffing range.
NV22 has enough outs with the wrap to call in position, although many of them are non-nut outs.
On the river, Giselle54 goes for the pot-sized bluff. The J♣ becomes quite a bad card to hold on the river now, but the hand has no showdown value, and it unblocks middling cards like 5 through 10. These are the cards that Giselle54 really wants NV22 to be holding, since many of them are one-pair combos with missed straights that would have taken this line. Hands with a 10 and some backdoor potential and/or mediocre draws will often check the flop in position and then call the turn.
NV22 ends up making a really wild call with a pair of 3s and a 7 blocker. Not having clubs is really good when bluff-catching here, but what makes this call especially optimistic is that it could lose to quite a few bluffs. Hands with 7-7 and 4-4 in them are going to do a ton of bluffing out of position, since they shouldn’t have showdown value in most instances (although they would have in this instance).
It was a great result for NV22, but this one goes in the “don’t try this at home” bucket.
Hungry for more high-stakes poker content? Check out the CoinPoker YouTube channel and Bobby James’ YouTube channel for more action.
