Unknown accounts showing up for high-stakes heads-up matches on CoinPoker have been a theme in the biggest games there. Most recently, ‘aquellier‘ took on high-stakes regular ‘TaistoJanter‘ in a match that started at $200-$400 and escalated all the way up to $1,000-$2,000 with a $400 ante.
CoinPoker’s Bobby James examined many of the key hands in the wild match in a video below. There were big bluffs, wild preflop all ins, and a consistent flow of money one way. TaistoJanter appeared to pocket a few hundred thousand dollars, weathering extreme volatility as aquellier pushed the action hard.
Big Bluff Catch By TaistoJanter
Playing 75 blinds deep at $300-$600 with a $120 ante, aquellier raised to $1,800, and TaistoJanter made it $6,000. Aquellier called.
The flop came 8♣4♥3♥, and both players checked. TaistoJanter bet $3,549 on the 4♠, and aquellier called. The river was the 2♠, and TaistoJanter checked. Aquellier bet $14,504, and TaistoJanter called.
Aquellier showed J♥7♠ for a bluff, which TaistoJanter had beat with A♥K♦.
Hand Analysis
At just 75 blinds deep, aquellier is supposed to fold against the three-bet, since these mediocre offsuit hands do pretty poorly in three-bet pots. However, they opt to see the flop, and that loose play would prove to be a theme throughout the match.
On the flop, pretty much every hand mixes as the out-of-position player. It’s a flop that doesn’t really favor either side all that much, so the big blind’s stronger preflop range retains an advantage. TaistoJanter opts to check, and aquellier checks back their worthless hand, though beginning to bluff with backdoors and little showdown value would be fine.
On the turn, TaistoJanter makes a small bet for value. This play is good, as ace-king high rates to be best most of the time, and some weaker hands will call. Aquellier gets another chance to make a prudent fold, but they again play too loose. The weakest hands that continue here in position are combos like K-Q and K-J.
Things get interesting on the river. The solver actually likes another value-bet, one which most humans probably wouldn’t attempt. The situation hasn’t changed very much from the turn, though, and the opponent could still hero with weaker ace-high hands.
TaistoJanter’s check induces a bluff from aquellier, and TaistoJanter calls despite holding the A♥, a card the solver likes to include in its folding range. However, when aquellier is getting to the river much too wide, TaistoJanter gets to adjust and make calls like this, which won’t show a profit in the solver but will against a loose real-life range.
TaistoJanter Checks Back Trips
After the two had rocketed the stakes up to $1,000-$2,000 with a $400 ante, TaistoJanter opened to $5,000 on the button, and aquellier called, at 75 big blinds deep once again.
The flop came Q♣9♠5♣, and aquellier check-called $7,776. The turn was the Q♠, and aquellier checked again. TaistoJanter potted for $26,352, and aquellier called. Both players checked the 10♣.
Aquellier showed J♠9♦, but it was no good against TaistoJanter’s Q♥8♦ for trips.
Hand Analysis
Everything is pretty standard here preflop, and TaistoJanter’s first decision comes on the flop c-bet. The small blind should play pretty linearly with their top pairs here, betting more often with better kickers, but betting any Q-X is a fine play. That’s especially true if the opponent is likely to be continuing too wide.
Aquellier has an easy call and shouldn’t be leading the turn when the top card pairs.
TaistoJanter goes for a pot-sized bet, but they could use some overbets on this board, too. The texture will change very often on the river when it’s two-toned with so many straight draws present. Betting big in these situations is usually going to be best, since many hands worth betting on the turn will become less appealing on many rivers.
Aquellier again calls, which is standard again.
The river favors the big blind once they’ve called twice and many draws completed. They hardly have any air left, while the small blind has some bluffs, so leading is going to be a thing in these spots. The solver actually likes some all-in jamming with combos containing the Jc, since those will fold out some 10-X hands.
Checking back trips in position might look a bit weak, but it’s actually the optimal play against a balanced opponent. Going for value is too thin when so many hands now beat trips. In theory, TaistoJanter made a good play.
In practice, against an opponent who is much too wide, it’s probably okay to bet here. But players should be aware that this is only good against certain opponents.
Hungry for more high-stakes poker content? Check out the CoinPoker YouTube channel and Bobby James’ YouTube channel for more action.
