Friday's Hustler Casino Live was Bonkers and a New Poker Legend was Born
Friday night's Hustler Casino Live stream was so entertaining that producer Ryan Feldman cut it short and will air the rest on May 25, one day prior to the show's historic $1 million buy-in poker game.
The decision to stop the stream in the middle of a juicy game didn't sit well with many fans who expressed their displeasure on social media. But, as Feldman explained in a tweet, there were "good reasons" to do so. In that high-stakes game, one player lost nearly $600,000, a mystery player showed up and became an instant legend, and poker vlogger Mariano Grandoli took down a $600,000 pot with a straight flush against the nut flush.
Mariano Wins One of the Sickest Poker Hands of the Year
If there was an award for the best poker hand of 2023 thus far, many would vote for this one. In the hand in question, Mariano raised from under the gun to $500 with K♦10♦. Charles, a high-stakes regular on the show, raised to $2,000 with 8♥7♥ on the button. Andy "Stacks," a legend in the Los Angeles high-stakes community who was already down six-figures for the night, made the call from the big blind with A♦4♦.
Mariano then decided to four-bet it to $9,000, which didn't convince either player to fold. Three-way to the flop they went, and it came out 9♦J♦Q♦.
"Oh no, you've got to be kidding me!" Hustler Casino Live announcer David Tuchman exclaimed.
With the hand being straight flush versus ace-high flush and both players having stacks of at least $300,000, there wasn't any foreseeable way to avoid blood. All three players checked to see a meaningless 3♥ on the turn. Andy again checked to set the trap, but little did he know Mariano, who then bet $8,000, had him drawing dead.
Charles, of course, moved out of the way with his eight-high, and then when action returned to the preflop aggressor, he raised it up to $35,000. With a straight flush, Mariano called and then a fourth diamond — 6♦ — appeared on the river. Andy bet out $120,000 before his opponent jammed all in for $257,000.
Given the board wasn't paired, Andy simply couldn't find a fold with the A♦, so he made the call and then found out the bad news that he had just lost a $611,300 pot.
The brutal cooler was only half of Andy's horrendous luck on Friday night. He was down $599,700 when the stream was cut about six hours into the game. How he finished the session will be revealed on May 25. Mariano was up $332,900 at the show's conclusion.
The Legend of Brad
There was a mystery player named "Brad" who appeared late in the stream and became an instant legend for his gamble mentality. He made Alan Keating seem like Allen Kessler.
Brad bought in for $100,000 and immediately made his presence known when he called a four-bet jam for $85,000 total with just 4♦3♦ preflop against Andy's K♥Q♥. As bad as Andy was running on this night, it was no surprise that Brad paired up on the turn and took down the pot.
Moments later, however, Brad would punt off the chips he won against Andy in a pot versus Charles. In that hand, with about $50,000 in the middle on a board of 10♣6♥2♣9♣, he put his opponent all in for $88,000 with A♦3♣. The bluff didn't get through because Charles, who snap-called, had 2♠2♥ for a set. Brad was drawing dead and was back under his starting stack.
Within minutes, he was all in for $62,000 with 3♠2♠ preflop against the 7♦7♣ "Dentist Dave" held. The best hand would scoop the pot and it was time for another $100,000 rebuy from Brad.
On his second bullet, it took him little time to spin up a fortune. After taking down a decent pot, he called a three-bet to $8,000 from Mariano, who held A♥A♦, with 6♠5♠. "Bobo," who has become a regular on Hustler Casino Live, made it $25,000 with A♣K♠ before Mariano then five-bet to $60,000.
Brad, in character, wasn't going anywhere so he called, leaving about $72,000 behind and was covered by both players. Bobo then moved all in for about $180,000 more. Mariano and Brad both snap-called. All three players agreed to run it twice, and the first run out of J♠3♦4♥2♥K♥ gave Brad a winning straight, guaranteeing he'd at least scoop half of the main pot.
No way could six-high win both run outs, right? The second board went 3♥6♦6♥2♠7♦, trips for Brad, who took down the entire main pot and all of a sudden had over $400,000 in his stack. He was far from done. Shortly after, with the nut full house on the river, Andy attempted a six-figure bluff with five-high before being forced to fold when his opponent moved all in.
Following that hand, Brad was sitting on over $700,000 for a profit of more than $500,000. He'd give some of it back before the stream was cut, but he still finished with a $359,900 profit, slightly more than Mariano's score. He did so while VPIP'ing at 85%, meaning he voluntarily put chips in the pot 85% of the hands he was dealt.
The Friday evening Hustler Casino Live stream had numerous six-figure pots and the game was so intense that even Nikhil "Nik Airball" Arcot, usually the most active and vocal player in the game, was almost an afterthought on this night. We'll all find out how the session concluded and if Brad left Hustler Casino with money on May 25. For now, you can watch the first six hours of the show on HCL's YouTube channel.
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