Would You Fold Kings Preflop on Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event in This Spot?

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Jul 07, 2023 2 min read

Don't go broke with pocket kings preflop on Day 1 of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, but also don't fold kings. That's sort of where poker social media is stuck when analyzing a wild hand that took place on the PokerGO live-stream Friday night in which one player made an interesting decision to fold the cowboys preflop.

Earlier in the day, two players busted on the first hand, one of whom had pocket kings and ran into aces. Many of the comments were critical of the player's decision to lose it all with such deep stacks.

What Would You Have Done?

Three levels later (300/500), on Day 1d, Jasen Currie, who was above his starting stack, was faced with a difficult decision. The hand began with action folding around to the aforementioned player who raised it up to 1,200 on the button with K♣K♠.

From the small blind, the short stack — Paulo Joanello — with 11,800 chips moved all in with 8♠8♣. Vito Distefano, from the big blind, then four-bet it to 30,000 and entered the hand with over 92,000 chips. We'll keep his hand disguised for now for those who haven't yet seen the clip.

Action returned to Currie, who had three options — fold, call, or move all in for 78,000 total. He made the surprising decision to fold his cards and allow Distefano and Joanello to settle the main pot. But did he make the right decision?

Time for the Big Reveal

After Currie sent his cards into the muck, which shocked PokerGO announcers Remko Rinkema and former world champion Koray Aldemir, Joanello turned over his cards.

Distefano then showed his hand to the table, and it was A♥Q♣, far inferior to pocket kings. Currie informed the table just how strong the hand he folded was and they were all shocked. The board would run out 3♦9♦2♦10♣9♥ and Joanello earned a double up thanks to Currie's decision to fold.

Hindsight is always 20/20 but most poker players on social media were critical of the fold. Of course, earlier in the day, they were critical of a player busting with pocket kings.

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