best live streamed hands, Antonio Esfandiari, Senor Tilt, Hustler Casino Live

Top Streamed Hands of the Week: Señor Tilt, The Magician, and Nik Airball Drive the Action

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Last week was a real treat for the fans of live poker, with multiple huge games aired across free YouTube channels, including Hustler Casino Live, Poker at the Lodge, and the return of the PokerStars Big Game on Tour. 

While we are used to seeing the Friday game dominate the headlines on HCL, two high-stakes games played on Wednesday and Thursday brought the biggest action this time around. 

Down at The Lodge, superstars like Doug Polk, Taras, Nik Airball, and Brown Balla took to the felt for a round of $200/$400 NLH. 

To finish things off, PokerStars aired a long-anticipated new episode of Big Game on Tour, with the new loose cannon joining a lineup that included the likes of Alan Keating, Wolfgang, and Lex Veldhuis. 

If you missed last week’s action in real time, we are bringing you a rundown of a few of the biggest pots and most memorable moments. 

The Magician Plays Tricks on Señor Tilt

Following the early week shows, where stakes are normally lower, Hustler Casino Live launched another episode of Wacky Wednesday, a popular show that’s been bringing some crazy action in recent weeks. 

This time around, the start of the show was none other than Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, who continued his series of cameo appearances on HCL. 

Antonio joined the likes of Brandon Steven, Doc Hollywood, Steve, Han, and Sam “Señor Tilt” Kiki, who got involved in one of the most interesting hands of the day with The Magician. 

The hand started with an early position limp from Han and an iso-raise to $3,000 from Antonio, who held a respectable A♣4♣. The raise was called by Señor Tilt on the button, while Han got out of the way.

Senor Tilt’s 8♣6♣ was dominated in terms of suits, but he did have position in the hand. Esfandiari started chanting “Don’t bluff Kiki” as the dealer was putting out the flop, which indicated he may be up to no good in this hand. 

The flop brought Q♠7♦5♠, which was no help to Antonio’s hand, while Kiki held an open-ended straight draw. 

Antonio decided to check his option, and it seemed like he may be done with the hand. Señor Tilt bet out $4,000, and Antonio decided to peel a card and see what happened on the turn. 

The turn brought him the beautiful A♦, which meant he now had the best hand. Antonio recognized this might be the case and decided to take the betting lead, putting out a $10,000 bet. 

Once Kiki called, the pot swelled up to $35,000. The river was the 8♠, which gave Señor Tilt some showdown value. Yet, when Antonio checked, Kiki decided he would take the pot away and placed a massive $70,000 overbet. 

Antonio took his time, tried to dissect the hand, and eventually said he would gift the $70,000 to his opponent. In truth, it was a combination of the polarizing side Señor Tilt used and Antonio’s famous curiosity that meant the bluff would not work this time around. 

Antonio scooped the pot and ended up winning nearly $350,000 in the game, while Kiki would drop about a quarter of a million dollars before the players called it quits. 

Señor Tilt Gets His Revenge

The very next day, another star-studded lineup sat down at the HCL tables to play some high-stakes poker, with Señor Tilt coming back for more. This time, he was up against the likes of Nik Airball, Gaston, Tomer, and Han. 

Things were going considerably better for Kiki this time around, as he was already up a significant amount when a key hand went down. 

Action opened with a limp from Doc Hollywood and a $4k raise from Señor Tilt, who held Q♥Q♦ this time around. 

Nik Airball looked down at 3♥3♦ and decided to play the aggressor, as he bumped it up to $12k. Doc Hollywood held a pair of Sevens and made the call, and Señor Tilt decided he would not play any games, as he bumped it up to $74k his his premium pair. 

Kiki was playing with more than half a million to start the hand, and Nik Airball had him covered, so the “King of LA” decided to peel the flop and see if he can outplay his opponent or flop a set. 

Doc Hollywood, who only had about $210k to start the hand, decided to also go to a flop, as he made quite a loose preflop overcall. 

With $222,000 in the pot, the three players saw a flop of Q♠9♦8♥, which must have been a thrilling moment for Kiki, who was hoping to get revenge for the beating he took in the Wednesday game. 

He put out a c-bet for $75k on the flop, and when action got to Nik Airball, most viewers probably thought the hand was over. 

Yet, Airball had other ideas, as he correctly deduced this flop would likely benefit his perceived range more than the preflop aggressor’s. 

Nik put in a re-raise to $175k, which was music to Kiki’s ears, as he was only losing to JT in particular at this point in the hand. 

When Doc Hollywood got out of the way, Señor Tilt put the rest of his chips into the pot, likely looking to run it twice in case Nik did have the nuts. 

Nik quickly mucked his hand, and Kiki won a pot worth nearly $500,000 without even having to fade any cards on the turn or the river. 

At the end of the day, he booked a massive $603,000 win, one of the biggest in HCL history, while Airball had a rough day and lost about $306,000. 

Taras Plays Two Big Pots in Back-to-Back Hands

Down in Texas, Doug Polk put together a small group of players to play a high-stakes game on Poker at the Lodge for the first time in a while, as Taras, Nik Airball, Brown Balla, and Hook joined him for some five-handed $200/$400 action. 

The game only lasted about three hours, and as expected, Taras was involved in some of the biggest pots of the game. 

The first big hand saw Taras open to $1,200 with A♣K♠, before Hook made it $3,400 on the button with his A♥J♦. Taras went for another raise to $10,100, and Hook decided to peel the flop. 

The flop looked great for Taras, as he had his opponent dominated on the A♦9♣7♥ board. His $7,300 c-bet was quickly called, and the dealer put out the turn card, which was the 10♦.

Taras kept betting for value, putting out $25k this time around, and Hook decided he had enough hand to semi-bluff, putting Taras all-in for his remaining $56k. 

With top pair and top kicker, Taras decided he couldn’t fold, and was pleasantly surprised to see he was in great shape, going to the river with 84% equity. 

Taras announced he was only running it twice, and this was lucky for Hook, as the dealer put out the 8♣ on the river, awarding him a pot worth just south of $200k. 

Just moments later, Taras was involved in another big hand, as he 3-bet Airball’s $1,200 open raise to $6,000. 

The flop brought both players some help, as Nik’s A♥8♥ made top pair, and Taras’ Q♠J♠ made second pair on the A♦Q♦2♠ flop. 

Taras bet $4k, and Nik quickly called, before the 6♣ rolled off on the turn.  Both players opted for pot control this time, as action went check-check. 

The 8♠ was the perfect card for Nik, who now held two pair. Yet, it was Taras who led out for $12k on the river with his Queen, perhaps looking to get value from some pocket pairs in Nik’s range. 

Nik, perhaps recognizing Taras was a bit tilted, moved all-in for Taras’ remaining $77k, repping either a monster or a busted diamond draw. 

Curiosity got the better of Taras, who decided to flick in the call and announced he was done for the day once he was shown the bad news. 

Airball was able to win back his losses from HCL and then some, as he booked a $356k win, while Taras and Hook both lost a cool $300k on the day. 

Big Game on Tour is Back

After months of waiting, the PokerStars Big Game on Tour is back, with a new loose cannon taking his seat. This time around, PokerStars has bumped the stakes up, and awarded the loose cannon a $100k starting stack for a $200/$400 game. 

UK’s Luke Moy took the seat for his first episode and got involved in the most interesting pot of the day, which saw all six players take the flop in a bomb pot, worth $1,200 per player. 

The flop brought 8♣7♣6♣, and interestingly enough, everyone had a piece of it. Keating held the nut flush draw with his A♣3♣, Lex flopped two pair with his 7♥5♦, while all remaining players had some sort of a straight draw. 

Flop action checked through, however, and the K♦ hit the turn. No one’s hand improved, and Veldhuis decided it was time to bet his two pair for value, as he put out a $6k bet into the $7.2k pot. 

The bet was quickly called by Alan with his nut flush draw, as well as Wolfgang, who had an open-ender with his 7♦6♦. The final decision was on the loose cannon, who decided his 10♥6♠ was also good enough to see the river. 

To his great fortune, the river card was the 9♥, which completed both his and Wolfgang’s straights. He wisely checked his option, and when action got to Wolfgang, he went for value with a $21k bet. 

Perhaps a bit timidly, Moy just called the river bet, and ended up scooping a pot worth more than $73k, a big step on his path to paying for the dream Las Vegas wedding for him and his partner. 

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