Last week brought us a series of high-stakes poker games across shows like Hustler Casino Live, Poker at the Lodge, and Venetian Live Poker. The games included many familiar faces, along with a few interesting newcomers.
Perhaps the most interesting novelty was the introduction of Nicky P, a familiar name on the tournament poker circuit, to high-stakes live streams. In less than two hours, Nicky already had his first beef with a big name in these circles, showcasing his often impulsive and confrontational personality.
Rampage made a visit to Texas, which went just as you would expect, looking at his recent results, while Steve Okin hosted a huge poker game at the Venetian, and ended up being one of its biggest casualties.
If you missed the action this week, keep reading and find the details of some of the most interesting hands shown on live stream last week.
Nicky P Gets Feisty with Mariano
The Wednesday game on Hustler Casino Live is typically the first big game of the week, and that was the case this time as well.
The likes of Mariano, Big Mike, and Henry were all in action, along with one newcomer. Nicky Palma, a mid-stakes tournament professional, joined the stream for the first time.
From the get-go, Palma got dealt one big hand after another, and an hour and a half into the stream, he was crushing it.
With blinds at $25/$50, Henry raised to $200 with his 8♠8♦, and Nicky P once again woke up with a monster, this time in the form of pocket Aces.
Nicky raised it up to $2,200 before Kevin made the call in the small blind with pocket Jacks. Next to act was Mariano, and true to his form, he bumped it up to $8,000 with Q♣J♣.
The 4-bet managed to get rid of Mr. NYC, who held pocket Sevens, as well as Henry’s Eights. The action was back on Palma, and this is where things started taking a turn.
Holding pocket Aces, Nicky took an unusually long time before clicking it back to $17,200, talking to Mariano instead of acting on his cards. Mariano took much less time to make the call, and the two went to a flop, as Kevin’s Jacks hit the muck.
The flop was a disaster for Mariano, as Q♥3♠3♣ appeared on the table. Having less than a pot-sized bet back, Mariano checked, and Nicky bet $5,300 without too much hesitation.
Mariano called the small bet, and the two went to the turn of A♠, which was a card that would likely save Mariano from further losses.
Both players checked before the 3♥ hit the felt. Nicky P stalled for what seemed like an eternity before announcing all-in, and Mariano instantly folded his cards.
Mariano seemed a little ticked off by the pace at which Nicky was playing, and said it would be good if the action would flow a little faster, for the sake of getting more hands in.
At this point, just an hour and a half into his first appearance on streams, Nicky P announced, “Surely you’re not being a joker? You’re a joker,” all in a very confrontational tone.
Nicky even tried polling the other players at the table at to who was right, and the consensus seemed to be in Mariano’s favor. What’s even more, Mariano said once again, “I’m just asking, you don’t have to listen to me.”
Despite all that, the newcomers seemed set to get into a confrontation with the popular poker vlogger, and continued to announce he would destroy Mariano at poker, to which the Argentinian simply responded that the more hands they play, the faster he can destroy him.
The hand and the back and forth between the two made this episode one of the most interesting of the week, and we recommend you give it a watch if you want to make up your own mind on who was right.
Turbo Pulls a Huge Bluff on Senor Tilt
Senor Tilt has become one of the staples of the high-stakes HCL streams, and his epic speech play was once again in focus this Friday.
This time around, he was getting into it with an Asian player by the nickname of “Turbo.” Just seconds before this hand was dealt, Senor Tilt called Turbo a “vagina” and the two were having a fun war of words when Turbo raised it up to $1,000 with just 8♦5♣.
In light of the recently said words, Senor Tilt re-raised to $4,000 with his A♥9♥, seemingly playing back at Turbo with a wide range.
As expected, Turbo snap-called, and the dealer put out a flop of A♣9♦7♦, which gave Senor Tilt a significant advantage.
Turbo check-called a bet of $5,000, before seeing the K♥ on the turn. Turbo checked once again, prompting Senor Tilt to bet $20,000 into the $18,000 pot.
To the surprise of everyone at the table, and the commentators in the booth, Turbo announced all-in almost instantly, betting a total of $115,125 with nothing but a gutshot straight draw.
Senor Titl didn’t seem too happy, but called quickly, as there was no way to fold a hand as strong as his given the table dynamics.
The two players bumped fists, and Turbo left the game with a smile on his face, clearly showing that the earlier spat was in good spirits and not a real fight.
Despite winning this gigantic pot, Senor Tilt eventually ended the day with a loss of $167,800, while Nik Airball was once again the big winner with over $143,000 in profit.
Steve and Okin Play a Big One at the Venetian
The Venetian Poker Live streams have been bringing us heated action each week, but this time around, the stakes were up and the action was even wilder.
With blinds set at $100/$200, and many straddles in play, we had a chance to see a much bigger game aired from the Venetian poker room than we are used to.
One of the biggest pots of the day started with Steve, a notorious high roller gambler, who opened it up to $2,000 with A♦K♣.
One of the show’s co-hosts, Brian Okin, re-raised to $10,000 with his K♥10♥ from the small blind, and Steve decided just to call.
The flop spelled action, as A♥J♥9♦ meant both players had a huge piece of it. Steve check-called at $15k bet with his top pair, and the dealer put out the 3♦ as the turn card.
With $51k in the pot, Okin decided to go for it all and put Steve all-in for his remaining $68k, which Steve promptly called off.
The players agreed to run it twice, but neither of the rivers was of any help to Okin, who ended up losing $70,000 for the day in favor of Pennzoil Don and Steve, who were the game’s big winners.
Rampage Visits the Lodge
The Lodge Card Club in Austin had a special visitor this week, as Ethan “Rampage” Yau made his way to Texas to play with the local cowboys.
The game included Texas regulars like Taras and Alex, but Rampage faced off with a player named San in this hand.
Alex opened the action to $500 with his A♣J♣, Rampage called with 10♥10♣, and Llama overcalled with pocket Deuces, before San put on the squeeze to the tune of $3,000.
Alex and Rampage made the call, and the flop brought 7♥5♦3♦, giving San a flush draw. He bet $6,000 into the $9,900 pot, and Rampage decided to move all-in for his $27,475.
When San promptly called, Rampage seemed a bit disappointed, but his demeanor changed when he saw he was ahead and San was drawing.
Rampage insisted on running it just once, and typical to his recent form, lost on both the turn and the river, as the dealer put out the Q♦ and 9♦.
Rampage would eventually lose close to $70,000, continuing his bad stretch this year, while San profited close to $20,000 when all was said and done.
