Mariano and Peter are two players who need no introduction. One has made his claim to fame being one of the most popular poker vloggers around. The other quickly became a fan favorite for his love of action and the fearless style that puts even the best of the best in some tough spots.
So, there is hardly a better treat than to see these two collide in a huge pot. For Mariano, it is the biggest pot of his career. For Peter, it’s just another Sunday.
To set the stage, the game in question is $200/$400, with an $800 straddle active, and Mariano is the effective stack with $453,300 in his stack to start the hand. The nit game is on as well, which always helps drive the action.
Preflop Action
The action folds to Mariano on the button, who looks down at 10♣9♣ and bumps it up to $2,000. Peter in the small blind makes the call with 6♦4♣ as does Jeff the Cash with A♥6♥.
Three players proceed to the flop with $6,800 in the middle, and the action is set to start with Peter once the first three community cards are dealt.
Preflop Play Analysis
For once, the preflop play in this hand is fairly standard. Mariano has a very solid hand on the button, so he raises to $2,000, which is even on a smaller side, given the straddle and the ante.
Peter in the small blind should definitely be folding right here. Out of position and with small, non-suited cards, he doesn’t need to get involved. But Peter hates folding, as we all know, so he makes the call.
Jeff the Cash could certainly consider squeezing with his small suited ace, but he’s facing opponents who won’t fold easily. On the other hand, his hand has the potential to flop big, so calling here to see the flop is the best decision.
Flop Action
The flop comes J♣7♥5♠, giving Peter an open-ended straight draw, while Mariano flops a gutshot and a backdoor flush draw.
Peter plays it in flow and checks, as does Jeff. Mariano fires a small continuation bet of $2,000, and Peter wastes no time raising to $10,000.
This is enough to get rid of Jeff the Cash, while Mariano takes a moment to consider his options and makes the call, bringing the pot to $26,800.
Flop Play Analysis
When both players check to him, Mariano certainly has more than enough equity to go for a small continuation bet. This is a fairly dry board, so he can expect to win the pot often enough or at least get rid of one opponent on this street.
Peter hit one of the better flops for his particular hand, flopping an open-ender on a board with no flush draws. Being out of position and facing a small c-bet, check-raising makes a lot of sense. This move will get rid of all hands that didn’t connect with the flop, and he still has plenty of outs to fall back on.
Jeff gets out of the way, having completely missed, and now it’s back to Mariano. His hand has a fair bit of equity, but it currently has no showdown value. That, combined with the fact he’ll have position on Peter on the remaining two streets, makes it an easy call.
He is certainly not folding, and raising would be overplaying his hand, which is almost never a good idea, especially against an aggressive opponent like Peter.
Turn Action
The turn is the 2♣, making the board J♣7♥5♠2♣ and improving Mariano to a combo draw.
Peter continues with his aggression and fires out for $30,000. Mariano takes only a few seconds to make the call, and the pot balloons to $86,800.
Turn Play Analysis
Peter decides to go for an overbet on a turn that does bring additional draws but is, in fact, a blank. The deuce will never help improve any of Mariano’s made hands, so by betting huge, Peter is representing a monster and putting a ton of pressure on his opponent.
In this spot, if Mariano had a weak made hand, like a middle pair or even a top pair with a middling kicker, he’d be very uncomfortable. As is, though, with a powerful combo draw, he has an easy call in position.
He is facing an aggressive opponent who is likely to keep firing on many different rivers, so there are some pretty significant implied odds considerations that come into play.
River Action
The river is absolute cooler as it comes the 8♠ for the final runout of J♣7♥5♠2♣8♠. This card completes both players’ straight draws, but Mariano ends up with the nuts.
Peter continues with his aggression, firing out another overbet, this time around of $120,000. Mariano takes a few moments before announcing an all-in for $411,300.
Peter wastes no time calling, but he quickly gets the bad news that his hand is only the second-best. As Peter is left wondering what happened, Mariano drags in the pot of $909,400.
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River Play Analysis
Both players are thrilled to see the 8♠ on the river. The way Peter played his hand, it will be very hard for this opponent to put him on a rivered straight.
He goes for another huge bet because that’s his style, and if he’s capable of betting massive when he’s bluffing, he certainly wants to do the same with a value hand.
Mariano has the nuts, so his only dilemma is how big a raise he should go for. Once Peter goes for a river overbet, all in seems like the best option. If Peter is bluffing, he’ll be folding to any raise, and if he has a big hand, he’s probably calling either way.
Plus, when he moves all-in, Mariano is still leaving an option that he might be bluffing, which could get him called with a few extra hands.
There isn’t much Peter can do in this spot. He should have taken a bit of time to think through the hand, as that’s always a good idea when facing a huge bet, but considering the action, he’s not getting away.
It is possible for Mariano to play some weaker hands for value this way (such as flopped sets), plus, he is certainly capable of having some bluffs (like a pair or an ace-high turned a flush draw).
Against an aggressive and competent opponent, it’s almost impossible to find a fold with the third nuts in this particular spot.
