A flush rarely beats a flush, but it did against the poker show’s regular fixture
Nikhil “Nik Airball” Arcot’s luck has taken a major downturn recently, including his more than $1 million loss to Matt Berkey at about the same time earlier this year on the Hustler Casino Live stream.
This wild high-stakes poker hand occurred in an HCL game while the blinds were at $100/$200/$400, with Wesley holding an absurd $2,200,000 in front of him, which was likely to result in a big pot somewhere down the line.
The hand started with Airball on the button, opening to $1,000 with 4-D, 3-D, with Wesley calling in the big blind holding A-D, 2-D, both completely normal plays. The flop came out K-D, J-D, 10-D, giving both players a flush, with Wesley holding the higher of the two. Wesley checked, and Airball continued for $1,000. Wesley would then check-raise to $7,000, and Airball called.
Some may wonder why Wesley would raise so high, holding the second nuts. The explanation is that they are both super deep-stacked, meaning Wesley should always raise big when bluffing or holding very strong hands.
On the other hand, Airball shouldn’t be raising with his small flush because the only action he’ll get will be from higher flushes and an ace-high flush draw, meaning he should just make the call and hope that the pot doesn’t go too much higher.
The turn saw the 8-S, and Wesley doubled the pot with a $30,000 bet, with Airball having no choice but to call. The 3-S on the river caused Wesley to take a couple of minutes to contemplate his next bet, which was $200,000, getting a call from Airball instantly.
Wesley played this hand perfectly, and maybe could have won more from Airball if he knew how upset he was after losing to Berkey.
Emma Rodriguez is the Proofreader at the Big Blind, with seven years of experience and five years in online gambling. She plays a crucial role in maintaining content quality by ensuring error-free, reader-friendly information about the gambling industry.
