Max Pain Monday took the week off on Hustler Casino Live, but it was truly a max pain Monday for one player who lost over $700,000 in just a few hours in what was one of the show’s most memorable live-streams ever.
It may not quite rival this past summer’s $1 million buy-in games, the infamous J4 stream one year ago, or the epic May 2022 MrBeast game, but the first night of Super High Stakes Week was pretty much out of line with more six-figure pots than we could count. Not only that but one of poker’s most controversial players — Martin Kabrhel — made his HCL debut to spice things up a bit.
Kabrhel, who was accused by Andrew Robl and others of marking cards during a 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) high roller tournament (no evidence of him marking cards was ever found), was less of a nuisance to his opponents than during some previous televised events. He rallied from an early six-figure deficit in the $100/$200/$400 game with a $100,000 minimum buy-in, and ended the six-hour session up $280,000 before the cameras stopped rolling at around 11 p.m. PT from Hustler Casino in Los Angeles.
Just Wasn’t His Day
The biggest winner, however, was Brandon Steven, a car dealership owner from Kansas and high-stakes cash game regular. Steven, Kansas’ all-time The Hendon Mob cashes leader with over $6.7 million in live tournament scores, finished with a $388,000 profit. Santhosh Suvarna, another common face in live-streamed high roller games, won $345,000, and Hustler Casino Live regular Pepe finished up $113,000.
Every other player at the table ended up in the red, but none more so than Charles Yu, a Bitcoin miner who often plays on HCL and some of the biggest private games in Southern California. Yu, who has been a winning player overall in nearly 50 appearances on HCL, had one of the worst sessions in the show’s history, losing $715,000 before leaving four hours into the stream.
Yu lost pot after pot, many times having to rebuy or add-on following a cooler or failed bluff attempt. In one hand, with J♣9♣ on a board of 8♥4♠Q♦6♠K♣, he raised Santhosh, who had the nuts with 7♥5♥, before having to fold to an all in three-bet in a $342,000 pot.
On his final hand of the night, he lost his last $88,000 with J♥9♦ when he ran into Kabrhel’s Q♠Q♣. Yu left the game down more than the average American makes in a decade.
So Many Sick Pots
The game featured an entertaining lineup, which created some massive pots. Poker vlogger Mariano Grandoli, a Hustler Casino Live regular, had a rough night, mostly due to being card dead and unable to find spots to make plays against a loose table.
He made one questionable move with pocket aces on a board of 9♠8♥8♠Q♦ when he went for a large check-raise in a five-way pot. Pepe called with J♣10♠ for a straight, and then Grandoli again fired $40,000 on the river into a pot of $99,000 and his opponent snap-called. In the end, the poker vlogger lost around $56,000 for the session.
Kabrhel took down one of the biggest and most memorable coolers of the night against Mo, who was up and down large amounts throughout the session. With $45,000 already in the pot on a board of 4♦9♥7♦5♣, Santhosh fired out a semi-bluff of $27,000 with J♥8♥. That didn’t get through because Mo, with Q♦6♦ and Kabrhel, holding K♦J♦, were both on flush draws.
Both players called to see the 5♦ on the river, completing the flush. Santhosh gave up and checked before Kabrhel bet $111,000 and received a call from the weaker flush to take down the $349,000 pot.
https://twitter.com/HCLPokerShow/status/1729402638335459585
Santhosh pulled off the best bluff of the night when he put Yu all in for $59,000 with queen-high on a board of 8♣10♦5♠6♥2♦. Yu, who was sitting on 7♥6♠ couldn’t find the call. Had he done so, it could have changed his night around.
Earlier in the show, Santhosh was all in with 7♠3♠ in a $150,000 pot on a flop of 10♣K♠3♣, and Steven was holding A♣Q♣ for a monster draw. Both players agreed to run it twice, and despite being a heavy underdog, Santhosh won both run-outs to scoop the entire pot.
The biggest pot of the night also involved Santhosh. With $12,000 in the middle, the flop came out J♣7♥9♥. Mo, who flopped a straight with 10♣8♥, checked to Santhosh, who bet $8,000 with A♥10♦. That bet was check-raised to $35,000, but it didn’t convince ace-high to fold.
When the K♥ appeared on the turn, it brought about a flush and straight draw for Santhosh. Mo again checked back, and then his opponent bet $72,000. Mo jammed all in for $219,500 and received a call, creating a pot of $521,000. Both players agreed to run it twice. The first river was the 5♥ to complete the flush, but the 3♣ on the second river created a chop pot.
https://twitter.com/HCLPokerShow/status/1729410270202904990
Hustler Casino Live’s Super High Stakes Week continues Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT with another massive game. On Friday, the popular live-streamed show will host the first ever 24-hour poker live-stream.