There was $3.1 million in the middle at the end of this insane poker hand that took place during last year’s Hustler Casino Live Million Dollar Cash Game. Fan favorite Wesley Fei took on the legend that is Tom Dwan in a hand that you don’t want to miss.
This hand, the largest pot in live-stream poker history, took place in a crazy stream that featured LSG Hank, Wesley, and Dwan battling it out with all of them sitting over $1 million deep!
With blinds of $500/$1,000 with a $3,000 ante, LSG Hang raised to $7,000 in the hijack with A♥8♣. Wesley then three-bet to $30,000 on the button with A♦K♥, a perfectly fine and standard play. Action then folded to Dwan in the straddle, who four-bet to $100,000 with A♠Q♣, another perfectly reasonable play.
Inside Wesley’s $400K Caesars Palace Suite
After some deliberation, Welsey five-bet to $270,000. In this spot, I think Wesley should be inclined to just call since he is in position and super deep-stacked. If he was out of position, I think five-betting would be the right play. Dwan decided to call, which I think is the only option since he can’t fold and he will only get called by better hands if he raises.
Dwan checked as the flop landed 3♦8♠8♦ and Wesley continued for $125,000. Dwan called. Dwan should be checking with his entire range and Wesley should be betting small almost every time.
Dwan checked again on the 5♥ turn and Wesley put out another bet of $350,000. Dwan called after much deliberation. I think it would be reasonable for Wesley to check back here with ace-king, but bluffing is reasonable since he blocks both aces and kings. Again, Dwan has no option but to call since he has queens against an opponent who is capable of bluffing.
Dwan checked once more as the 6♣ river completed the board and Wesley announced “all in” for $786,000.
I really like this bluff from Wesley since he only has ace-high but blocks aces and kings, making it more likely that Dwan has a hand like queens or jacks.
Dwan is in a difficult spot and needs to be asking what his pot odds are. He needs to put in $786,000 to try to win $3.1 million total, which means he needs to win about 25% of the time. That means he needs Wesley to be bluffing more than 25% of the time.
Wesley’s value shoving range should consist of aces, kings and various combinations of ace-eight suited, king-eight suited and nine-eight suited. Meanwhile, his bluffs will include ace-king, ace-queen and suited hands with the ace of diamonds. Since there are plenty of bluffs compared to Wesley’s value hands, Dwan should be inclined to call.
What would you do on the river if you were Dwan with pocket queens?
Dwan did indeed call and saw the good news as Wesley turned over his ace-high, earning Dwan one of the largest pots in televised poker history.
If you’re looking to maximize your winnings against loose-aggressive players like Wesley, check out this PokerCoaching.com blog post.
For more on this hand, check out my breakdown in the following video:
Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and author with over $7,000,000 in live tournament earnings. He writes a weekly educational blog and hosts a podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com. Sign up to learn poker from Jonathan for free at PokerCoaching.com. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanLittle.