My oldest child has made her decision on where she is going to attend college, so the day I have to plunk down that first tuition (and more) payment is fast approaching. I am looking to save any dollar I can. High stakes poker players, on the other hand, happily risk multiple years of college tuition in a single hand. Such was the case on the first day of the Hustler Casino Live Million Dollar Game, when Alan Keating lost nearly $870,000 on a bluff.
Peter Wang began the festivities in the $1,000/$1,000 ($2,000 big blind ante) game by raising to $6,000 pre-flop with J♥-J♣. Keating called with Q♠-T♦, but Jack (just Jack) re-raised to $26,000 with Q♥-Q♦. Both Peter and Keating made the call.
With the flop of 4♠-7♦-6♦, Jack still had the best hand with his superior overcards. He led with a $35,000 bet, which was called by Peter. Keating, with a 3% chance to win at this point, decided to show strength and raised to $180,000. Jack pondered his move for about a minute and called, as did Peter. The pot was now suddenly up to $621,000.
The turn was effectively a blank, the 2♠. Everyone checked.
The A♦ didn’t technically help anyone, but it was a huge, huge card. It now put an overcard to both Peter’s and Jack’s pairs on the board, as well as a flush possibility. It was a true scare card, but that was good for Alan Keating, who had absolutely nothing and wanted his opponents to be scared. Did he raise on the flop because he had an Ace? Did he check the turn because he was working on a flush draw?
Jack and Peter both checked it to Keating, who fairly quickly moved all-in for $663,000.
And so Jack’s and Peter’s tanks began. Jack had the best hand with his Queens – if he didn’t fold, he would win – but with Keating doing work in front of him and Peter still looming behind, he was in a bad position. Could his Queens still be good or did Keating have an Ace, flush, or even some other mystery hand? After a few minutes, Jack couldn’t pull the trigger and folded.
Peter’s pair of Jacks (not to be confused with the player named Jack) were now the best hand, but again, this was a serious bet from Keating. At one point during his lengthy decision process, Peter played with his cards and it looked like he was getting ready to pitch them into the muck.
But he did not fold. When Peter made the call, Keating immediately pointed to him, indicating that unless Peter made the insane move of a bluff-call, he won the hand. Peter flipped over his cards and Keating confirmed that he had been bested by mucking his holdings.
As Peter raked in the $1.95 million pot, Keating said simply, “Good call, Peter.”
Image credit: Hustler Casino Live