Hosted by WSOP bracelet winner Brent Hanks and poker media darling Jeff Platt, PokerGO’s No Gamble, No Future continues providing poker fans with quality content featuring poker’s best. When it was announced that No Gamble, No Future would be hosting a cash game where players were required to have $1,000,000 available to play with, many wondered whether we would see records be broken. With high stakes cash game regular Eric Persson at the table, poker fans waited anxiously to see if the splashy player would help create poker history.
Eric Persson Mixes It Up With Patrik Antonius – Preflop Analysis
Sitting down with over $1,000,000, it was clear Eric Persson was ready for some action. With the blinds set at $1,000/$2,000, Persson looked down at Q♥-9♥ from the hijack and raised $7,000. On the button, poker player and owner of the Dusk Till Dawn poker club Rob Yong called holding A♣-2♣. Following Yong was popular professional poker player Patrik Antonius, who three-bet $30,000 after peering down at A♥-K♥.
When three-betting out of position, many poker players make the mistake of three-betting for too small of a sizing. Showing off his years of experience, Antonius’ $30,000 three-bet was the perfect size raising from the small blind.
Playing deep-stacked with decent, suited holdings, both Persson and Yong called the three-bet.
Eric Persson playing in his now infamous head’s-up duel with rival Phil Hellmuth
Flopping Flush Draws
Board: 8♥-3♥-3♣
Pot: $94,000
Effective Stack: 306 Big Blinds Effective
Patrik Antonius: A♥-K♥
Eric Persson: Q♥-9♥
Rob Yong: A♣-2♣
First to act on the flop with the nut-flush draw, Antonius led out with a $40,000 bet. In usual “maverick” fashion, Persson snap-raised $140,000 with the worse flush draw. After Yong folded, Antonius thought for some time before executing a $250,000 three-bet. Exclaiming “Let’s go”, Persson made the call.
Flop Analysis – Playing A Flush Draw Against An Aggressive Opponent
Although he flopped the queen-high flush draw, Persson made a mistake by re-raising the lead bet from Antonius. Playing in position, Persson opened himself up to get three-bet by Antonius who had plenty of strong hands in his range. Antonius could easily three-bet with all premium pocket pairs and better flush draws, leaving Persson in a position where he may be unsure whether to call or fold. Typically, when in position you want to call an opponent’s bet, especially when they have a strong range.
By executing the $250,000 “min-click”, Antonius made a move that was unexpected but still strategically sound. Taking this line, Antonius essentially decided his hand was good enough to play for all the money. While most players would elect to call Persson to keep him in the hand, Antonius realized there were still plenty of hands in his opponent’s range he was ahead of. If he could give Persson great odds to add more money to the pot with a worse hand, Antonius improved his chances of stacking his opponent. Even if Persson had a three or another hand that was ahead and moved all-in, Antonius would still have an easy call with his ace-high flush draw.
Finland’s #1 All-Time Money Winner Patrik Antonius
A Historic Turn Card For Patrik Antonius
Board: 8♥-3♥-3♣-A♠
Pot: $594,000
Effective Stack: 346 Big Blinds Effective
Patrik Antonius: A♥-K♥
Eric Persson: Q♥-9♥
With the ace on the turn, Antonius officially had the best hand and was hell-bent on doubling through Persson. Having $692,000 left behind, Antonius led out again, this time for $150,000.
Not taking much time to think about it, Persson showed no fear and moved all-in, covering Antonius with a $759,000 stack. Holding top pair-top kicker with the ace-high flush draw, it did not take long for Antonius to make the call.
Turn Analysis – Persson Moves All-In With Zero Equity
Antonius showed his years of high stakes poker experience by leading out with the small value bet. Just like on the flop, Antonius not only gave Persson great odds to call, but potentially induced him into bluffing off his whole stack.
Hoping his flush draw was alive or that he could induce a fold from Antonius, Persson moved all-in but was absolutely crushed. Although he was “left with crumbs”, Persson could find solace in the fact he had helped make poker history.
Conclusion – Patrik Antonius Wins The Biggest Pot In The History Of Televised Poker In The United States
Capitalizing on Eric Persson’s loose, aggressive nature, Patrik Antonius successfully took down the largest ever pot in the history of televised poker in the United States ($1,978,000). Topping Alan Keating’s seven-figure hand on Hustler Casino Live, Antonius added to his long list of poker accomplishments by being the latest poker player to set the American televised poker record. While Finland’s #1 all-time money winner has the record for now, with more seven-figure buy-in cash games scheduled to take place in the future, we will see just how long Antonius’ record will stand.
