Linus Loeliger and Michael Addamo, two of the greatest poker players alive, have clashed in an extraordinary hand on GGPoker.
The pair were grinding in a $200/$400 game that played with a $100 ante to boost the action.
Hand of the Week Action
Preflop: Michael Addamo kicks off the action by raising to $880 with K♦6♦ in the hijack. Linus Loeliger flat calls on the button with 5♠3♠ and an unknown player with the handle BTC200K-FORSURE and a Chinese flag calls in the big blind.
Surprisingly, both Addamo and Loeliger are only around 87bb deep ($35,000) rather than the standard of keeping above 100bb in an online game.
Both decisions from the two heavyweights are standard and GTO-approved.
Flop: The flop comes down as J♥ 5♦ 2♦ and the pot is now $3,440.
BTC200K-FORSURE and Addamo both check. Loeliger stabs for only $800. BTC200K-FORSURE folds and Addamo raises to $3,600.
Incredibly, Loeliger now three-bets to $6,898. Addamo slows down and makes the call.
This is a wild move from Linuis Loeliger. He has second pair and there would be nothing wrong with just calling Addamo’s raise. He almost certainly is deviating from theory with a specific read in mind.
Remember, while both players are legends of the game, Addamo is a tournament specialist. We expect Loeliger to have a few more tricks in his arsenal
Addamo’s line looks standard. He always has a choice between continuation betting, check-calling and check-raising with a strong flush draw.
Turn: The turn is the A♦, giving Michael Addamo the second nut straight. And the pot is $17,236.
Both players check.
There’s a lot to unpack here and it is near impossible to have a deep insight into what either player is thinking at this point in the hand.
Addamo once again appears to have a choice between checking or betting. Loeliger was the one showing strength on the flop so slowplaying can’t be bad.
Loeliger’s decision to check back is likely driven by the turn card being much better for Addamo’s range than his. And with the nut flush card coming in on the turn it is much harder to represent a strong flush than it would have been with a smaller diamond.
River: The river is the Q♣. Addamo checks the effective nuts again and Loeliger jams for $27,007 effective.
Addamo quickly makes the call and scoops a $71,252 pot.
Key Points
This hand is super interesting. There was an unusual line on the flop followed by a complex decision to slowplay twice and a monster bluff on the river.
We can never be sure what history high-stakes players have between each other. These points are often key drivers behind deviations from theory.
GGPoker now has plenty of high-stakes cash games running around the clock with plenty of big names dropping in for a session regularly.
Don’t forget to check out their YouTube channel for action replays of big hands.
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