button in SafariTexas Mike Bluffs Off a Record $4.2 Million Pot on High Stakes Poker
Michael "Texas Mike" Moncek took a stab at the largest pot ever on High Stakes Poker with 10-high, and he nearly forced his opponent to fold a flush.
The action was intense the past four days with mostly the same table playing at nosebleed stakes on the PokerGO livestream. Moncek played numerous seven-figure pots, including a $1.5 million hand against Andrew Robl on Friday.
All that action was just leading up to Monday's finale, especially one hand that will go down in the history books.
Gutsy Bluff
One thing is certain, and that is Texas Mike is one of the gutsiest high-stakes poker players ever, both in tournaments and cash games. That aggression leads to some losses, but it also puts him in position to win some of the biggesst pots you'll ever see.
The two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner booked a seven-figure loss, seven-figure win, and six-figure loss through the first three nights on High Stakes Poker. He was one card — or, one fold — away from going home on the fourth day with a massive win.
It all started off harmlessly with Eric Wasserson, up about $1 million on the day at the time, raising to $20,000 with 9♦7♦. He'd then call a three-bet to $80,000 from the button — Texas Mike, who had 10♣7♣.
The flop came out 9♣K♦A♦, nothing much for Texas Mike. But he continued his aggression, betting $100,000 following a check. Wasserson wasn't going anyhwere, so he called to see the 4♥ on the turn, which didn't change anything.
Moncek wasn't about to give up on the hand. He fired another barrel, this time for $330,000. Wasserson called again and then hit his flush with the 5♦ river card. Both players had over $1.6 million behind and the pot had already ballooned to $1,046,000.
Texas Mike had just 10-high, but he refused to surrender the pot without a fight. The bigger-stacked high roller put his opponent all in. Wasserson had a tough decision even with a flush because it was possible he was up against a bigger flush. He eventually came to the conclusion his hand was too strong to fold, so he made the call to take down a pot worth $4,260,000, the largest pot in High Stakes Poker history ... by a lot.
In fact, the second-largest pot occurred this weekend when Robl gambled on a draw against Wasserson's top pair, only to miss and lose a $2,478,000 pot. That hand was just a tad bigger than the previous record, won by Santhosh Suvarna for $2,421,500 during the recent Season 16. Wasserson's win is the largest ring game pot ever shown on television or a livestream.
To help ease the pain, Texas Mike, with pocket kings, won the fourth-largest pot ever on High Stakes Poker the very next hand — $2,337,000 — against Robl, who had ace-king.
