Andy Hwang Channels Joseph Cheong During Preflop Raising War

Andy Hwang just surrendered his seven-figure stack in vexing fashion, and the action on this hand is indicative of the hyper-aggression that has become standard in tournament poker.

The battle began when Hwang opened to 20,000 from late position, and Chris Hunichen three-bet to 52,000. Holding , Hwang was not a believer, and his four-bet to 98,000 was designed to fold low pocket pairs and king-high hands. Unfortunately, for Hwang, Hunichen did not hold a hand of either variety, because he elected to five-bet for 152,000 and put the pressure back on Hwang.

Undeterred by the aggression, Hwang made the now standard six-bet to 286,000, and watched as Hunichen simply shipped in the seven-bet all-in for 602,000.

Now Hwang went deep into the tank, thinking over his options for several minutes while contemplating how he had arrived at such a questionable spot. Something must have convinced him that Hunichen was on a move, or perhaps he felt committed to the pot by this point, because Hwang eventually made the call with his ace-rag.

Naturally, Hunichen turned over the only hand Doyle Brunson ever seven-bet in his life: .