As the Hustler Casino live stream continues to grow in popularity, the stakes grow as well as players continue to buy-in for larger and larger amounts. In this particular live stream, one of the best cash game players alive Garrett Adelstein bought in for over $600,000 to continue adding to his already impressive totals. Sitting at a table populated with young, hungry players attempting the higher stakes, you may be shocked to read what Garrett did on the river.
The Game: $100/$200/$400 with $200 Big Blind Ante
Stack Sizes: 232 Big Blinds Effective
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Garrett Gets Jiggity With It
One of three brothers at the table looking to take a shot at bigger stakes, Ethan from the trio raised to $1,200 under the gun (UTG) after looking down at A♦-Q♦. Folded to Ethan’s brother Trevor in the cutoff, Trevor would smirk at his sibling before making the call with K♦-Q♣. Adelstein showed no fear towards the pair, three-betting for $5,500 with J♠-J♦ on the button. Hoping to see some diamonds dancing on the flop, Ethan would make the call as his brother wisely got out of the way.
Examining Ethan’s play preflop with the suited ace-queen, folding was of course out of the question, but should he have considered four-betting? Playing out of position, Ethan should have been motivated to decrease the stack depth to take away the positional advantage Adelstein had. However, the plausible chance of Garrett shoving in this spot made Ethan’s call technically sound.
An Ace For The Young Gun
The Pot: $13,100
The Board: A♠-7♦-5♥
Effective Stack: 218 Big Blinds Effective
Out of position with a paired ace and strong kicker, Ethan checked it to Garrett who continuation bet for $4,000. A heavy favorite against Garrett’s fish hooks, Ethan made the call.
Whenever you have top pair-good kicker against a loose and strong opponent, your main goal should be to keep them in the hand with all of their bluffs. The ideal strategy for Ethan was to check-call bets from Garrett during all three betting rounds. A technically sound player, Garrett will be continuation betting with the vast majority of his range, incentivizing Ethan to call. While Ethan will experience occasional losses calling down with strongly paired aces, the majority of the time he will see profit. Some recreational players would execute a check-raise their paired ace citing having the best hand, but such moves scare away opponents willing to add money to the pot!
Becoming a crusher at the table starts with crushing the fundamentals. Click here to see if you have what it takes.
G-Man Gets A Third Jack
The Pot: $21,100
The Board: A♠-7♦-5♥-J♣
Effective Stack: 208 Big Blinds Effective
Again checked to out of position, Adelstein was surely seeing dollar signs as he bet $17,000 with his newly turned set. Likely thinking he was ahead, Ethan made the call.
Ethan was unfortunately in a spot where he had to continue calling despite being crushed by Garrett’s set. Sometimes in the brutal game of poker, even the right moves are the ones that lose you money. Having absolutely no outs, only a guardian angel could save Ethan’s stack, but would that angel be sitting across from him?
Adelstein Tips Off The Young Rookie
The Pot: $55,100
The Board: A♠-7♦-5♥-J♣-10♠
Effective Stack: 166 Big Blinds Effective
Following a third and final check out of position from Ethan, Garrett would ask how many “big chips” the young player had remaining before forcing him all-in for his remaining $66,500. Faced with an incredibly tough call to make, Ethan utilized his time bank chips and began to tank. After some time, Garrett would catch the entire table and stream by surprise.
“I’ve got it.”
Revealing to the young player that he in fact was not bluffing, Adelstein made it known he had the better hand. The unusual honesty by Garrett seemed like an attempt to dissuade Ethan from calling. Was Garrett attempting mind games to lock up his opponent’s remaining stack, or was this an act of mercy rarely found in a poker room?
Result: Garrett Adelstein Willingly Misses Out On $66,500
Taking advantage of the information provided from the seasoned veteran, Ethan laid down his top pair to preserve his stack. While only Garrett Adelstein can speak to his true intentions during the hand, his reveal could have very well saved his opponent’s bankroll. Congratulations once again to Garrett Adelstein for another profitable performance, and another special thank you to the Hustler Live Stream team for letting us use footage from the hand.
