Whether you are looking for big pots, big hands, or big names, there is no better spot to catch high stakes poker action than Hustler Casino Live (HCL). Always seeming to make memorable moments on HCL, popular poker vlogger Rampage Poker mixed it up in a $25/$50/$100 game that included the likes of Adam22 and Nik Airball. When playing on HCL, there is no better hand to get dealt than pocket aces, and Rampage Poker had exactly that. Facing an opponent who happened to have pocket kings, Rampage was in a dream spot to rake in a massive pot!
The Game: $25/$50/$100 NLH Cash Game
Effective Stack: 498 Big Blinds
Where: Hustler Casino Live – Los Angeles, California
Rampage Poker Finds A Dream Spot With Pocket Aces
The action in this poker hand kicked off with Adam22 raising $300 under-the-gun (UTG) holding K♣-10♥. Although Adam22 had too wide of an UTG raising range in this spot, if he happens to be playing in a loose cash game where he will be able to see a lot of flops, he can rationalize the play.
Next to act after the founder of No Jumper, the player known as Boston Jimmy was likely seeing money signs when he looked down at K♦-K♥. Three-betting $1,000, Boston Jimmy was in the driver’s seat until it folded around to Rampage Poker who held A♦-A♣ in the big blind. Out of position facing two preflop raisers, Rampage wisely four-bet $4,500 and elected not to slowplay.
After Adam22 got out of the way, Boston Jimmy made the call making it head’s-up heading to the flop.
“Pocket aces is what every Texas Hold’em player prays for before peering down at their hole cards. There are few experiences in life as exhilarating as seeing pocket rockets, but even a strong hand like aces can fall victim to critical mistakes.”
– Jonathan Little
Preflop Hand Analysis
Rampage’s 4.5x raise preflop may seem large, but when raising with premium hands out of position you want to raise big and avoid giving your opponents good implied odds. As stacks get deeper and deeper, you want to bet larger and larger with your out of position raises.
Wisely, Boston Jimmy flatted his with pocket kings. Often times, poker players make the mistakes of five-betting or ripping it all-in with the premium starting hands. By taking such a line, these players only force opponents to fold their worse hands and call them with better ones. Keeping it simple and strategic, Boston Jimmy made the correct call and allowed himself to play the hand in-position.
Rampage Poker’s Pocket Aces Stay Ahead On The Flop
The Pot: $9,425
The Board: 10♣-8♥-5♣
Effective Stack: 453 Big Blinds
Rampage Poker: A♦-A♣
Boston Jimmy: K♦-K♥
First to act on the flop, Rampage fired out a $10,000 pot-sized bet and got the call from Boston Jimmy.
Flop Hand Analysis
Rampage certainly had an interesting decision to make on the flop. Either, Rampage should make a medium-sized bet on the flop, make a medium bet again on the turn, and then shove the river, or, bet big on the flop with intentions of shoving on the turn. Clearly, Rampage opted for the second option.
Although Boston Jimmy will usually be ahead on flops like this, viewers watching HCL in real-time knew he was absolutely dominated by Rampage Poker. Even in spots where he is ahead, Jimmy needed to consider that a lot of turn cards could potentially be bad for him. Even though he was okay calling, Jimmy could have also shoved and been completely fine strategy-wise (even though he was behind).
Make the best preflop decisions with Jonathan Little’s Push/Fold Charts!
PokerCoaching.com’s Favorite Poker Vlogger Rips It In
The Pot: $29,425
The Board: 10♣-8♥-5♣-J♠
Effective Stack: 353 Big Blinds
Rampage Poker: A♦-A♣
Boston Jimmy: K♦-K♥
Despite pocket jacks being well within Boston Jimmy’s range, Rampage thought for a few seconds before putting his opponent all-in. Having had his aces cracked earlier in the session, Boston Jimmy may have been a little apprehensive about moving all-in again despite having a premium hand.
Turn Analysis
With the proper stack-to-pot ratio in play and the fact a lot of river cards could have been bad for him, Rampage had an easy shove on the turn and played this entire hand beautifully.
Rampage could have hands like A♣-K♣ and A♣-Q♣, but regardless Boston Jimmy was in a brutal spot with his pocket kings. Jimmy thought about it for some time, as if his gut was telling him he was behind (which he certainly was). After saying to Rampage “You’re running good!”, Boston Jimmy peeked at his cards one last time before throwing them into the muck. What a fold by Boston Jimmy!
Over the long term, Jimmy may overfold his pocket kings and lose money with them in similar hands, but in this case, the poker player made a fantastic read and limited the losses of another cooler.
Conclusion: Rampage Poker Continues His Winning Ways
Even though he could not get all of his opponent’s stack, Rampage Poker still scooped a sizeable pot and got good value with his pocket aces. Congrats to Rampage on another fantastic showing on Hustler Casino Live! If you are a premium PokerCoaching.com member and want to learn from Rampage Poker as well as high stakes tournament pro Brock Wilson, be sure to check out their course on How To Bink Tournaments.
