Tony G Wins $2 Million Pot with Jack-High; Still Gets Crushed in Triton Cash Game
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Antanas 'Tony G' Guoga had a brutal session in Wednesday's Triton Poker Montenegro Cash Game Invitational, losing two seven-figure pots in quick succession. The two hands sent the poker legend 'on his bike' before coming back to the table with a fresh stack of $1.5 million.
Upon his return, Guoga showed some patented 'heart and commitment' with an ambitious bluff in a $2 million pot that helped him recoup some of his losses on the day.
Big Slick No Good for Guoga
As always with Triton cash games, the stakes were massive. The blinds were $1,000/$2,000, with a $5,000 big blind ante. Tony G's first $500,000 bullet went up in smoke following a blind-on-blind confrontation with ever-dangerous Elton Tsang.
Tsang woke up with Q♦10♣ in the small blind and made it $8,000. Guoga repopped it to $32,000 with A♣K♣ in the big blind and saw his opponent call.
The 10♦10♥4♣ flop was gin for Tsang, who made trip tens to overtake Guoga's Big Slick. Tsang check-raised to $50,000 over a bet of $20,000, and Guoga called. The K♠ came in on the turn, giving Guoga kings and tens with an ace kicker. Tsang fired out $75,000, and of course, Guoga continued to stick around.
The 8♥ completed the board, and with $319,000 in the middle, Tsang moved all in for $289,000. Guoga thought over his options and ended up calling only to see the bad news as the $897,000 pot was pushed to his opponent.
Tsang Benefits Again From Ultimate Cooler
Guoga shook off his frustration, rebuying for another $500,000. He put his stack to good use, taking down a few pots to shrink his deficit. However, Guoga was unaware that his chips would head back to Tsang soon after.
Just for the fun of it, the $4,000 straddle was on, and action folded to Tsang on the button, who decided to get a bit tricky and limp in with A♥A♣. Guoga, with $736,000 behind, woke up with K♥K♦ in the small blind and raised to $20,000. Tsang then sprung the trap, three-betting to $70,000 before Guoga reraised to $245,000. Tsang flatted to put half a million in the pot on the first betting round.
Guoga checked his cowboys on the Q♥J♣7♥ flop, prompting Tsang to wager a further $150,000. Guoga jammed in his remaining $492,000 and was quickly called to set up the $1,485,000 pot.
The duo decided to go for max pain and run it once, but there would be no saving grace for Guoga, who was sent for a walk after the 9♦ turn and A♦ river.
Guoga Risks It All with Jack-High
After a reprieve from the table, Guoga returned with $1,500,000 and showed the world he had 'the heart of a lion.'
This time, Guoga put the $4.000 straddle on, with the action folding to Tan Xuan in the small blind. He limped in with K♦4♦ and then called when Guoga increased it to $24,000 with J♠8♠.
Both players picked up a draw on the 6♠5♠3♦ flop, and sparks began to ignite. Guoga continued for $50,000 and then he called when Xuan check-raised to $160,000. The 10♥ turn provided no help for either player, but Xuan remained ahead with his king-high, and he sized up to $382,000, leaving $1,300,000 behind. Guoga, who had roughly the same stack size, shipped in his monster stack that swelled the pot to $2,018,000. Xuan snap-folded, and Guoga took in the pot before flashing his J♠.
End of Session Standings
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Profit/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elton Tsang | $1,741,000 | +$1,241,000 |
| 2 | Andy Ni | $2,181,000 | +$1,181,000 |
| 3 | Phil Ivey | $1,097,500 | +$597,500 |
| 4 | Ferdinand Putra | $648,500 | +$48,500 |
| 5 | Handz | $1,808,000 | -$192,000 |
| 6 | Elizabeth Chen | $612,000 | -$388,000 |
| 7 | Tan Xuan | $901,000 | -$599,000 |
| 8 | Tony G | $1,550,000 | -$1,350,000 |
