Rayan Chamas, Jack Hardcastle — Hand Matchup

Outcome

Preflop, with two players remaining and blinds of 600,000–1,200,000 with an ante of 150,000, Rayan Chamas raised to 2,400,000 from the button. Jack Hardcastle called from the big blind. On the flop Hardcastle checked, and Chamas bet 3,396,600. Hardcastle called. On the turn Hardcastle checked, and Chamas bet 5,520,871. Hardcastle called. On the river Hardcastle checked, and Chamas moved all-in for 20,797,515. Hardcastle called.

Analysis

In this hand, Rayan Chamas empties the clip on a bluff, raising preflop and betting all three streets with jack high and no draw to speak of. He started the hand at a 4.5:1 chip disadvantage against heads-up opponent Jack Hardcastle, with the title and a $139,156 pay jump between second and first place on the line. Chamas raised from the button with a less-than-appealing J-3 offsuit. Hardcastle had an easy defend from the big blind with 9–8 suited. He flopped middle pair on an ace-high board and went into check-call mode. Chamas put the pedal to the metal right away, betting 3,396,600 into a pot of 5,100,000 on the flop with air. Hardcastle made the call and the turn brought the K´, making a backdoor flush draw possible. Hardcastle again check-called, this time to the tune of 5,520,871 into a pot of 11,893,200. The 8© on the river gave Hardcastle two pair and he checked a third time. Chamas still had jack high for showdown value, and now found himself with less than a pot-sized bet remaining. Chamas might have decided that Hardcastle’s approach to the hand could be indicative of a mediocre single-pair type of hand like the one he had held before the river, one that was happy to just make it to showdown and beat out some bluffs and missed draws. He decided to put maximum pressure on that type of holding and moved all-in for 20,797,515 into the pot of 22,934,871. Hardcastle might have had a hard time making the call had he held something like 10–9 suited. As it turned out, however, his rivered two pair was more than enough for him to make the call and secure the pot and the title. He earned $447,859 for the win, while Chamas took home $308,703 as the runner-up finisher.

Originally published at https://www.cardplayer.com.