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WATCH: High-Stakes Poker Pro Makes Insane Ten-High Hero Call

Viktor Kudinov Picks Off Fedor Holz In Crazy Hand At Triton Cyprus Event

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The high rollers have been putting on a show in Cyprus for the latest Triton Poker series, with a couple of eye-popping hero calls going viral in the poker world.

The most jaw-dropping moment came in the $30,000 buy-in six-max no-limit hold’em event with eight players remaining in the tournament. German phenom Fedor Holz, one of the winningest players of all time with $34.2 million in live earnings and another $11.6 million online, opened the action with a raise from the small blind.

Viktor Kudinov, who doesn’t have a lot of results outside of his native Russia, defended from the big blind with 10Club Suit 9Spade Suit. The flop came KHeart Suit QHeart Suit 2Club Suit, giving Kudinov a gutshot straight draw. So when Holz checked, he happily checked behind.

The turn brought the KSpade Suit, and Holz bet. Kudinov made the call, and the river was the AClub Suit, bricking his draw. Holz fired again, but despite holding just ten-high, Kudinov went into the tank.

Check out the hand below.

Triton Poker announcers believed that Kudinov was considering a raise, not a call with his meager holding. But much to their surprise, he put in the chips, and his hand was good against Holz’s 6Diamond Suit 4Club Suit.

Holz took the humbling call in stride, and after the tournament explained on Twitter that his “value bets are some traps, Q-X, and bluffs that are worse than eight-high. [Kudinov] needs to call some of his jack- and ten-high hands, and 10-9 seems [like] a good candidate for the price he’s getting.”

Despite losing the hand, Holz did last longer in the tournament. Kudinov just bubbled the official final table in seventh place, earning a career-high $164,000.

Holz went on to finish in fifth-place for $272,300, which is the 25th largest live score of his career. He would also finish seventh in the $50,000 event the next day.

The tournament was ultimately won by American pro Ben Tollerene for $807,927. Read more about the event here.

Earlier in the series, legendary high-stakes pro Patrik Antonius added another trophy to his collection in the $25,000 event, along with the $825,000 first-place prize.

At the final table, the Finnish pro turned heads with a big hero call of his own. With three players remaining, Antonius defended a minraise from Bulgaria’s Fahredin Mustafov on the button, holding JHeart Suit 2Heart Suit in the big blind.

The flop came down 7Heart Suit 6Club Suit 2Club Suit, and Antonius checked with his bottom pair. Mustafov bet, and Antonius called. The turn was the QHeart Suit, giving Antonius a flush draw to go with his twos, and once again he check-called a big bet.

The river was the ADiamond Suit, and Antonius checked once again. Mustafov then moved all-in, putting Antonius to the test for his tournament life. Despite his weak holding, he didn’t immediately fold.

Check out the hand below.

It took six minutes, but Antonius eventually made the call, and Mustafov was forced to show his 10Heart Suit 8Club Suit bluff. The double up propelled Antonius to the win as he took out Steve O’Dwyer in third and Mustafov in second to claim the title. You can read more about that event here.

The Triton Mediterranean Poker Party series in Cyprus will continue until Sept. 19. All 14 events on the schedule have a buy-in of at least $20,000 and go up to $200,000. Look up series results here.