Poker Hand Matchup: Aleksejs Ponakovs vs. Chris Klodnicki
Aleksejs Ponakovs	Win Pre-Flop	Win Post-Flop	Win Post-Turn
Starting Stack: 1,564,333	61.15 %	23.74 %	79.55 %	Winner!
Chris Klodnicki	Win Pre-Flop	Win Post-Flop	Win Post-Turn
Starting Stack: 1,458,080	37.49 %	76.26 %	20.45 %

Posted On: Mar 15, 2022

Outcome

Preflop, with eight players remaining and blinds of 35,000-70,000 and an ante of 8,500, Aleksejs Ponakovs limped in from the small blind. Chris Klodnicki checked from the big blind. On the flop Ponakovs bet 70,000, and Klodnicki called. On the turn Ponakovs bet 184,500, and Klodnicki called. On the river Ponakovs bet 276,000, and Klodnicki raised all-in for 1,125,080. Ponakovs folded.

Analysis

Online poker site GGPoker hosts a weekly high-stakes no-limit hold’em tournament known as the Super MILLION$. The $10,300 buy-in event features a $1.5 million guarantee, and frequently sees some of the biggest names in the high roller game make the final table. The final table that played out on Feb. 22, 2022 was no exception. This hand pitted American poker pro and World Series of Poker bracelet winner Chris Klodnicki against Latvian high-stakes online tournament star Aleksejs Ponakovs, who took down the $7,777 WSOP Online high roller last year for his first bracelet. This was a battle of the blinds, but with the action having been limped preflop. Both players held less-than-exciting starting hands. Ponakovs missed the flop entirely, but decided to take a stab as the first to act. Klodnicki understandably took a pot-control approach on the flop, just calling in position with his bluff-beating middle pair. The turn gave Ponakovs a higher pair and he made a value bet of a little more than half the size of the pot. Klodnicki called again and the river paired the board. Ponakovs sized down slightly, betting almost 40 percent pot on the end with his queens and sixes. Many in Klodnicki’s shoes might have focused on the tough decision between bluff catching and folding. He ultimately found another approach, which was turning his hand into a bluff. Klodnicki’s decision might have been influenced by the fact that he held two key cards in the 4 which helped block some of the possible full house combinations, and the 7 to block the high end of the straight. He also may have reacted to the bet sizing of Ponakovs, which might indicate more of a middling value hand than a monster or a big bluff. Whatever led to his decision, he did ultimately pull the trigger and was able to draw the fold, snatching a victory from the jaws of defeat with his creative river play.