Poker Hand Matchup: Ran Ilani vs. Simone Andrian
Ran Ilani	Win Pre-Flop	Win Post-Flop	Win Post-Turn
Starting Stack: 4,525,000	38.88 %	29.9 %	18.18 %
Simone Andrian	Win Pre-Flop	Win Post-Flop	Win Post-Turn
Starting Stack: 37,500,000	59.24 %	70.1 %	81.82 %	Winner!

Posted On: Oct 22, 2024

Outcome

Preflop, with three players remaining and blinds of 125,000-250,000 with a big blind ante of 250,000, Ran Ilani limped in from the small blind. Simone Andrian checked from the big blind. On the flop Ilani bet 300,000, and Andrian called. On the turn Ilani bet 1,075,000. Andrian moved all in, and Ilani folded.

Analysis

Ran Ilani was the clear short stack among the final three when this hand was dealt, with fewer than 20 big blinds to work with when he looked down at 9-5 suited in the small blind. He limped in and was able to see a free flop against Simone Andrian, who sat atop the leaderboard at the time with 150 big blinds at his disposal. Ilani picked up a gutshot straight draw on the flop and attempted to seize the betting lead by firing out just over a min-bet. Andrian had flopped middle pair with an overcard, which was plenty good to hang around with. The turn improved Ilani to an open-ended straight draw. He opted to fire again as a semi-bluff, sizing up to just over three-quarters pot with his draw. He might have hoped the overcard to the flop would make it harder for Andrian’s 7-X holdings to hang in, but Andrian happened to have improved to tens and sevens. He moved all in for value, putting the onus back on Ilani. Given the action, his straight draw with no current showdown value to speak of was likely a fairly straightforward fold. While it might have felt frustrating to semi-bluff the turn off of a shorter stack and then have to fold, his hand was simply not strong enough to withstand Andrian’s shove. The move effectively denied Ilani’s equity, ending the hand without showdown. Ilani hung around for another 35 minutes or so after making this laydown but was eventually eliminated in third place. The $654,900 windfall was the largest live score yet for the Israeli player and grew his career haul to more than $1.5 million.