Under-the-gun action in a high-stakes cash game can be highly stressful, but it pales in comparison to the pressure of a massive five-bet pot with queens holding on the Flop. Just ask Phil Nagy, who experienced this exact scenario in a recent session of Triton Poker’s high roller series.
Santhosh Suvarna, who finished 11th at the 2023 WSOP $50,000 High Roller Event #84, landed pocket kings to beat Nagy’s red queens in a heads-up match to take home the $1.86 million prize pot. Before facing his final opponent at the high-stakes cash game table, the Indian poker ace defeated some of the biggest stars including Mr. Long, Tony G, and Paul Phua.
Off the back of winning $700k at the Triton North Cyprus $25,000 GG Super Millions, the live tournament victory brings his lifetime cashes to $3,775,494.
Santhosh Suvarna Crushers it at the Triton Poker Series
Phil Nagy kicked off the play from under the gun with a $977,000-strong stack while holding pocket queens (Q♥-Q♦). With $4,000 ante and the small blind at a staggering $1,000, the American businessman made a standard raise to $6,000, picking up calls from Triton regulars Mr. Long, Tony G, and Paul Phua.
Action folded around to Santhosh Suvarna in the small blind, who held pocket kings (K♥-K♠). The high roller and Triton North Cyprus winner decided to three-bet to $36,000 to apply pressure on Nagy’s queen reds pre-flop.
At this point, Nagy was still in a strong position with the best hand. However, the action took an unexpected turn when Rob Yong, in the big blind, looked down at the deck’s two remaining queens.
Yong reraised with a four-bet to $85,000, making it a $121,000 pot with two players holding queens. Nagy was undeterred, five-betting to $250,000 and putting his remaining stack of $733,000 on the line.
Only Yong and Suvarna called Nagy’s five-bet raise. A massive pot was brewing, with $772,000 in the middle before a single community card was dealt.
The Flop Set Up a Dramatic Play
The flop brought no help to either Nagy or Yong, coming 4♥-7♣-5♥. Suvarna now held the advantage with his king-high flush draw.
Suvarna checked his top pair, one of the best kickers even with Artificial Intelligence (AI) making waves in poker. Yong also checked, which in retrospect was a great move that saved him from Suvarna’s impending all-in raise.
Nagy maintained the betting lead with a $300,000 continuation bet, but Suvarna was not going to fold for less than the entire pot. He moved all in for $545,000, putting Yong to the test.
Wisely, Yong folded his queen’s face up, realizing he had no equity against Suvarna’s hand. Nagy saw the writing on the wall, and he knew that folding in this situation essentially meant donating his entire stack to Suvarna.
Yet, he felt pot-committed after making such a large five-bet pre-flop. With visible resignation, Nagy made the call and tabled the red queens for the bad beat of his poker career.
Kings Hold as Queens Falter
Two runs of the Turn and the River brought no help for Nagy either, pushing Suvarna to be declared the $1,862,000 pot winner. It was monumental, highlighting a massive pot befitting Triton Poker’s high-roller atmosphere.
Triton Poker continues to host events that push the boundaries of high-stakes poker. With players of this caliber testing their skills, we can expect to see even more spectacular seven-figure pots hit the felt.
Victory Brings Suvarna’s Lifetime Earnings Close to $3.8 Million
This Triton poker series victory is Suvarna’s biggest win ever and brings his lifetime tournament cash earnings to $3,775,494. He took home his second-biggest win of $700,000 at the $25,000 buy-in GG Poker Super Millions event held at the Merit Casino and Resort in Northern Cyprus.
The 43-year-old real estate agent from Bangalore cashed at four of the ten events he entered at the 2023 Triton London series. His 20th place finish at the $250,000 NLH Luxon Invitational saw him take home $371,000, with a $189,000 win for his 25th place finish at the $125,000 NLH Main Event.
He won $376,000 for his second-place finish at the Triton Cyprus 2023 $50k NLH Turbo event. Outside Triton circle, Suvarna featured in the 2023 Series of Poker (WSOP), in which he made $132,181 in cash winnings for finishing 11th at the $50,000 buy-in High Roller event.
Other career highlights include his runner-up finish at the 2022 PokerStars EPT London £3,000 Platinum Pass Mystery Bounty. He won £96,700 ($120,700).
Suvarna’s Win Among the Biggest in the Live Poker World
Although Suvarna won one of the largest cash game pots ever live-streamed, it didn’t set a new record. That’s a feat that remains with the ranks of Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, and other poker greats, some of whom were targeted in an identity scam a few months ago.
Earlier in February, the 2005 EPT Baden Main Event winner Patrik Antonius won the biggest-ever pot broadcast on a live stream in the US. The Finnish took home a pot worth a staggering $1,978,000 after delivering a bad beat to Eric Persson.
Tom Dwan broke Patrik Antonius’ newly set live-stream record by winning a $3,081,000 million pot on the final day of the $1 million buy-in event on the Hustler Casino Live. He broke a record he set in 2018 when he beat Paul Phua to the punch and won the $2.35M pot in a $500K buy-in event at Aria, Las Vegas.
Wrapping Up
While Nagy took a brutal beat, he maintained his professionalism and sportsmanship in defeat. As for Suvarna, the hand demonstrated his acumen and nerve for the biggest spots. Their clash will be remembered as one of the most epic pots ever dealt in an online live-streamed cash game.
