Last week, Michael 'Texas Mike' Moncek played on the Thursday game — known colloquially as Thirsty Thursday — at Hustler Casino Live. Moncek, no stranger to the bright lights of the HCL stage, put on a performance for the ages that night.
If you've ever watched the man play, you would know that the two-time WSOP bracelet winner likes to get in the mix, but Moncek's showing on Thursday took it to a whole new level.
How much did he win, you ask? No, no, you've got this all wrong. Moncek apparently wasn't trying to actually win money, but rather - like a member of MTV's old Jackass crew - to see what happened when he deliberately put himself in harm's way.
Moncek's 99% sets the VPIP bar high
When the dust settled on Thursday, there was one statistic that stood out amongst all others: Moncek's 99% VPIP. For the uninitiated, VPIP stands for 'voluntarily put in pot' - as in, chose to put their chips in - and serves as a measurement of how many hands each player plays over the course of a session. In recent years, VPIP has become a benchmark for how much action players give and, at times, who gets a seat in the juiciest games.
A quick disclaimer, though: VPIP is not a metric of poker success. Hand selection is a key skill, and no pro will tell you to play every hand (well, maybe one or two with money to burn - see below). Just like with Jackass, don't try this at home...
Moncek's 99% VPIP last week set a new record for Hustler Casino Live, breaking the previous record that he himself had set. While he may have ended the session down $89,890, he certainly left his mark, playing all but one hand he was dealt and leaving us wondering what precise combo of cards he considers too bad to play.
Plus, Moncek played a $113,000 pot against Zeo, another HCL regular, with a less-than-stellar holding and managed to crack his opponent's pocket aces. That one hand alone made it all worth it for many watching at home.
In honor of Moncek's high-wire act last week we thought it would be a good time to look back at a couple of HCL's other top-ranked VPIP performances from this year.
Luda Chris hits 77%... twice
HCL regular Luda Chris tends to play in the mid-week games and back in January and February of this year, recorded two sessions where his VPIP reached the 77% mark.
Sure, the feat isn't quite as extreme as Moncek's 99%-er, but hitting 77% on two separate occasions absolutely warrants recognition. After all, reaching these levels takes courage, luck (in order to not get tapped out within the first hour), and, well, lots of cash.
That's because it's an approach which is very unlikely to win you any money. Much like Moncek, Chris recorded high five-figure losses in both of his 77% games.
Alan Keating's 90%-er amongst the stars
Recently, HCL put together one of its all-time best lineups for a special celebrity-edition of the show, aptly titled 'Legends on the Felt'. With names like Neymar, Jimmy Butler, Ryan Garcia, Ninja, Dan Bilzerian, and Chris Eubank Jr. on the marquee, Alan Keating was almost an afterthought. Almost.
In typical Keating fashion, he showed up to the game and proceeded to play 90% of the hands dealt over the course of the evening, leaving no doubt as to who ran the table. Keating, just like Moncek and Chris, booked a loss in pursuit of his action-gambler style, and his loss was amplified by the $200/$400 stakes.
When the stream powered down at the end of the night, Keating was down $478,850.
DGAF puts up 83%
Billy 'DGAF' McMahon has been a force to be reckoned with in the Los Angeles poker scene for a long time. When HCL began making waves in the community, McMahon was there to help grow the show. His 'Max Pain Monday' iteration of the stream caught on quickly and he became one of the Monday night stars, consistently putting on a show for viewers.
In January, 'Max Pain Monday' put forth a lineup that included celebrities, influencers, and musicians. FaZe Banks, Bryce Hall, Tana Mongeau, Ray J, and Princess Love were amongst the crowd, but it was McMahon who ended up as the star of the show. How? Well, he played 83% of the hands dealt and drove the action consistently throughout the night.
If you're looking for a theme to these performances beyond the high VPIP numbers, look no further than the profit/loss column at the end of each night. Like Moncek, Chris, and Keating before him, McMahon recorded a sizable loss. While his $10,530 loss may seem paltry compared to the others', you have to keep in mind that this was only a $10/$20/$40 game.
Do you think DGAF cares in the long run? Doubtful - the clue's in the name.
So remember, folks: a high VPIP is always fun to see at the table, just make sure you're not the one setting those records. They're usually expensive things to own.
Statistics Courtesy of trackingpoker.com
