This hand occurred during a recent livestream cash game at Hustler Casino Live at nosebleed blinds of $100/200. It wasnât the stakes that were out of the ordinary for pokerâs most watched livestream; it was the cast of characters assembled.
The eclectic lineup was a mix of splashers and pros, which included Ethan 'Rampage' Yau, Turbo Nguyen, Big Mike, Rick, HCL co-founder Ryan Feldman, and special guest Kristen Foxen, who played an outrageous preflop hand against Nik Airball.
The game was approaching the final hour as this hand hit the felt. And at this juncture of the evening, it was clear that Airball was struggling and more than likely flailing in the tilt zone.
As the game came to a climactic ending, Airball would find himself drowning in the red to the tune of -$399,900.
Watch the video above to capture the preflop blows traded between Foxen and Airball.
'Tourney players all suck'
Prior to the airing of the stream, the endlessly outspoken Airball had drawn a line in the sand declaring that âTourney players all suck, this is free money if I ever seen it!â
A comment he may have come to regret by eveningâs end.
Minutes before the stream aired, Airball accepted a $10K wager from tournament phenom Chance Kornuth. The bet: Kristen would end the stream a bigger winner than Airball. As it turned out, Kornuth pocketed the cash without breaking a sweat.
'He's hard to play against, that's for sure'
Foxen has a ton of experience competing in high-stakes cash, but admitted it had not been her focus over the last few years.
âI used to play cash games a lot back in the day,â confessed Foxen. âBut I haven't played that much in the last five or six years. But it's certainly a really dynamic, changing game at HCL. Itâs definitely very unique in how it plays preflop. It's almost more of a tournament than a cash game."
The previous evening, Kristenâs husband had battled Airball in several pots and observed the hyper-aggressive preflop activity.
âThe night before I played, Alex had played with Airball, and there was some really aggressive action. I can see that Nik definitely tries to attack these spots preflop, which, to me, is actually unique.
âIt's not something that you typically see in a cash game. It might be something you see during a tournament or deeper in a tournament with ICM pressure, etc. Airball has a unique style. Heâs hard to play against, that's for sure.â
Watch the hand play out in the video at the top of the article.
This coming Friday, Kristen is co-hosting a Chip Leader Coaching spring bootcamp alongside her husband Alex, and Chance Kornuth. Join the three-day challenge here.
