BLACK CARD

1st Match

In the August edition of Battle the Coaches we’re playing for $12,500! 

After around ten minutes in play Coaches open JT82 single-suited. Call by ajuuus. Flop comes A76 rainbow. JNandez bets half the pot in position and is called. The turn is the miracle 9 of Clubs. This time the Coaches bet full pot with the nuts and a redraw to a higher Straight. After giving it some thought ajuuus raises the pot! All in! The Coaches come over the top and the decision is back to ajuuus. He tanks for a moment but with the second nut Straight, a redraw to a higher Straight too ánd the nut flush draw he can’t get away. River: Ten of Clubs giving ajuuus the Flush!! 


The Coaches are left with 16 big blinds and soon after the last chips go in: KKQ5 single-suited for the Coaches and AJ87 for ajuuus. Flop comes AQJ, turn another Jack and without a King on the river ajuuus takes down the first match! What a great start for the challenger.


It’s 0-1, what a great start for the challenger!

2nd Match
After almost thirty minutes with the third match about to start the stacks were still even. Blinds went up over time so both players have 30 to 40 big blind stacks left. Ajuuus pot opens the button, call by the Coaches with QQ53 single-suited. Flop is AQ4 rainbow. Bet by ajuuus, call by Suhepx, slowplaying middle Set. Turn is the 7 of Diamonds and the Coaches check to induce. Ajuuus bets pot and calls the all-in: AK64 for Ajuuus who needs an Ace on the river to double up! River… Deuce of Spades.


There’s the equalizer, it’s 1-1! 

3rd Match
Ten minutes into the decisive match who’s going to take the lead, the Coaches open T655 with 6 and 5 of Spades. Ajuuus 3-bets preflop, call. Flop 443 with two Spades, giving the Coaches the open-ender plus a Straight Flush draw even! Ajuuus bets 1/3 pot out of position. Call. Turn, 8 of Clubs. Now ajuuus bets 2/3 of the pot putting on the pressure. Suhepx decides that the hand is good enough to push all in with! After giving it a 15-second thought ajuuus presses the ‘call’ button!! Showdown: AA64 for ajuuus, Trips 4 and 60% equity going to the river! River is……. Queen of Clubs!


No help for the Coaches and putting ajuuus back in the lead: 1-2! He now needs to win only one of the two upcoming matches in order to take down $12,500, talking about pressure!

4th Match
The Coaches took a 2:1 chiplead in the fourth match when getting 3-bet their J887 single-suited open. Call. Flop comes KJ7. Ajuuus bets half the pot out of position, call. Turn is the 5 of Clubs, putting two flush-draws on the board. Boom! Full pot bet by ajuuus. The Coaches discuss but can’t find a way out and go all-in, call by ajuuus. Showdown: AKQ5 for a better two pair and 85% equity to take a 2:1 chip lead. River……. Deuce of Diamonds!


Chips going back and forth and it’s getting more and more intense with so much money on the line! 

The fifth match started already with the fourth still going under way. In case ajuuus wins match four it’s all over!

The Coaches managed to grind it back almost even stacks when they pick up Aces. Limp by ajuuus, pot-size raise by the Coaches. Ajuuus comes over the top! Re-pot by JNandez with his AAJ3 single-suited followed by a call. 60 Big blinds in the middle and 13bb stack left behind for the Coaches and ajuuus has them covered. 

Flop: J53 rainbow. Good flop for the Coaches but their all-in is called! Ajuuus shows KKJ9. Turn 8 of Clubs, giving ajuuus the flush draw and 30% equity. If he improves on the river he wins $12,500!! River….. Four of Spades! 


Is this going to the final 5th match? Ajuuus is left behind with 13 big blinds left.

Ajuuus manages the short stack well and the blinds are going up and up. With 10 big blinds left ajuuus opens pot and get called by the Coaches, holding 7654 containing 3 Hearts. Flop: Q32 with two Hearts. Donk-bet all in by the Coaches and snap-call by ajuuus! He’s holding the A872 with the nut Hearts flush-draw! 58% Equity for ajuuus who needs to hit to stay in match number four! Turn… King of Hearts! 


Ajuuus doubles up and the Coaches are left behind with less than 5 big blinds!! 

A few hands later, while you can feel the tension every hand, the Coaches decide that 7652 double-suited is good enough to get it in. Call by ajuuus, holding the 9633 single-suited. 

Flop AQ2 all Hearts. The Coaches need to improve or it’s all over! Turn: Queen of Club. 80% Equity for ajuuus taking down $12,500, is it enough this time?!! River……..


Ten of Spades!!! Ajuuus winning the August edition of Battle the Coaches and takes down the $12,500!!! 

Well played ajuuus, good game and well-deserved!

YouTube match review

1st Match

In the fifth edition of Battle the Coaches we’re playing for $10,000! 

The structure was faster in this edition and both players adjusted accordingly by conducting a limping strategy.

After 3-betting AdQdQsJd the flop comes A6A. The Coaches bet a quarter of the pot and get min-raised by Purplepils99. Call. Check-call on a turn 4 bringing a second Diamond. River is checked and they’re now facing an all-in bet.

After some discussion the Coaches agree to fold this hand and have to fight back with half the starting stack.

Even with the faster structure the match took over 30 minutes. With both stacks being very shallow, Purplepills99 opens the pot and the Coaches try to hit a piece of the flop with J876 single-suited. Flop comes Q76 rainbow and the Coaches push all-in. Purplepills99 calls and has 17% equity with A high! Turn is the Ace of Clubs increasing the odds to 42.5% for the challenger. River, King of Spades!

It’s 0-1 in favor of Purplepills99, what a miracle runout!

2nd match
The second match is almost half an hour underway again and it’s Purplepils99 who’s short this time. Blinds are high and with 7.5bb left ‘Purple’ decides to pot open and go with K833 single-suited. Suhepx is calling the shots this match and decides to just call with KQ87 rainbow. Flop: 684 rainbow. Checked by the Coaches and after an all in and a call both hands are shown down. Purplepils99 needs a lot of help after the Seven of Spades turn. No help on the river and the game is in balance again: 1-1!

3rd match
Twenty minutes into the third match it’s a limp by the Coaches with QT75 single-suited. Check and flop comes 335 giving the Coaches the flush draw. Check check. Turn Ace of Diamonds. ⅔ pot bet by Purplepills99, call. River is the Four of Diamonds. Min-bet by ‘Purple’ and Suhepx decides it’s time for a bluff-raise. Unfortunately, the timing is off and Purplepils99 goes all in.

Two hands later the chips go into the middle and Purplepills99 wins the remaining chips to win the third match and lead for a second time: 1-2!

By the way, if you’re wondering who’s the guy with the hat and moustache, it’s Fabian, aka Suhepx, aka the Chicken Master.

4th match

With 15 big blinds left in match number four, Purplepils99 calls a pot open by the Coaches who are holding AKJ9 single-suited. Flop is AA6 with two Spades. Small bet, call. Turn is the Jack of Clubs. Small bet again, another call. River is the Three of Spades. PurplePills99 decides to go all in!

Snap-call by the Coaches obviously and we see how ‘Purple’ decided to turn his 7755 double-suited hand into a bluff! The match is in balance agáin: 2-2! Is Purplepills99 going to win $10,000? Or will we be playing for $12,500 in next month’s edition?! The decisive match number five will tell.

5th match

With almost 30 big blinds left the Coaches limp K976 single-suited. Check by Purplepils99 and the flop is 983 with two Hearts, giving the Coaches an open-ender and a flush draw. ‘Purple’ decided to check-raise the half pot bet. With additional fold equity JNandez decides it’s time to “rip it in” but Purplepils99 is not going out of the way! Call! He’s showing the J887 for middle set and a weaker flush-draw and thereby blocking two outs to make the flush. Turn is no help to the Coaches, Six of Clubs. River……….. Ace of Hearts!!! Nut flush for the Coaches and back in the lead! 

After our Coaches won a few more pots Purplepils99 has to work with a bit less than 10 big blinds. After opening pot the Coaches decided to defend with 6322 double-suited. Flop K72, containing two Hearts. Bottom set for the Coaches and will this be the final hand?! All in followed by a call and we’re going to showdown: KQQ5 rainbow for Purplepils99. After the turn, the Eight of Hearts he needs a Queen to stay in the match! River: Jack of Diamonds!

3-2! The Coaches win in the most intense Battle the Coaches match so far! Very well played by Purplepils99 as he was very, very close to winning $10,000… Good game both and it’s been a great show to watch!

Make sure to qualify for the raffle in August and have a chance to beat our Coaches for $12,500!!!

YouTube match review

1st Match
In today’s match we’re playing for $7,500!

The PLO Mastermind coaches draw who’s going to be in control of the first match and it’s JNandez winning the driver’s seat.

Both players start the match taking it slow. Small pots are won back and forth and after 20 minutes stacks are still even.

Nietzsche opens the button and JNandez calls with QJ32 double suited. Flop comes A52 rainbow. Nietzsche decides to c-bet for a third of the pot and the Coaches go for a check-raise answered by a call. Turn card is another Deuce. 1/3 pot bet called by Nietzsche. River is anóther Deuce for quads! After some analysis between the Coaches they decide to bet 1/3 pot once more and get called down by the very unfortunate Nietzsche holding AK55… What a runout!
 
After hitting a boat on the 8AA flop with 9885 single suited given up on the turn by Nietzsche, the Coaches could now put more pressure on his short stack. The hand after JNandez defends KT72 double suited against a pot size open raise. Flop comes KT9 rainbow and with a stack to pot ratio of a bit over 1, Nietzsche surprisingly checks. Turn is the Deuce of Spades. 1/3 Pot bet by the Coaches followed by an all in and a call! Showdown:

Nietzsche slow played the nuts of the flop but is so unfortunate on the river, King of Clubs! Full house to the Coaches and the first match! 1-0.

2nd Match
The second match took over 30 minutes and without actual big pots played, the Coaches managed to grind down this month’s challenger. In the majority of decisive pots Nietzsche simply has slightly worse hands and the misfortune of the first match carries over to the second one as well.

After Nietzsche pot size opens the button the Coaches decide to go for it with KJT9 double suited. All in, call and the hands are shown:

Turn card seals the deal and it’s 2-0 in favor of the Coaches! Is Nietzsche capable of turning this around? He definitely needs some more luck on his side to succeed in this tough challenge.

3rd Match
In this match pots are won back and forth again and in the meantime the blinds are rising. With 32 big blinds left Nietzsche decides to raise the pot after Coaches open raising the button. Suhepx says he’s going all in for 30 big blinds with AKT3 double suited and Nietzsche calls! Showdown: QQ98 single suited for Nietzsche. Flops is 772 with two Diamonds but neither player has a flush-draw. Turn, Ten of Spades. The Coaches have 20% equity and need a Ten, King or Ace. River…..

Ten of Clubs!!! Amazing river! This river card sums it up for Nietzsche in this match, he played a solid game but was unable to win any large pot although getting it in well every time. Incredible run for the Coaches and being this fortunate nobody is likely to stop them!

The match ends in 3-0 and we’re going to play for $10,000 in July! 

1st Match
The first match will go into the book as the longest one in Battle the Coaches history! When the 2nd match started thirty minutes later the stacks were still even. With the blinds going up and up JNandez said “we’re flipping for the win” when both stacks had only 20 big blinds left.

Then the following hand occured. JNandez bet 1bb on the flop, Neptune raises pot and they’re all in! Turn completes the flush and the Coaches start celebrating the 1-0. The ‘Good game’ emoticon is shared and let’s move to the next one!


But wait, what?! Neptune has 2.3bb left… In the hand after Neptune doubles to 4.6bb. All in, 9.3bb in the middle, and Neptune takes it down, again! The jinx seems real, what a rollercoaster!! Few hands later, all in, 17.4bb in the middle to get back to even stacks. Coaches are 55% favorite on the flop, but there’s the turn, 5 of Spades!


Epic comeback by Neptune! 

While playing 2 tables both matches come to an end within the same minute. Neptune decides to pot lead his Jack of Hearts blocker and is crippled after losing this pot to the Coaches. 


This time no crazy comeback and it’s 1-0 to the Coaches. What a fight that was!

2nd Match
Right before the first match ended this hand was played in the second one. Preflop 3-bet by the Coaches followed by a continuation bet on the flop. On the turn a miracle 3 hits and is checked. Neptune bets in position.


The Coaches decide to just call and check to Neptune on the river. He tanks for a while before going all in!


No hesitation by JNandez and he calls: Set over Set! Neptune flopped a Set of Jacks, what a cooler!! 1-1.

3rd Match
Suhepx takes over control in the third match and “not sure if” that’s the reason that the match lasted just 5 minutes!


The Coaches open KJJ6 rainbow and get 3-bet. After a call the magical J58 rainbow flop appears. Neptune checks out of position though. Is he trapping? Suhepx bets 66% and Neptune answers with a pot raise! After some hand-guessing the Coaches go all-in and get snap-called! Showdown:


2-1 to our Coaches!

4th Match
The first big pot happened after Neptune limped the button. The Coaches are holding 5669 rainbow and the flop comes down: AQ6r for bottom Set. Flop goes check-check. On the turn it’s checked to Neptune again and he bets almost 70% of the pot. Suhepx decides it’s time for the potsized check-raise and Neptune calls. River is the Four of Hearts and Neptune faces another potsized bet. He bluff-catches with the AJ43 rainbow for two pair and the first large pot goes to our Coaches.


After winning this pot the Coaches maintained pressure and tried to grind down Neptune. Then the next hand occurs. 

Neptune limps the KQT8 rainbow and Coaches check their T622 single-suited hand. Flop is KQ2 rainbow. Bottom Set again! 

Neptune bets 1bb in a 2.2 bb pot and gets raised by the Coaches to 3.1bb. Call.

Turn, 7 of Hearts. After taking some time the Coaches fire a pot sized bet, half of Neptune’s stack who needs to decide whether this is the time for him! Holding top two pair it’s a no-brainer: All in!


Showdown! The Coaches are a 90% favorite with the Set of Deuces and the river is the Ace of Spades, no improvement for Neptune and this match is over! JNandez & Suhepx win with 3-1!!

Good game Neptune and thank you for participating.

The prize pool of June’s Battle the Coaches event is rising again: $7,500 to play for!

YouTube match review

1st Match
Challenger ‘harigebalzak’ playing under his Natural8 username HenriB went off to a good start. Using well-timed aggression and the Coaches having trouble to hit boards, the first big hand was directly decisive. Suhepx was in control to call the shots and where he won all his matches against Etzekiel last month, he couldn’t continue his streak. Coaches pot open AK72 single-suited and HenriB decides to 3-bet. After a call flop comes down A82 with two clubs and the Coaches are holding the nut flush blocker.

HenriB bets half pot out of position answered by a call. Turn is the 8 of Diamonds. About 1/3 pot bet followed by another call from the Coaches. River is the Ten of Spades and after a small tank HenriB goes all-in. With hardly any timebank left Suhepx decides it’s a call here and HenriB shows the Eight for a 1-0 lead!
 
2nd Match
JNandez is back in the driver’s seat announcing a ‘new world’ referring to an aggressive playing style. Evidence was found directly in the first hand. Opening 8233 double-suited, betting both the flop and turn and calling down on the beautiful river put the Coaches right into a significant lead.

Another large pot was won after a deceptive check back on the flop holding top Set. The Coaches raised HenriB’s bet on the turn and both actions were repeated on the river.

More aggression was applied and with success, after grinding down ‘harigebalzak’ the last chips went all in with QJT2 versus QT75 both single-suited. Our coaches made the flush: 1-1! 

3rd Match
HenriB dominated much of the third match. He seemed to hit the boards a bit better than the Coaches. Not afraid to put maximum pressure in a few spots ‘harigebalzak’ managed to grind down the Coaches to a short stack. 

The last chips went in the middle after the Coaches open and HenriB 3-bets. The river is the Four of Hearts, turning HenriB’s hand into two pair and give him the lead: 2-1!

4th Match
Ten minutes in play and  fairly equal stacks before the first key hand occurs. After a limp by HenriB, JNandez got confused and raised pot with the mediocre starting hand: KhJh4x2x. The flop improves the hand a lot though: 448 rainbow. Coaches check and HenriB bet 85% of the pot, call. On the turn – Deuce of Hearts – HenriB bets the pot and get check-called. The river is the 7 of Diamonds giving HenriB a straight and he bets the pot again. The Coaches snap it off and take down the over 148 big blinds pot!

After doubling-up by spiking a wheel on the river ‘harigebalzak’ 3-bets his Aces now and get called by the JT95 single-suited of the Coaches. After flopping top two pair it’s an easy call and this time two pair gets there! 2-2! 

A fifth match is needed again to determine the winner of Battle the Coaches April! Will the Coaches be able to take it down this time?!

5th Match
After four minutes in the decision match HenriB opens and the Coaches call with Queens. The flop is Q52 with two clubs. After checking HenriB bets half pot and the Coaches decide to check-raise. Thinking HenriB would be considering to call or fold, he surprises with a re-pot. Decision is back to the Coaches whether to jam or just call. They end up calling. Turn: Four of Spades. The Coaches get tricky with a 1/3 pot lead, holding the Three of Clubs blocker. Call by ‘harigebalzak’, and the river is the best card for both sides: Four of Diamonds. The Coaches keep their line deceptive and check. HenriB tanks for a bit and then bets a quarter of the pot. Raise all-in by the Coaches and HenriB thinks his boat is the best hand: CALL. 

Huge pot for the Coaches!

A couple of small pots later after HenriB got grinded down to around ten big blinds. He pot opens from the Button and the Coaches just call with A456, with three Spades. Flop comes T65 with two Hearts and the Coaches lead pot and HenriB calls. 48,66% Coaches, 51.34% ‘harigebalzak’, is this it?! 

Turn: 6 of Diamonds! Our Coaches are now 90% favorite to win this hand, the match and the tournament! 

River is the 3 of Spades and that means the second edition of Battle the Coaches is won by JNandez and Suhepx!! 3-2, another thriller! Good game ‘harigebalzak’ aka HenriB and thank you for participating.

Qualify for the challenger seat or tune in for more action in May with an increased prize pool of $5000 to play for!

YouTube match review

1st Match
The first match is only ten minutes under way and no significant pots had taken place, yet. This time the Coaches open and Etzekiel decides to 3-bet his single-suited rundown. Aces are getting 4-bet and the response is a call. The 829 flop with two Hearts is great for Etzekiel flopping top two pair, a gutshot and the flush-draw, giving him the 76% lead! Turn is the 5 of Hearts and completes the flush. 0-1 Is the score in favor of the challenger! The Coaches have work to do.

2nd Match
The first big pot of the second match was an important one! Etzekiel opens and continuation bets the flop. The turn is the ultimate action card – Queen of Diamonds – and the Coaches decide to rip in their combo draw. Chips in the middle and here’s the river, 5 of Spades. Is this the 0-2 and Etzekiel getting very close to win $2.500? No, it’s a wheel!! Straight for the Coaches and they’re taking a huge lead in match number two.

Etzekiel is short now and decides to 3-bet his AKQ8 single-suited holding. After some thought the Coaches call. On the flop all the money goes in and the Coaches improve to a flush on the turn: 1-1.

3rd Match
Tension is rising, who will be in the 2-1 lead after this match?! After some small pots, the Coaches 3-bet their AK97 double-suited hand and Etzekiel flats is QQT6 single-suited. After tanking a while the Coaches bet full-pot on the 386 rainbow flop putting the pressure on Etzekiel who needs to decide if his hand is good enough to continue. Flopping the 6 gives him extra outs plus the backdoor club draw in case he’s up against aces or kings. Call. The turn is the 3 of Spades and pairs the board. Great card for the Coaches and their perceived strong range. They move all-in and try to push Etzekiel out to make him fold the better hand. He thinks his opponent is on a (semi-)bluff though because he snap-calls! 32% Equity for the Coaches who need an A, K, T or 5. The river is the 4 of Hearts and it’s 1-2 in favor of Etzekiel!

4th Match
The most spectacular hand in match four is this one. Etzekiel 3-bets his T963 double-suited hand and checks the 256 two-toned flop. The Coaches bet 1/3 pot and Etzekiel calls. Turn is the 3 of Clubs and the Coaches bet 2,000 to put Etzekiel to the test. He calls. River is another deuce and after checking for the third time out of position, the Coaches push all-in. What a way to take down the challenge that would have been! Clicking call in this spot as the Coaches were bluffing with Q984. Etzekiel doesn’t believe he can be good here and folds.

Some hands later the money goes to the middle and on the AAJ flop the deal is almost sealed. Trip Aces hold and we’re going to the fifth and final match: 2-2!

5th Match
After a few cold decks for the Coaches in middle-sized pots and fighting back with a less than 2,000 stack at some point even, they’re discussing whether to 3-bet being 19 big blinds deep after Etzekiel min-opens once more. He folded to 3-bets before so they decide to go for it. Etzekiel believes his AKT6 is good enough to 4-bet all-in and after some emoji’s thrown back and forth, both hands are shown down:

The flop is good for Etzekiel and with a 6 of spades on the turn he only needs to dodge a Jack and a Ten for the split to win $2.500! River……. 2 of Diamonds!!! Congratulations Etzekiel for taking down the first episode of Battle the Coaches!