Jared Bleznick took out Poker Hall of Famer Patrik Antonius for the second consecutive time on PokerGO’s High Stakes Duel 5, Tuesday’s match being worth $200,000.
The sports cards hobbyist once again finished off his opponent in no-limit hold’em, the portion of the mixed game he supposedly is at a disadvantage.
High Stakes Duel 5, for the first time, features a no-limit hold’em/pot-limit Omaha mixed cash game with rising blind levels starting at $200/$400 in Round 2. Players began with $100,000 in chips, and the consensus was that Bleznick has the edge in PLO, while his opponent should have a slight advantage in NLH. But it hasn’t played out that way through two matches.
More of the Same
Antonius, despite losing two matches to Bleznick, is having a banner month after winning the $200,000 Triton Invitational in Monte Carlo for $5.1 million. Going even further back, he’s having a heck of a year as the Finnish poker legend was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame this past summer.
But the good fortune hasn’t gone his way recently at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. Round 2 didn’t start off well for Antonius as a few hands into the match he picked up A♥5♥ and raised to $1,000 only to face a three-bet to $5,400 from his opponent who was holding A♠A♣.
Antonius made the call and didn’t hit anything useful on the 9♠2♥2♦ flop. Bleznick made a $4,000 continuation bet and received a call. The 3♥ on the turn, however, was the juiciest card in the deck. Bleznick opted to check and then called a bet of $8,000. No straight flush would hit on the 6♣ river and both players checked. It wasn’t a massive pot, but it was the first pot of any significance that went to either player and it put Antonius in a bit of an early hole.
Draws weren’t coming through for Antonius in Round 2. He’d pick up a straight draw on a 6♣9♠4♦8♥ board with A♦7♦ and bet $7,000. Bleznick, sitting on K♠8♣ for middle pair, called, and the straight draw again didn’t hit on the 6♣ river. Both players checked and the $34,000 pot went to the “Blez.”
Antonius Finds a Hand
The first half of the match went to Bleznick, but the Las Vegas sports card shop owner would squander his lead thanks to a mistimed bluff attempt. He three-bet Q♦8♦ preflop and then fired continuation bets on an ace-high flop and turn before surrendering on the river. Antonius flopped a pair of aces and wasn’t going anywhere, and the $46,000 pot put him back out in front, but only slightly.
Antonius would then have a misstep of his own in pot-limit Omaha. The board showed Q♦3♠10♥Q♣ and the Hall of Famer was drawing dead with A♣K♣7♠5♥ because he was up against Q♠J♠10♠5♣ for the nut full house.
Antonius bet $1,000 and then faced a raise to $3,000. He’d go for a three-bet to $8,000 with no chance to win the hand. Bleznick called and then Antonius gave up on the river. Bleznick, moments later, would scoop a $5,800 PLO pot with ace-high, forcing his opponent off a small pair.
The match began to shift heavily in Bleznick’s favor shortly after when Antonius picked up a flush draw on the turn in PLO and bet $10,000 only having to fold to a pot-sized raise against two pair and a flush draw. Things got even worse for Antonius when Bleznick rivered a full house to crack his turned straight and got maximum value with a $16,200 pot-sized bet.
Antonius would dip to below $30,000, but he wasn’t about to wave the white flag. Bleznick called $400 preflop with 8♥7♥5♣4♦ before the big blind, who looked down at A♥A♣6♠3♠, raised it to $2,400, to which the button called.
The flop came out 3♥6♦10♦, overall good for Antonius although bottom two pair in PLO isn’t as strong as in NLH. He’d bet $4,000 and receive a call before the 9♥ hit on the turn, which gave his opponent a flush draw to go along with his straight.
Antonius bet $12,800, the size of the pot, and then called off an all in raise to $19,500, in desperate need of sucking out. Bleznick hit his flush on the 6♥ river, but it gave the former Full Tilt Poker pro a winning full house. The pot was worth $51,800 and put Antonius back in the ballgame, although he still trailed nearly 3-1 in chips.
There would be no comeback, however. Antonius, back down to around $30,000, had A♠J♦ in the big blind in NLH. Bleznick slowplayed by just calling for $500 on the button with A♦Q♣, hoping to set the trap, and it worked as the poker legend obliged with a massive raise to $4,000. Bleznick then moved all in and received a snap-call.
Round 2 was on the line for Antonius, and he was behind. No help would come for the Finnish poker star on the flop, turn, or river, and the match came to an end. Antonius immediately tossed the red flag on the table, indicating he would challenge Bleznick to another rematch.
The losing player must pay $200,000 to enter Round 3, increasing the prize pool to $400,000.
*Images courtesy of PokerGO.
Bleznick Beats Antonius for $100k in Round 1 of High Stakes Duel 5