Clash of the GOATs: LLinusLLove Pressures Haxton

LLinusLLove vs Isaac Haxton in a $660,000 Pot! High stakes pros battle while Phil Galfond analyzes the poker strategy in today's live poker breakdown.
❗️💰 Unlock your poker potential in 2024 ➡️ galfond.link/N...
Isaac Haxton, a long-time high stakes poker pro with over $47,000,000 in poker tournament winnings, takes on Linus Loeliger, a fellow high stakes poker pro commonly known as LLinusLLove and Switzerland’s all time poker tournament money leader.
These two players are widely known as being some of the most GTO accurate (GTO = Game Theory Optimal) poker players actively playing high stakes poker today, so you know you’re in for a poker strategy treat!
Are Isaac Haxton’s blockers important on the river? How should Linus Loeliger build his checking range on the turn? These questions and more are answered in today’s high stakes poker highlight analyzed by Phil Galfond.
Both of these high stakes tournament players also play ultra high stakes poker cash games as you can see from today’s highlight analyzed from the Triton Poker NLHE Cash Game.
To watch the full first hand you can check out ‘$660,000 Cash Game Cooler | Triton Montenegro 2019 NLH Cash Game’ on PokerGo’s KZbin Channel: • $660,000 Cash Game Coo...
Make sure to check out more poker action from the best players in the world, playing at the highest stakes poker has to offer, on the Triton Poker KZbin Channel: / @tritonpoker
This ultra high stakes poker hand was played in 2019 during the Triton Poker Super High Roller NLHE Cash Game in Montenegro, for the exact episode check out ‘Triton Poker NLHE Cash Game Montenegro 2019 - Episode 6‘ here: • Triton Poker NLHE Cash...
Visit www.triton-ser... for updates on the amazing poker events and tournaments Triton has to offer.
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[@PhilGalfond]

Thanks for watching, all! ICYMI -- I'm sharing weekly poker deep dives and giving away my Poker Mindset Strategy ebook at: philgalfond.com/mindset-yt You can get it all FREE. Enjoy!

[@deekay9828]

More of these theoretically focused ones please! Loved it

[@trevorgallian8857]

Imo, this is the perfect level of analysis, because it is in-depth from a logical standpoint, and we happen to know that the Phil's viewpoint is informed by not only experience, but solver study as well. There are coaches who go too deep for my attention span when they actually start putting a solver on the screen and live adjusting for different variables. I'd rather watch those kinds of videos when I'm in deep study sessions. For KZbin, I think this is the absolute best format

[@happypill6195]

100%

[@tom_dot_com]

Great video, I appreciate simultaneously the humility to acknowledge their strengths, but then also offering your opinion/choices in that spot. Very helpful and makes the video super informative.

[@federarcolanditera5312]

Phil, whatever you do is very much appreciated

[@HDPoker1]

Llinus such a legend near any hour of the day i see him on N8 sitting on the nl100k tables just waiting for his next victim.

[@Humanprototype-wh8qr]

which sites?

[@lolimfalling]

N8 stands for natural 8. It's a online site in Asia.

[@deathbymonkeys]

@@Humanprototype-wh8qrGG poker

[@jeremym6813]

He was the biggest gg cash winner for feb! Think around $390k

[@AceEquality]

​@@Humanprototype-wh8qrN8 is Natural 8

[@petedupre85]

Just to put my vote in, I prefer this style of in-depth hand review where we get to learn theory. Would love to see it for PLO but that's understandably a much smaller audience, thanks Phil!

[@MagicAdventurer]

I think a lot of us reaaaaaallyy enjoy the more in deep aproach to the analysis of the hand. Thanks and keep them coming ;)

[@bigtimetimmyjim6486]

Still the best poker hand analysis videos on KZbin, always look forward to them

[@DougieBarclay]

"You're too tight, you'll just be a poker player" the levels of this rings so true. This is how the "businessmen" dont need to grind to play these levels, they take calculated risks and are worth 100x these pros. Only great comment I've heard from TonyG, ever.

[@artil1]

Deeper thoughts are really clearly explained and for sure not boring.

[@edwardsaenz469]

More like this please. Watching and listening to breakdowns like this one stretch my brain and help me in my game

[@SpruceMoose304]

That cash game line up was insane, all winners with contrasting game styles.

[@Ghostone11]

Agreed, it was super fun to watch.

[@Dmatafonov23874]

How do I find that game?

[@stephenmustard9082]

@@Dmatafonov23874 should be on tritons youtube channel

[@Goldenboi77]

Agreed, except Tony G is not a winner lol

[@Bean-js9bc]

Tony G may have an unorthodox style, but he's up $2.9m in televised and streamed cash games. It wouldn't surprise me if he's also made a ton in private games (given his connections).

[@kbscores]

This is so great. I appreciate the flush blocker explanation. Also, the turn check vs bet explanation along with the ranges to bet.

[@5starUBERabba]

Hey Phil, did your IT production crew somehow erase Haxton's mask in this video? What's going on here?

[@n_a8917]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@jimsmith1856]

3M want their money back.

[@jimallinx]

You realized there was a time before COVID right?

[@n_a8917]

@@jimallinx you realize this was a joke, right?

[@martinbenedetti4260]

Another great video! Tony: "You've got to give some action" Dealer: *Hold my river card*

[@PaperPlateParody]

Another thing about betting the turn with the flush draw with the weak kicker is you get called by more flush draws which is what you want when you're in position.

[@KenDavis-uo8kq]

Would love more vids like this. PH has the best breakdowns! Cool dude and chill demeanor.

[@xxxnvnvxvn7626]

Hey Phil! Huge fan! Would you consider making a video that offers a checklist of things you consider when facing a poker decision ? I’m guessing it’s something along the lines of … 1. What are my theoretical options in this spot? 2. What exploitative adjustments should I make based on what I know about my opponents? This would offer a really helpful baseline model for making decisions. I think a lot of people, myself included, make a lot of decisions based on feelings/intuition/limited logical understanding of the game. Would greatly appreciate a reliable mental checklist to work through, for real time play and review. Thank you

[@ayeshacarmody]

So interesting ! I just love the way you explain and your analysis ! Yes, more of these, please :)

[@josesalinas2050]

A mix of both are awesome! Keep bringing more content like this please.

[@pr1metime.]

I would LOVE to see more of these hands analyses Phil. This is invaluable stuff 💛 I absolutely agree that the K of diamonds is not as good of a blocker as it seems at first glance. Given that Linus' range is polarized and you essentially have a bluff catcher, having the K of diamonds is a real mehhh.

[@billj4525]

I agree. I can't see a reason for the call really. Looks like a bluff catcher. I mean you have to think your opponent is bluffing for whatever reason. There could be some deep analysis behind it. If anyone has a better reason for the call let me know.

[@FireTheHoker]

That table is fucking crazy you got Linus, Haxton and Jungleman all 3 of them monsters of the game.

[@sNooBdogE1]

and mikita, trueteller are also the end bosses

[@ashleymartin6521]

Keep in your pants

[@barygol]

​@@sNooBdogE1to be honest. Being mikita an amazing player (especially on tournaments) I don't think when it comes to cash is as good as the other 4 mentioned .

[@saiajay6663]

Don't you feel the Power baby? Tony G was the Real Boss there 🔥

[@luu5369]

@@barygol he's better nlhe cash game than haxton

[@massy2474]

Great analysis! More of these in depth analysis videos please!

[@xManji1x]

Really enjoyed hearing your personal breakdown of the applied logic. Thank you for this video

[@PhilGalfond]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ryanpowers2136]

Excellent video. I thought KJ with K of diamonds was a crystal clear call here, but you’ve forced me to reconsider. Side note - this table is totally stacked. Why any of them would have agreed to play in this game is beyond me, but at least it makes for some great poker content 😅

[@ItsKyleVG]

Without the Kd do you think a 3b bluff on the river from Ike would be good? In your analysis you said Linus has very few full houses, maybe slow playing JJ, but with the J that then becomes impossible. Maybe a bit suicidal if Linus doesn't have enough back though.

[@ImTheBowser]

Yeah against a theoretically sound player, the stack to pot ratio seems too low to turn this into a bluff. You’d be laying about 2:1 which for a player like Linus generally just means fold all your bluffs and call all your value hands since otherwise you can’t meet minimum defence frequency.

[@mattsandel]

I had the same question. I ran a little sim in gtow ai and haxton’s combo is three way indifferent - can raise, call, or fold in one sim and in another it mostly calls but folds a sliver. It all depends on the sizings Linus would use on turn for how many foldable flush combos get to the river raise node. But either way he needs a bluff raise if he is raising for value, so hands like this are good for it. Good eye. Btw their sizings are spot on when they bet

[@TheGillenium]

“It all depends on the sizing Linus would use…to get to the river raise node.” Would you be kind enough to explain what you mean by this?

[@mattsandel]

@@TheGillenium what size Linus would have used on the turn determines how his checking range is constructed. If I give him a medium size he’s betting more flush draws. If I give him a huge sizing he’s checking more of them. So when he faces a bet on the river, his raising range can have more strong flushes in it (if he was betting the turn bigger) or fewer (if he was betting the turn smaller). That changes the value of Haxton’s Kd blocker.

[@TheGillenium]

@@mattsandel I guess I’m confused because Linus checked on the turn…so what does that say? I’m looking at it from haxtons point of view, am I wrong to be doing that? Sorry I’m new to some of the theory stuff

[@stidudiiduri]

Who was Tony G talking to at the start of the video?

[@Thomas-sb2fg]

Amazing video format. PLease more of this 10 min one live hand analisys. SUPER COOL!

[@timl5043]

More like this! Especially appreciate hearing how you would think about the hand yourself. Basic concepts behind GTO are usually more important than actual 'correct' play for any given situation.

[@SpaceMonkey616]

You say Linus is never checking back a set on the turn, however I do believe at some frequency it is correct to check back nutted hands. If he never checks back a set or a nutted hand then his range on the river after checking turn isn't going to contain enough strong hands, it protects him for when Ike blasts the river, and perhaps gets some value from hands that feel compelled to bluff once he checks the turn. I'm no pro, this is just how I see this spot. I believe someone as good as Linus is going to be finding those check backs with nutted hands.

[@joeyfiuza]

More like this, please. Go for it, Mr. Galfond. Thanks a lot! Have a nice one 😎

[@PhilGalfond]

You're very welcome. Thank you for watching!

[@noamshochat3738]

Great Lesson. I would be very happy to see more of this Videos. the most interesting thing for me to learn us which hands to pick for which action in order to balance the range properly. thanks!

[@barondrakir]

I really like your insigths and comments in these videos. And your laid back approach to talking about everything. Thank you - keep it up!

[@PhilGalfond]

You are so welcome!

[@LordClanRDR]

"youre too tight to be happy" is top tier

[@MBell1]

Keep the advanced content coming Phil!

[@berkeleycodingacademy7015]

Love it Phil. More of these. It's super helpful to hear how you think through hands.

[@10millions40]

Love to see something more advanced. Great depth and analysis really interesting to see how these players play through these situations!

[@DavorR9]

Great analysis! I also think Linus's check on the turn helped Ike make the call on the river. Most often nut flush draws bet big on the turn. That could have helped Ike to think he is up against Ad bluff.

[@jadkins69]

More of these please.

[@PeruvianpSych0]

Thanks for your effort in the videos! It is highly appreciated :)

[@Asgardinho]

Linus doesn’t have any boats here after that check on the turn, the play for Haxon is to go all in as this is a clear A high flush or a bluff.

[@Romans8-9]

Linus knows that Haxton will be aware that he doesn't have boats in his range when he checks back turn, so he needs to call his A high flushes a bunch of the time. Also, its unlikely Haxton has a boat either since he check called the flop.

[@billj4525]

You think Linus folds given the stack sizes, also knowing that he doesn't likely have full houses given how it was played? It's a gutsy play, but I don't know if it's good one given how it was played. If the stacks were bigger it would have a better chance of working.

[@jackostripes5452]

Keep them coming, we love high level plays.

[@codywold1911]

Another great video Phil. I like the variety you've been putting out lately of doing advanced and lower level hand breakdowns. Maybe having an advanced and a beginner section in the same video would be good too?

[@GokuTheSuperSaiyan1]

4:00 it could very well be that linus does a mix of checking and betting with the nut flush draw. But he has the polarisation advantage and as you pointed out theres fold equity to betting a hand like A8s so idk. I havent examined solver turn outputs much

[@erikpoirier1533]

I have no idea why check-calling the flop with KJ high in this spot (heads up, out of position with a single diamond in his hand) is a close decision. To me, it's s snap fold and that's it...

[@LTUharis93]

Great video! Great effort Phil, thank you!

[@elijahwidener4193]

Could you do a video on the losers in poker? It’s always baffled me how there are so many multi million winners, how does the money end up trickling up to them?

[@wayne9287]

A lot of poker players cashes investment money from the stock market.

[@Harbz]

enjoyed it Phil, the higher level stuff the better

[@peters3965]

I loved this one i think it is perfect balance between being theoretically focused and easy to understand and still entertaining

[@thosenorthernlights]

I love how Phil has my book from 2011 on his shelf

[@DamonFinePoker]

What an excellent breakdown. Thank you so much for the content you put out! I dream of one day doing a hand breakdown with you 😂

[@SuperMentalMicky]

Love this level of detail Phil 👍

[@juhalindblad7624]

Great stuff Phil! Always a pleasure watching and learning from you. More of this theoretical stuff please :)

[@newstandardaccount]

I don't even play but I really enjoy thinking through these hands, and hearing a pro's analysis. Keep them coming! The only thing I personally dislike is spending a ton of time in a video looking at solver output. The reason is, I can look at it too - what I can't get on my own is the actual analysis.

[@maxev817]

What a lineup! More of these videos, please.

[@thiagogiosaborgesleveigera529]

please keep on coming the more theoretical approach videos! thanks for the lesson

[@tylerkay825]

Phil your contents been kinda goated here recently

[@matn3wman]

More of these would be great

[@zac6499]

Any plans to play in games like this yourself?

[@calebcjhpoker2944]

Hi Phil, just wanted to clarify what you mentioned about the Kd being a card that blocks some of Linus' bluffs (Ad, Kd). But doesn't the Kd also block Linus' value range (AKdd, AQdd,KTdd)? In this case, how should we think about it? Is it better that we block a big part of his value range, or is it worse because we block a big part of his bluffing range?

[@TranscendentMusic1]

I want to see more theoretical hand reviews with Linus etc

[@jiamonx2]

Hey Phil great video. It's a really good one on theory especially if you've looked at a solver where the blockers matter less than the line taken.

[@markfromct2]

Thanks Phil: Agreed with the other comments. There are lots of 'fun' hands here on KZbin,. The viewer may find them entertaining but does not learn anything. Even though I don't play at that level, the theory discussion at least opens my eyes to it.

[@simpsonzack22]

I think that this is an absolutely fantastic video. I love the graphics as well. I do, however, like the idea of maybe talking about what Ike would do if he had 66 or 33 or 22. Are those -always- going to be 3-bet shoves on the river, assuming all other action is identical? Or is 66 the only shove, based on the assumption that all flushes would fold and only quad jacks or other boats can call?

[@dustyguadian7570]

More would be great. Could you also do a lot of these with plo please

[@PhilGalfond]

I'd love to film more PLO ones, let's see what I can do! 😊 Just in case you missed it, I did one PLO-themed video in this same format a while back: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGLNY5uhrqqCiqs

[@jimmymcgill5572]

More videos like this plz

[@amelieverantes]

You call with kj? 😂 great to see the Tony g 💖

[@cl4709]

Don’t applaud for him! He called with King Jack!

[@MehrPower]

You could go even deeper into theorie if u like to ;-) If Ike is b/c this size on the river with KJ. What of his value hands is he b/f? Is he betting all the low PP's? If not, he may be overcalling. But like u said, they are the Wizards 😋

[@cant5t0p]

why not just xf the flop??

[@pastramionrye247]

Your turn examples of Ike's floats of ATcc and A9cc would have picked up a flush draw on the turn, so are continuing with a call or check/raise, so betting A8dd makes less sense on the Jc than on, say, the Js or Jh.

[@williamfranzen8548]

Life is simple, I see a Phil Galfond video, I click

[@tarikfeat1]

I applaud you for your deep analyses... It make a lof of sense

[@howard5992]

The reasoning from about 7:45 to 8:20 seems somewhat convoluted to me, where you discuss holding the King of diamonds in a missed flush. I am not sure that I would think it *more* likely that I was being bluffed if I held a different (lower) diamond in that situation.

[@EcIypzed]

So it’s because a lot of Linus’s bluff raises in this spot are going to come from checked back off suit A and K high hands with one diamond, AxKd, AdKx, AdQx, KdQx, etc., so holding the Kd oop blocks those bluff raise combos, whereas a 8-Jd may not block those as frequently because the hands containing those would have less SDV

[@justsaying8159]

very fun to watch keep them coming!

[@irishock]

It's the "I'm blocking the King high flush but I'm also blocking his AxKh type of bluffs" situation

[@shibasama4000]

This was great! More like this please 🙏

[@jeffreyjoseph2737]

Phil you seem like a good guy. Very down to Earth. I enjoy your videos

[@hylens5111]

"I don't think you can have two pair pre-flop really." Me neither.

[@easstttt]

I LOVE these types of videos Phil!

[@kevinjiang101]

Jx is probably too thin to raise on river due to 80% sizing right? With small bet + raise from linus would prob be leveled more into calling due to thinking opponents value range contains hands that are worse than yours

[@davidholmes892]

Linus can have A of d and a high card kicker(k,q,j, or 10 non-dimond) since he raised pre and turn his Ace high into a bluff.

[@adamzimn]

Phil these are great, one idea for a video is your thought process without seeing the villains cards!

[@canadianbakn]

I would love to see more theoretically focused ones.

[@axashuraggath7865]

Linus, Haxton, Jungle and even Tony G. Fun table.

[@jesperkristensen5875]

More, always and forever more of this. Great stuff as always, Phil

[@YourPokerCoach]

Giving the amount of what he bets on the river I would never raised because it's too risky of he having a Full House because of the paired board. Yes, he would probably bet the flop or turn too with Sets but sometimes and I repeat, sometimes people slow play till the end. I personally Prefer play cautious

[@Dezu123]

What about 3b shove by ike on the river since he has J6s,J3s,J2s(6combos) in range. What hand would you pick?

[@olivertaylor9125]

This was an amazing video. Thank you Phil!

[@psico_hacks777]

phil what do you think to reraise KJ converting Your hand into a Buff? not many combos of full House in linus range but a lof of flushes and a few blufs we have more full House than our opponent here. will fold a flush linus?

[@TG-YT]

Yes! More of these please :)

[@elasticharmony]

Yes I am interested in this type of content, the expert analysis of these kind of very hard and very high players is an education

[@mezzanine2670]

You really think Linus would bluff with off suited king of diamonds? I think I have almost never seen this in high stakes footage and I watched quite some in recent years

[@ivarkreuger3098]

Great video. More of this.

[@humbertosilvacunha2810]

Amazing video Phil! Thank you very much!

[@johnd5619]

In Ikes shoes, Is turning your hand into a bluff a consideration?( on the river after being raised) It was the first thing that came to my mind, but its easy for me to bluff off Ikes chips :D

[@PaperPlateParody]

I think you don't want to do that while holding the king of diamonds since it blocks bluffs we'd like to get folds from. Linus is getting roughly 25% odds on a call so theoretically, the value to bluff ratio should be 3:1. Value combos would include 66, 33, 22, J6s, J3s, and J2s totaling 15 combos. So we'd need 5 bluffs to balance it. However, picking the best bluffs is not an easy task and it would be easy to over bluff in real time. I would prefer AJ and KJ where the ace and king are clubs. I'd actually be reluctant to bluff here at all in practice, because I would expect people to be over calling in this spot.

[@billj4525]

I don't think it's a good play in this specific situation. He also doesn't have enough money to fold in my opinion. If that stacks were bigger I think it could put Linus to tough decision givin what he was holding here. I still don't know if he folds though.

[@sebastianmartinez2850]

Thanks for the content, really usefull, you're the GOAT!!

[@francescoiadicicco1266]

I'm not a pro and I understand maybe the 10% of this, but I still love it, because the deep thinking process professionals put in the game is fascinating!

[@paulgibbons-keynotespeaker]

Why half pot vs strad defend on that board?

[@BaenGeiwn]

This is probably rather surface level thinking but shouldn't Haxton find a fold rather often here? I'm basing it mostly on the fact that the range warranting raising a near-pot sized bet on the river comprises of flushes, boats and rarely the top trips. Is there any boat that checks the turn back? Flush draws do check the turn back a lot of the time, depending on the hand and with varying frequencies. QJ is likely a hand not worth raising with on the river as very very few worse hands call. AJ might raise and be better when called and may check back turn a decent percentage of the time. Flushes clearly make up a big chunk of the range that would take exactly the line Linus did. Furthermore, Linus raising 70 to 260 (leaving 190 to call, a small discount off a bigger round number) seems way too inviting. That said I would've loved if Linus had as big a stack as Haxton and Haxton 3bet-bluffed him all in on the river.