Poker Vlogger Mariano Flips Fortune With Perfect River Card

What a story! Every week, another highlight reel clip goes viral in the poker community. That’s what happened in a recent hand with poker blogger Mariano? Poker is booming worldwide, and its online presence has provided a global platform to help grow the game. If you were lucky to tune into Mariano’s live game against the famous Peter, you found yourself in a good spot. 

It began with a poor start, and fans of Mariano were concerned about his hand; however, as the game progressed, things started to change. Below you will find a blow-by-blow of the hand. 

The Tough Start

Wait a minute, you don’t know who Mariano is? Mariano isn’t just any poker player; he’s one of the most popular poker vloggers. His YouTube channel has 190,000 subscribers and nearly 50 million views.

But poker can be brutal, even for the best. On a recent live-streamed cash game, Mariano took a crushing $240,000 loss. The next day didn’t look any better. Early into the next session on Hustler Casino Live, he found himself down another $300,000. That’s a really scary place to be for anyone, even someone who considers themselves a pro.

Then came a hand against fellow high-stakes regular Peter Wang, a player also having a rough night.

The Hand That Changed Everything

The blinds were at $200-$400 with an $800 straddle when Mariano, sitting on the button, looked down at 10c9c. He raised to $2,000, and Peter, in the small blind, called with 6d4c and ‘Jeff the Cash’ in the straddle called as well with Ah6h.

The flop brought Jc7h5s, which is a board full of potential if you know anything about poker. Peter checked with his open-ended straight draw, Jeff checked behind, and Mariano put out a $2,000 continuation bet with his gutshot straight draw. Peter responded aggressively, check-raising to $10,000. Jeff folded, but Mariano called.

The turn was the 2c, a spicy for Mariano. Now, Mariano had not only his gutshot but also a flush draw. Peter kept up the pressure with a pot-sized overbet of $30,000. Mariano called again, swelling the pot to $86,800.

Then came the magic, the river 8s. For Peter, it completed his straight. For Mariano, it was the absolute nuts, giving him the best possible hand. Peter, likely thinking he had the winner, shoved another massive overbet of $120,000 into the pot. Peter thought he had it, and in most situations, he would, but Mariano was just so lucky that he happened to have almost the only other hand that could possibly be better. 

Mariano took about 30 seconds before announcing he was all in for the rest of Peter’s stack, about $411,000 more. Peter got out of his chair to study the board, but with the way his night had gone, he couldn’t find a fold. He made the call, only to be shown the bad news.

The Impact of That One Card

That river card didn’t just win the Mariano the pot; it completely flipped the script on his week. The $909,400 pot was the biggest of his career, which means that it was a massive moment for him, and everything was happening live, with fans tuning in from all around the world.

While Mariano ended up giving a little back before the night was over, he still walked away $133,200 richer. More importantly, the hand clawed back more than half of the previous day’s brutal loss and reminded everyone watching why he’s one of the most entertaining players in the game.

Peter Wang’s Painful Night

Unfortunately for Peter, this hand was the tipping point in a nightmare session. He finished the night down $682,300. 

Peter is no stranger to high-stakes swings. Earlier in the year, he played in the largest pot in the history of High Stakes Poker. At one point, he was up $3.7 million overall, but the past year has seen a staggering $3 million downswing.

Lessons From the Hand

Watching a hand like this is exciting, but it’s also a reminder of how high-stakes poker works. If you are someone new to the game, you need to take all of this with a pinch of salt because you still have to learn. If you’re a beginner to casino games, perhaps start with slot games, as according to a new report by Toroslots.com, these are the easiest to play for novices, as they don’t require any gambling rule know-how, which is ideal. 

The Drama of Live Poker

What a night of poker thrill! It was absolutely insane to see something like this unfold; the excitement of it was pure adrenaline. It’s sad to see what happened to Peter, as he took a significant loss, but it’s also exciting for Mariano; it’s his biggest win ever. That’s poker, folks.