POTD #67 Andrew Lichtenberger vs Joao Viera in the WSOP $100k HR

Top Pair vs an Open Ender

I had the privilege of doing some final table commentary during the WSOP $25k PLO and 50k PLO with Stapes and Hartigan, and a question that came up was: For an action game, why do PLO tournaments sometimes play so much tighter than NLHE tournaments? A big reason is that there are two common types of pots in PLO tourneys. First, multiway limped pots where all players must tread very carefully, because even the bare nuts are not so great in a multiway limped pot. The other type of hand is one where a lot of money goes in preflop, and if both players flop just enough, all the money is going in. An interesting dynamic forms in the second type of pot where you want to be the player who is going all-in, not the player who is calling all-in, which means one of the normal rules of poker-- the passive preflop player checks to the preflop aggressor-- is frequently broken. In NLHE, even if your hand really wants to bet, you often make the play your range wants to make and check. In PLO, you often want to make the play that your four cards tell you to make, even if it doesn't always make sense for your range. A common type of hand that wants to pile money in on the flop is a mediocre draw, which is the type of hand Andrew Lichtenberger has in today’s hand. We are ITM of the WSOP $100k NLHE, we only have two cards, but we commit a grave PLO sin: folding a hand with enough equity to shove but not enough to check/call. Was this just bad luck from the man also known as LuckyChewy, or could a more aggressive approach have allowed him to see all five cards?

2025 WSOP $100k NLHE Day 2. 16 cash, there are 13 left. (50k/100k/100k) (SB/BB/BBA)

Joao Viera (1.3M) raises to 200k in the CO with J♦️T♣️, it folds to Andrew Lichtenberger who calls in the BB with Q♣️J♣️

Flop (550k) T♥️9♠️2♣️: Lichtenberger checks, Viera bets 180k, Lichtenberger calls
Turn (910k) 6♠️: Lichtenberger checks, Viera bets 930k and is all-in, Lichtenberger folds