Cary Katz turned a dire spot into a massive win against Josh Arieh in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, spiking a full house on the river after Arieh flopped top pair and a flush draw. The hand featured a premature handshake attempt that Arieh turned down, only for luck to swing Katz's way in the $25,000 buy-in event.
With starting stacks at 250,000 chips and blinds at 5,000/10,000, Arieh held a small edge. Katz, on the button, raised to 21,000 holding jack of diamonds and jack of hearts. Arieh responded by shoving all in with ace of clubs and queen of clubs, covering Katz's 231,000. Katz called instantly.
The flop came four of clubs, eight of clubs, ace of spades, pairing Arieh's ace and giving him the nut flush draw. Katz, down to one out, reached out for a congratulatory handshake. Arieh, no stranger to wild swings in his long career, kept his hands away. The turn eight of hearts paired the board, adding one more out for Katz. Then the river jack of clubs completed Arieh's flush but filled up Katz for the pot.
Arieh dropped to fewer than four big blinds and busted out soon after in the single-elimination setup.
Championship Makes Comeback After Long Break
The tournament marked its first run since Mike Matusow took the title in 2013. Now on PokerGO, the 64-player no-limit hold'em heads-up format drew pros and celebrities. The opening episode covered the Diamonds bracket, packed with surprises like Xuan Liu ousting heads-up expert Doug Polk and actor Kevin Pollak topping Liv Boeree.
World Series of Poker champs Chris Moneymaker and Michael Mizrachi joined the mix, along with David Williams. Other matchups included Randy "3Coin" Savage against Mizrachi, Shaun Deeb versus Alan Keating, Igor Kurganov facing Moneymaker, and Charlie Hook taking on Dan "Jungleman" Cates.
Four 16-player brackets make up the first round, each with its own episode. The full series streams on-demand via PokerGO.
Diamonds Bracket First-Round Matchups
| Winner | Loser |
|---|---|
| Xuan Liu | Doug Polk |
| Cary Katz | Josh Arieh |
| Kevin Pollak | Liv Boeree |
| David Williams | Victoria Livschitz |
| Randy "3Coin" Savage | Michael Mizrachi |
| Shaun Deeb | Alan Keating |
| Igor Kurganov | Chris Moneymaker |
| Charlie Hook | Dan "Jungleman" Cates |
