Friday night’s livestream from The Lodge in Texas delivered fireworks, highlighted by a three-way all-in that created one of the biggest pots the game has ever seen. Doug Polk, Nikhil “Nik Airball” Arcot, and local favorite Tesla found themselves tangled in a hand that swelled to $487,985.
Action Heats Up
The hand kicked off when Muscle Mike limped in with K♥3♥. From the cutoff, Nik Airball raised to $1,000 holding 8♠6♠. Sitting in the small blind, Polk picked up A♣K♣ and responded with a $4,500 three-bet. Tesla came along from the big blind with 10♥8♥, and both Mike and Airball made the call.
The flop landed 3♣8♦6♣, bringing plenty of fireworks. Tesla checked, and Airball fired $10,000 with his top two pair. Polk called with the nut flush draw, only to see Tesla shove his stack of $110,675 into the middle. Mike folded, but Airball wasted no time moving all in over the top.
That left Polk facing a $170,000 decision. After a long pause, he finally slid in the chips. “I might just be priced in on this,” he admitted as the cards went on their backs.
The Runout
With nearly half a million dollars up for grabs, Polk had about 35% equity with his draw, while Tesla’s tournament life depended on spiking a non-club ten—only about a 10% shot.
The turn came 3♦, followed by the J♠ on the river, locking up the massive pot for Airball.
Big Swing
The result was a major turnaround for Airball, who had been stuck earlier in the session but now sat with a profit of around $186,000. Polk, who began with $75,000 and added another $100,000 along the way, was forced to reload again. Tesla also rebought, bringing another $150,000 to the table.
The stream rolled on, but this hand immediately stood out as one of the most memorable clashes ever broadcast from The Lodge.
