The GGPoker Face-Off Challenge is on, and three sessions in, Fedor Holz has completed dominated cash game star Wiktor Malinowski.
Though 1,500 hands is very far from conclusive evidence of anything, Holz has piled up three wins worth a combined $160,268. That'll put quite a dent in anyone's bankroll, even a player used to playing $200/$400 on a regular basis.
Day 1
One of the first big pots came up about 90 hands into the planned 400 hands when Holz opened the j♥️
First big round to Holz in one sense, but in another, a successful escape by Malinowski.
Another nasty spot came up after as Malinowski's poor luck with queens continued. This time, he three-bet to $2,000 again with q♠️q♣️, with Holz peeling light holding q♥️9♠️. Malinowski continued for $1,200 on 5♠️7♥️k♠️ and was met with a raise to $3,220. Malinowski wasn't giving up yet and called, bringing the a♠️. He opted to lead out really small with $1,360. Holz called and the river was the a♥️. Malinowski checked and Holz shipped it in for about a pot-sized bet of $16K effective and Malinowski snap-folded again.
Perhaps Malinowski felt he was getting run over early, but he must have figured the time was right for a move of his own around the 100-hand mark. He'd defended the big blind with 7♥️6♣️ and Holz c-bet with q♣️j♣️ after flopping huge again on j♦️j♠️3♦️. This time, Malinowski fired in a raise to $1,360 from the $300 bet, and Holz called. Malinowski turned some equity with the 5♠️ and overbet for $5,020. Holz called again, bringing the 8♥️. Malinowski stuffed for $15,969, just over the pot, and Holz quickly called to scoop $45,699.
"What did you roll?" Holz said with a laugh after the showdown, referencing the random number generator many regulars use to help their decision-making.
"I rolled 98," Malinowski said with a chuckle.
Another unfortunate situation developed for Malinowski when he called a three-bet and flopped well with 6♦️4♦️ on 3♠️6♠️5♦️. Holz slowed down and check-called a small sizing with a♥️j♣️ only to nail the j♦️ that also improved Malinowski. Holz check-raised all in and had a slight lead against the massive draw, and the 5♣️ river was the brick he needed for the $42,299 pot.
Finally, Malinowski got some momentum when he caught Holz bluffing. Holz peeled versus a check-raise with k♥️q♥️ on 8♠️10♦️3♠️. He then bet the 9♥️ big when checked to and then potted the 4♦️ river for $9,600. Malinowski had a good bluff catcher with j♦️10♥️ and looked him up to rake in the pot.
Holz peaked close to a $100K winner when he sucked out with a rivered flush versus Malinowski's trip kings, though the latter saved himself some dough with a river check back.
Holz then barreled down after opening q♦️7♠️ against Malinowski's 5♠️5♥️ defend. All looked well for Holz as he bet $700 on 5♣️3♥️4♦️ then $1,200 after hitting a straight on the 6♥️. Unfortunately for him, the 3♣️ gave Malinowski a full house and he check-raised to $15,600 over a bet of just $2,400. Holz couldn't get away and Malinowski won a pot of $36K.
Holz's lead had dwindled under $50K when he went for a check-raise in a single-raised pot on j♦️q♦️3♣️. Malinowski c-bet big with $700 holding a♣️q♠️ and Holz made it $2,180 with 10♥️8♣️. He fired pot, $5,360 on the 5♣️, with Malinowski calling again. On the 7♥️, Holz tanked awhile then bet $11,256. Malinowski didn't snap but did eventually find the call button to drag the $38K pot.
Hands Played: 459
Results: Fedor Holz +$37,421
Full session video
Day 2
An early cooler went in Holz's favor as he three-bet then peeled a four-bet with j♣️9♣️ against k♣️k♥️. There was about $10K in the pot already and Malinowski continued for $2,240 in position on j♠️9♠️8♥️. Holz check-raised to $5,240 and called off to win the $41K pot, holding on the turn and river.
Malinowski showed off his heroing skills with a♠️j♦️ after calling a three-bet and seeing q♥️3♠️3♦️. He called a small bet on the flop, the 6♠️ turn checked through, and Holz bet the 10♣️ river for $4,560 into $6,560 with 9♦️8♦️ for an airball. Malinowski snapped with the ace-high.
An unusual hand developed when Malinowski went for a four-bet to about $5K holding a♣️5♠️ against Holz's a♠️j♣️. Holz check-called a small bet of $2,400 on 8♣️10♣️q♦️, then the ♦️a arrived. Malinowski bet small again, this time $4,216. Holz again called, leaving about $8K back with $23K in the middle. Malinowski stuck the rest in and Holz tanked but found the call to chop.
Then, Holz three-bet with a♥️6♥️ to $2,150 and Malinowski called with a♣️q♥️. Holz continued small for $1,290 on 6♣️9♠️5♦️ and both players checked the 3♣️. Holz bet big on the 9♣️ river with $5,020. He had about $15K back and Malinowski offered to play for that as well. Holz tanked a bit then let it go.
Holz was stuck a bit but battled back into a small lead when a wild hand went down. He called a three-bet to $2,000 with 7♦️7♣️ and was up against ♦️aq♣️. The j♥️j♠️6♠️ flop improved neither player and Holz called a bet of $1,200. Malinowski checked the 2♣️ and Holz bet $3,600, just over half the pot. Malinowski peeled, bringing the 5♥️ on the river. Malinowski had a hair over the $13,600 left in the pot and he checked. Holz shoved and Malinowski tank-called off but the hero call failed.
A disaster scenario arose for Holz when they were about 150 blinds deep. Holz three-bet, Malinowski four-bet to $5,200 and Holz made it $10,500 with ♦️ak♥️. Malinowski peeled with k♦️10♦️ and flopped a flush on 3♦️6♦️2♦️. Holz bet tiny with $2,900 and Malinowski called. Holz opted to barrel small again for $4,700 on the 4♣️, and Malinowski just called again. On the q♥️, Holz finally checked. Malinowski had only $12,281 left with more than $36K in the middle. He stuck that in.
"It's not exciting," Holz said with a sigh as he went deep in the tank.
He finally tank-folded.
The players called it a session as they surpassed 400 hands again, and the ticker on the bottom had them close to even but the GG team tweeted that Holz booked another win of about $15K.
Hands Played: 472
Results: Fedor Holz +$14,651
Full session video
Day 3
Malinowski started off a bit stronger this time, building a lead of around a buy-in before the first big spot came up. Holz was the three-bettor for this one, making it $2,050 preflop with a♥️q♦️. He continued large for $2,700 and Malinowski peeled with his j♠️8♠️ flush draw on 2♠️k♥️10♠️. Holz barreled again for $5,860 and they saw a k♣️ river. Holz checked and Malinowski set him in for $11,989, about half the pot. Holz called it off with the ace-high and dragged the pot.
Holz continued to have success, including tripling off with 5♣️4♣️ on 9♣️7♣️3♦️8♥️7♥️. Malinowski had just half-pot left on the river, but unlike Holz, he couldn't find the call with a♣️10♥️ and conceded a $21K pot.
Holz just continued to sweep up all of the medium-sized pots in the ensuing couple of hours, and Malinowski fell further and further behind. He was looking at about a three buy-in deficit with about 300 hands in the books.
An action flop fell between them after a Holz three-bet to $2,050 when 6♣️3♥️7♦️ arrived to make his 5♥️4♥️ the nuts. Malinowski had 10♥️7♥️ for top pair and called a small bet of $1,200. Holz went just under pot with $6,000 on the 8♣️ and Malinowski called again. The j♦️ completed the board and Holz shoved the last $20,199 effective, just over the pot. Malinowski didn't need too long before calling and he dropped a pot of more than $58K, one of the biggest yet.
"Nice hand, nice hand," Malinowski said with a smile as both players watched Daniel Negreanu's avatar dance on the screen, signifying a pot of more than 250 big blinds headed someone's way.
In a single-raised pot, Holz continued for $700 on 7♦️2♥️5♦️ with 9♥️3♥️ and Malinowski check-raised to $2,160 with 7♠️5♣️. Holz peeled, bringing the 4♦️. Malinowski slowed down with a check and Holz took the opportunity to bluff out $2,720, about half the pot. Malinowski called, bringing the 8♥️. Holz went for a half-pot bet of $5,940. Malinowski went for the big fold and Holz showed him the 3♥️.
Holz peaked around six buy-ins up, but Malinowski did recover a bit toward the end. He put in a four-bet to $5,100 preflop with ♦️a10♣️ and Holz peeled with an inferior a♠️2♠️. On the 8♥️4♥️5♠️, Holz check-called a small bet of about $3,000. A perfect turn arrived for Malinowski when the 10♠️ hit. He shoved for $19,769, just over the pot, and Holz called to create a $55,859 pot. The k♦️ was a blessed brick for Malinowski as he finally halted Holz's looting of his bankroll.
They played a longer session but wrapped after what turned out to be 562 hands with Holz a six-figure winner, continuing his domination.
"Now for me, time to go to bank and deposit on GGPoker because Fedor took my money," Malinowski said with a laugh.
Hands Played: 562
Results: Fedor Holz +$108,195
Full session video
