ShareA $200,000 buy-in cash game went down as side action during the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Cyprus last September, resulting in a number of juicy pots.
One such pot involved Dan 'Jungleman' Cates and Thailand's all-time top tournament money winner, Punnat Punsri. Both players were dealt a pocket pair, bullets for Punsri and eights for Cates.
From the Jungle to the Sea
Jungleman, whose penchant for dressing in costumes while playing poker seemingly knows no bounds, was decked out in attire reminiscent of a sea god from ancient mythology. Many will recall that Cates donned a Dragon Ball Z get-up and also channeled his inner Randy 'Macho Man' Savage while winning back-to-back $50K Poker Players Championship titles.At Cyprus, Jungleman referred to himself as "TriDan, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, heir to the throne of the sea!" In an interview with TVinsider, he continued in sea god character, stating, "Don’t let my atypical attire fool you. My return to the Earthdweller’s realm has cost me my usual attire, my trident and my magic conch. It was too late that I could wield my magic weapons’ might, when my servants returned my weapons to me in the $200k buy-in cash game. Behold their power!"
That power was evident in the hand with Punsri, the Thai native 3-betting to $54,000 pre-flop with his pocket aces. That sent Leon Tsoukernik (Kc-2c) and Heung Wayne (Kh-10h) to the sidelines, Wayne as the initial raiser to $9,000.
Cates called, the pot stood at $125,000, and a flop of 8-6-8 gave TriDan quad 8's. Punnat bet $44k and the sea god called.
The ace of diamonds on the turn was disastrous for Punsri despite hitting the full boat, aces over eights. Watch how the action unfolds in the tweet below:
Punsri suffered the bad beat and Jungleman scooped an $839,000 pot! But for those watching who feel Punsri's pain, don't feel too sorry for him. At Triton, he went on to win the $100,000 buy-in Main Event for $2,600,000!
