Andy Taylor, the first Loose Cannon on the new season of The Big Game on Tour, got off to a pretty good start. After two sessions, he was sitting pretty, with over $20,000 in profit, and playing a solid game overall.
Going into the third episode, it looked like Taylor could continue trending in the right direction, slowly adding chips to his stack and potentially reaching his provisional $50k goal by the end of it all. But things often don’t go to plan in poker, as he was reminded in the very last hand of the session.
It wasn’t the most brutal of coolers we’ve seen on The Big Game, and when it was all said and done, Andy was left with his starting stack and over 50 hands to try and rebuild, but Shaun Deeb certainly took some wind out of his sails.
A Brutal Turn Card
The crucial hand came just as players were getting ready to wrap up the session and take a break. The action folded to Andy in the small blind, and he limped in with Tc9h.
Shaun Deeb in the big blind wouldn’t let him have a cheap flop, though. He bumped it up to $1,000 even, and Taylor proceeded to make the call.
The flop came Jc7c5c, giving Deeb a flopped flush and a straight flush draw. Andy connected pretty well, too, as he had a draw to a ten-high flush and a gutshot straight draw. So, he did the only thing he could, and check-called Deeb’s flop bet of $1,000.
Any club on the turn was going to propel the Loose Cannon to a significant lead. Any card but the 8c, as that was the card Deeb needed to complete his straight flush. And, sure enough, out of all remaining clubs, it was precisely 8c that made an appearance.
Shaun went for a big turn bet, making it $4,000 to go. Now sitting with a decent flush and facing the most aggressive player at the table, Taylor called.
The 7s on the river paired the board, giving some hope that Taylor might find a fold. After he checked, Deeb fired out big once more, betting $15,000 into the $12k pot. This was the biggest test Taylor had on The Big Game so far.
He took a couple of minutes to think about it, but, eventually, Andy Taylor tossed in the calling chips and was shown the immortal nuts. After that hand, he was left with $49,700, just $300 below his starting stack, which means he’s still got plenty of ammo to work with and just over 50 hands to try and lock up some profit.
If he doesn’t let this hand get to him and continues playing a solid game, Taylor still has a solid shot at it. But it’s not an easy one to recover from if you’re an amateur not used to so much pressure and such high stakes.
‘3Coin’ Bows Out
Randy ‘3Coin’ Sadler was felted on the last episode and decided to give it another shot, buying back in for $50,000. Unfortunately, that fresh buy-in did not last him very long.
Only a couple of hands into the session, he got involved in a big pot against Jason Koon. Randy was ahead of Koon on the flop with his pocket pair of tens, but the high roller decided to play his gutshot plus backdoor flush draw combo aggressively out of position, building the pot.
The turn was just what the doctor ordered for Jason, as he completed his straight, while ‘3Coin’ was stuck with an overpair to the board, which, unbeknownst to him, was drawing dead after the turn.
Long story short, we all know Sadler isn’t the one to fold much, so all the chips found their way to the middle on the board-pairing river, and Koon picked up an almost six-figure pot.
At this point, ‘3Coin’ decided to call it a day, and his seat was occupied by a new player, Poseidon Ho. From what we’ve seen so far, Ho seems to be on the tighter side, but it’s hard to say from just a few dozen hands. He is certainly a bit of a mystery, not just to fans at home, but to the players at the table as well.
An Exciting Finish Ahead
The fact that Loose Cannon’s profit evaporated in that hand against Deeb doesn’t bode well for Taylor, but it is a good thing for the action.
With nothing left to protect and fewer than 60 hands left, Andy might need to start forcing the issue quite soon. He’s not in the danger zone just yet, but he’ll have to put those chips to work soon.
If he can pick up a few good hands, everything that transpired could work in his favor. The rest of the table might think he’s on a bit of a tilt and look him up lightly. But, by the same token, if cards don’t cooperate and with the clock running out, he might struggle to win many hands without showing the goods.
