Aldemir vs Holmes
World Series of Poker, Main Event, 2021. The final hand.
The 2021 Main Event, heads-up
The hand
George Holmes and Koray Aldemir. Blinds 1.2M / 2.4M, ante 2.4M.
Before the flop
- Blinds 1.2M and 2.4M. Holmes has the button.
- Holmes raises to 6M.
- Aldemir calls.
The flop
- Aldemir checks.
- Holmes bets 6M.
Aldemir raises to 19M. Why
Aldemir. Two pair on a flop with a heart draw wants the pot bigger now, and charges the draws while they are behind.
- Holmes calls.
The turn
Aldemir bets 36.5M. Why
Aldemir. The king can pair Holmes, but two pair is still ahead of nearly everything that called the flop, and the draws still have to pay.
- Holmes calls.
The river
- Aldemir checks.
- Holmes bets 133M and is all in.
- Aldemir calls. The famous decision
The river
The famous decision
Aldemir. An overbet after only calling the turn is often a single pair that thinks it is good, or a missed draw. Top two pair beats both, and only a set or a lucky straight wins.
Holmes had a pair of kings. Aldemir won the title.
The result
Aldemir wins at the showdown with Two pair, Tens and Sevens.
- HolmesK♣Q♠
- Aldemir10♦7♦Wins
Why it is famous
On the final hand of the 2021 Main Event Koray Aldemir held top two pair, tens and sevens. George Holmes, who had made a pair of kings on the turn, moved all in on the river for 133 million, more than the pot. Aldemir called after nearly three minutes and won the $8 million first prize; Holmes took $4.3 million.
What to take from it
A river all in bigger than the pot asks you to fold, but top two pair beats every one-pair hand that might make it.
Sources
What the sources do not say. Holmes’s stack is worked out from his bets and his all in. PokerNews says Aldemir covered him by about ten million.
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