The WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star started with 584 runners and narrowed to a final table of six that will play out in December in Las Vegas during the WPT World Championship. Along the way, a procession of famous names hit the rail, including both Phil and Nick Hellmuth. PokerNews collected the best of those eliminations in its "Hands of the Week" feature, and they make a handy case study in tournament strategy.
Each of the hands below ended with a big-name player busting, but the lessons go beyond the headlines. Pocket pairs against ace-king, aces cracked by running cards, a three-way all-in: these are the situations every tournament player faces. We walk through the key spots and explain what they teach. For the underlying numbers, our poker odds and equity pages are useful companions.
About the Event
The Shooting Star is a bounty format. Each of the 55 players carrying a $2,500 bounty was featured on a playing card, and knocking one out earned the bounty plus a signed T-shirt. Bounties change the math because eliminating an opponent is worth more than just their chips, which encourages wider calls and more aggression.
Hand 1: Mike Holtz's Kings Run Into Aces
On Day 1A, three-time bracelet winner Mike Holtz held K♠K♥ at Level 8 (600/1,200/1,200) with roughly 74,000 chips. Nicholas Ralph held A♣A♥. The flop gave Holtz a gutshot to a ten, but the turn and river missed, and Ralph collected the bounty. Holtz returned to Las Vegas to chase the WSOP Online Bracelet leaderboard.
Lesson: Kings versus aces is the classic cooler. With about 62 big blinds, Holtz had no real way to avoid the confrontation once the money went in. The takeaway is that some losses are unavoidable, and a good player does not dwell on them. Preflop all-ins with premium pairs are part of the variance of the game. Our bankroll management guide explains how to handle that variance over the long run.
Hand 2: Chad Holloway's Tens Meet Ace-Jack
On Day 1B at Level 5 (300/600/600), Chad Holloway raised to 1,500 from the cutoff. Bruan Luo, who had just won the WSOP Circuit Atlantic City event for $189K, three-bet from the small blind. (PokerNews spells the name both "Brian Luo" and "Bruan Luo".) Holloway jammed 26,000 with 10♦10♣, and Luo called with A♠J♥. The flop was J♠5♥4♣, and nothing changed on the turn or river. Luo took the bounty.
Lesson: This is a standard pocket pair versus two overcards situation, which is close to a coin flip. A pair of tens against ace-jack is a modest favorite before the board is dealt, but the jack on the flop changed that. In a bounty tournament, the call is easier for Luo because he is also playing for the $2,500 bounty. That is the power of bounty equity: hands that would be marginal in a regular tournament become profitable calls. Our pot odds explainer shows how to include extra rewards in your calculation.
Hand 3: Holloway Again, This Time Against Aces
Holloway re-entered before Day 2, and his run lasted until the first break. He got his remaining 42,000 in with K♠Q♥ against Jeff Madsen's A♥A♣. The board ran out with no help, and Holloway's first-ever WPT Bay 101 run came to an end.
Lesson: King-queen offsuit is strong enough to shove with a short stack, and sometimes you run into the very top of your opponent's range. With 42,000 chips and the blinds rising, Holloway had little choice but to take a stand. When you are short, the most important thing is to pick a spot with fold equity, and accept that sometimes you will be called by a premium hand.
Hand 4: Jeff Madsen's Ace-King Loses the Flip
On the last hand of Day 2 at Level 17 (5,000/10,000/10,000), Jeff Madsen shoved 125,000 with A♣K♥. Shawn Daniels called from the button with J♦J♠. The board ran out Q♠9♥8♦2♥7♣, and Daniels won the flip. Madsen finished 56th for $10,300.
Lesson: With about 12 big blinds, Madsen's shove was clearly correct. A♣K♥ is a premium hand for a short stack, and Daniels' call with jacks was also standard. The result went against Madsen, but the decisions on both sides were reasonable. This is the essence of tournament poker: you make the right decision, and sometimes the cards disagree. For help with push-fold decisions, see our ICM guide.
Hand 5: Ben Ludlow's Nines Hit a Straight
Ben Ludlow was short with 39,500 on the first hand of Day 2 (blinds 1,000/2,000/2,000). He went in with 9♦9♥ against Dan Maor's A♠J♣. Maor flopped a king-high straight on K♣Q♥10♣, and the turn and river did not help Ludlow.
Lesson: Pocket nines against ace-jack is a race, and Ludlow was a small favorite before the flop. The board gave Maor a straight with two cards he needed to be connected. Races are the bread and butter of short-stack play, and the best you can do is get your chips in as a favorite or in a coin flip with a good read on fold equity.
Hand 6: Phil Hellmuth Busts to a Set of Nines
Day 3 saw Nick Hellmuth finish 51st for $11,400. Shortly afterward, Phil Hellmuth moved all in preflop from the button at Level 18 (6,000/12,000/12,000) with 290,000 chips and A♣J♠. WPT champion Michael Wang called with 9♠9♦. Phil led on a J♥7♠6♣ flop, but the 10♦ turn gave Wang straight outs, and the 9♥ river gave him a set. Hellmuth was eliminated in 49th place for $11,400.
Lesson: Ace-jack suited is a shove from the button with roughly 24 big blinds, and Wang's call with nines was straightforward. Pocket nines against ace-jack is nearly a coin flip, and Hellmuth's top pair on the flop made him a favorite for a moment before the board turned against him. The hand illustrates the importance of keeping your emotional balance after a bad beat. Our tilt page explains how that works.
Hand 7: The Triple All-In With Ten Left
The final significant hand came at Level 23 (20,000/40,000/40,000) with ten players left. Chahn Jung raised to 85,000 from the button. Aaron Massey, holding 3♥3♣, jammed 1.05 million from the small blind. Adam Hendrix, with A♠J♥, shoved 1.85 million from the big blind. Jung called with K♠K♣ and won the pot as the board ran out 10♥7♣5♣2♠5♠. He eliminated both players and now holds the second-biggest stack at the final table.
Lesson: Jung's kings were a heavy favorite against both opponents, and calling was easy. The more instructive part is how the situation arose: with ten players left, near the final table, stack sizes were large and players were willing to gamble. Massey's small pair and Hendrix's ace-jack were both reasonable shoves, but they ran into a dominating hand. When you are shoving in a multi-way pot, you must be aware that you may be up against a stronger range.
Common Themes
Looking across the hands, a few themes emerge:
- Most eliminations were races or coolers. Very few of these hands involved major mistakes. Tournament poker is high-variance, and even the best players bust to unlucky run-outs.
- Short-stack aggression pays. Madsen, Ludlow, Holloway and Hellmuth all took shots at the right time. You cannot wait forever when blinds are rising.
- Bounties add pressure. A $2,500 bounty on a player makes everyone want to target them, which changes calling ranges and increases the number of confrontations.
- Names do not matter at the table. Famous players bust just as often as anyone else. A strong résumé does not protect you from a set of nines.
What This Means for Players
If you play bounty tournaments or Shooting Star-style events, here is how to apply what these hands teach:
- Value the bounty. Add the bounty to your equity calculations, and be willing to call wider when the reward justifies it.
- Know your push-fold ranges. With 10 to 15 big blinds, shoving hands like ace-king, ace-jack and medium pairs is standard.
- Accept variance. You will lose many races, but over time the winners in these spots will come out ahead. Check our poker strategy page for guidance.
- Practice online. Tournaments on offshore and regulated sites give you the repetitions you need. Our real money poker guide covers where to play, and the US poker page explains availability.
The six who remain will return in December in Las Vegas at the WPT World Championship, where the biggest prize of the festival is on the line. Until then, the hands from the earlier days serve as a handy reminder that the game rewards sound decisions, not guaranteed outcomes.
Hand details are drawn from PokerNews' "Hands of the Week" coverage of WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star.