You've come this far, No way you're folding now

 

📋 Players & Hole Cards:

• Cao Rui: 9♦ 7♦

• Tom Dwan: K♣ J♣

🃏 Board:

9♣, J♦, K♦, 6♦, J♠

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🔍 Hand Breakdown:

Cao Rui – Flush (Diamonds)

• Using: 9♦ 7♦ + K♦ J♦ 6♦ from the board

• Final Hand: K♦ J♦ 9♦ 7♦ 6♦ (Flush)

Tom Dwan – Full House

• Using: J♣ J♦ J♠ (three jacks) + K♣ K♦ (two kings)

• Final Hand: J♣ J♦ J♠ K♣ K♦ (Full House, Jacks full of Kings)
  

⚖️ Who Wins?

✅ Cao Rui wins with a Flush, which beats Tom Dwan’s Full House in Short Deck Hold’em.

📌 Remember: In Short Deck, a flush outranks a full house due to the reduced deck making flushes rarer and more valuable.

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💥 Situation Analysis:

• Cao Rui flopped a flush draw with his suited connectors (9♦ 7♦) and hit the flush on the turn when the K♦ came in. Given how rare it is to hit a flush in Short Deck, this is a powerful hand.

• Tom Dwan flopped top two pair and turned a full house (Kings full of Jacks), which is extremely strong in traditional Hold’em — but not always safe in Short Deck.

• On the river, Dwan improved to Jacks full of Kings, which still looks like a monster — but it's not enough against Cao Rui’s made flush.

• Cao Rui moved all-in, likely confident his flush was best. Dwan is shown deep in thought, reflecting how tough the spot is — holding a hand that’s normally a massive favorite.

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🎯 Tactical Commentary:

• In regular Hold’em, Dwan’s full house would be a snap-call situation, but in Short Deck, the flush becomes the real trap hand.

• Cao Rui’s all-in is strong, confident, and mathematically sound. His flush beats almost all hands except higher flushes or straight flushes — both very unlikely on this board.

• Dwan may have been tempted to call based on hand strength, pot odds, and how rare it is to run into a flush. But this hand perfectly highlights how Short Deck’s unique structure punishes Hold’em instincts.

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🧠 Takeaway:

This hand is a perfect case study in how Short Deck Hold’em changes the meta:

• Strong full houses are vulnerable.

• Flushes are premium.

• You must respect flushes in heavy diamond boards — especially against players who could have suited connectors.

Cao Rui wins a massive €942,000 pot, turning a speculative hand into a beautifully executed, high-reward bluff-catcher that becomes a monster.