Few poker couples can say they’ve been on both sides of the same bad beat. At Super High Roller Bowl XI in Las Vegas, Alex and Kristen Foxen did exactly that, in a single hand.
The Hand That Changed the Bubble
The $100,000 buy-in event drew 28 entries and built a $2.8 million prize pool. Only five players would be paid, and the winner would take $1,125,000.
With six players left, Alex Foxen held a dominant chip lead. Nick Petrangelo shoved all in over a four-bet with pocket sixes, and Foxen called with pocket tens. That is a huge favorite for Foxen, made better because one of the other sixes had been folded earlier. Petrangelo had a single card left in the deck to improve.
The board ran out A♠ 9♠ 9♦ 6♦ 7♠. The six on the turn gave Petrangelo sixes full of nines and a double-up.
Why the Foxen Household Paid Twice
Alex lost chips but came out of the day in good shape. He still finished Day 2 as the chip leader, and he is chasing his 14th PokerGO Tour title.
Kristen’s situation was different. She was the short stack on the bubble, and Petrangelo’s win kept the field at six instead of busting a player. A few hands later, her ace-eight lost to Brandon Wilson’s pocket nines. The six-time WSOP bracelet winner went out one spot shy of the $215,000 minimum payout.
This is a textbook example of how ICM (the Independent Chip Model) works. Chips are not worth cash one-for-one near a pay jump. Every elimination on a stone bubble lifts everyone’s equity, and Alex’s chips could not protect his wife’s seat. PokerNews described the household’s lost equity as “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” That is their estimate, and we have not independently calculated it.
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Who’s Left in the Field
Five players remain: Alex Foxen, Brandon Wilson, Nick Petrangelo, Jeremy Ausmus and Adrian Mateos.
- Petrangelo is coming off a $2.2 million win in the Triton Jeju $150,000 10th Anniversary Special.
- Mateos leads the GPI 2026 Money List with about $15 million in cashes.
- Ausmus is a well-known high-stakes poker vlogger.
Day 2 had other highlights for the Foxens. Kristen doubled through Joao Simao when she spiked a king on the river with ace-king against queens, and Alex flopped a set of queens to eliminate Jason Koon, this year’s Poker Hall of Fame inductee.
Day 3 was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. local time, with the PokerGO stream beginning at 3 p.m.
FAQs
What is a one-outer in poker?
It’s a hand where only one card in the deck can win for the player who is behind.
How much was the Super High Roller Bowl XI buy-in?
$100,000, with a $2.8 million prize pool and $1,125,000 to the winner.
How many players got paid?
Five of the 28 entries.
Who is left in the field?
Alex Foxen, Brandon Wilson, Nick Petrangelo, Jeremy Ausmus and Adrian Mateos.
What is ICM in poker?
ICM converts tournament chips into cash equity, and shows why bubble eliminations affect everyone’s payout.
