WATCH: Texas Mike Goes All In Blind Near $50K PLO Money Bubble

Copy link Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Jun 21, 2025 2 min read Last updated Jun 22, 2025

It’s not the first time Michael “Texas Mike” Moncek has shoved blind at the 2025 World Series of Poker, but on this occasion, the two-time bracelet winner had reason to smile when the cards hit the felt.

Arguably matched only by Martin Kahbrel in terms of entertainment value so far this summer, the ultra-aggressive Moncek was all in for his tournament life in the $50K High Roller PLO, despite not having looked at his cards.

As well as making a habit of shoving blind, Texas Mike has shown a similarly fearless approach in other high roller spots, with PokerNews recently reporting on another unconventional play during the soft bubble of the $25,000 High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed.

PokerNews' Tyler Boyer was on the scene to capture the crazy moment - check out the clip below.

Texas Mike Goes All In Blind at WSOP, Runs into Jacks, Queens, Kings & Aces

Texas Mike Shoves Blind

Unfazed by the prospect of risking a $50K buy-in on a mystery hand, Texas Mike shoved blind for his tournament life, moving all in for 620,000, or about 40 big blinds.

We join the action three ways in the $50K High Roller PLO, with Bulgaria’s Veselin Karakitukov and Dutch pro Dirk Gerritse also in the hand. Karakitukov, currently ninth on Bulgaria’s all-time money list, burned a time extension before eventually folding. That left Gerritse, who final-tabled the $100K PLO at 2025 Triton Jeju, heads-up and covered against a completely unknown range.

Moncek then began peeling his hole cards one by one, revealing A♣K♥Q♥J♥ while other players at the table could be heard saying "Wow, that's a good hand!"

Gerritse, who was sitting next to a smiling Erik Seidel, revealed his hand of A♠Q♦8♠7♠ to find himself dominated preflop. As he stood up, Moncek stood too, laughing, “You stand up, I stand up!” prompting more laughter from the table.

The flop then ran out 3♠10♥2♣, offering little help to either player, before a turn of 4♦ and 3♣ gave Texas Mike the win with Ace-King high. Gerritse was sent to the rail, where he'd shortly rebuy, presumably thinking his luck couldn't get any worse.

Meanwhile, Moncek, who at the time of writing is 14th in the $50k High Roller PLO with 1,850,000 chips (46 BB), will be hoping for some continued rungood as he looks to make Day 3 of one of the summer's marquee events.

As we near the bubble, future Hall of Famer Stephen Chidwick holds a commanding lead with a chip stack of 6,700,000 (168 BB), over double fellow two-time bracelet winner Allan Le in 2nd with 3,220,000 chips. Notable recent bustouts include Martin Kahbrel, Brian Rast, and Artur Martirosian in a field that is packed with some of the game's greatest players.

Eliot Thomas is a Content Executive at PokerNews, specializing in casino and poker coverage. He has reported from major events including the European Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker.

Follow on

• Tags World Series of Poker WSOP Texas Mike Michael Moncek WSOP 2025
• Related Tournaments World Series of Poker
• Related Players Michael Moncek