There has been a new record set in the high-stakes poker world.
For the first time ever, a $5 million pot broke the record for the biggest hand ever seen on camera in live-stream poker.
The record-breaking hand was played in South Korea in a million-dollar buy-in cash game that featured some of the best players in the world.
ST vs アーロンの8億pot、とんでもない pic.twitter.com/NUJkmiXqec
— きみ@LIKE A BOSS (@kimi3906) April 24, 2026
A Record-Breaking Hand in Jeju
The famous hand happened at the latest King Poker Cup event in Jeju, South Korea. This wasn't your average poker game.
There was a "buy-in" fee of $1 million to get into the "Million Dollar Cash Game."
The blinds started at $1,000/$2,000, and only people with a lot of money and steel nerves could play.
The most exciting part of the night happened when ST played against Chinese pro Aaron Zang.
The pot reached a world record $5,029,000.
Both for the money involved and for the wide range of games played, this was an amazing event.
The $5 Million Hand Explained
The most important part of the game happened on the river, where the board showed 
, Zang already had a straight, holding 
.
He bet $800,000 into a pot that was worth $1.687 million before this bet.
Since ST had a bet on Zang, he took a risky choice to go all-in for $1,871,000.
It was once again Zang's turn to be under pressure.
He now had the second best hand possible.
Zang went into a deep tank and finally decided to call and ST revealed 
, which meant he had a higher straight and won the pot.
After a few seconds of quiet, everyone at the table realised what had just happened: one hand had chosen the winner of a pot worth more than $5 million.
In just a few hours after the hand happened, people shared videos of it on social media, and those videos got thousands of views.
Many poker fans couldn't believe it really happened, even though it was an ultra-high-stakes cash game.
A Table Full of Elite Talent
The game had several elite players, including online poker champion Wiktor Malinowski, aka Limitless, and Chinese high-stakes player Xuan Tan.
This game is one of the highest stakes in history; this hand stood out as one of the highest.
There were three aspects present: high buy-ins, very skilled players, and an aggressive playing style, all of which helped create a situation where there could be big money for an entire poker tournament.
How It Compares to Past Records
Before this hand, the biggest pot at a live-streamed poker game was $3,081,000 won by Tom Dwan during the Million Dollar Game on Hustler Casino Live in 2023 against crypto entrepreneur Wesley Fei in a high-stakes game.
This record has now been shattered, as Jeju awarded the winning amount of $5,000,000.
It shows how quickly the stakes are increasing in poker in today's world, with the rise of high-stakes private cash games and the entry into other exclusive events.
In addition, all of the above-mentioned players, such as Ossi Ketola, Alex Foxen, and Dan Cates, have participated in large games with pots well over a million dollars, continuing to raise the limits of play.
What Comes Next for Aaron Zang
Zang may have taken the loss to be significant, but it’s not something that is foreign to him.
He has won over $21.9 million in live tournament earnings.
One of the highlights for Zang was winning the Triton Million for Charity in London in 2019, where he took home $16.7 million.
Despite losing this record-breaking pot, Zang will have many opportunities in the future to win even more money back.
He’s going to be playing in the Triton Super High Roller Series coming up between the dates of May 13 to May 28 at the Maestral Resort and Casino in Montenegro.
There are a lot of excellent players in these high-stakes cash games.
So it's clear that poker is at its highest level ever right now. If this hand is any indication, it's safe to say that bigger moments are on the way.
Poker Community Reaction
Below are a few reactions from the poker community.
@Docsmokesfuego:
I can play just as bad as that
— Doc Fuego (@Docsmokesfuego) April 26, 2026
@Neeranam:
Terrible call, what was he thinking?
— นิรนาม (@Neeranam) April 26, 2026
@skinrule:
Yowza!!!
— Michael Griffin (@skinrule) April 25, 2026
@spencersimpson:
Wow 🤯
— SS (@spencersimpson) April 25, 2026
Bluffaces
