Every story in poker has a turning point or a pivotal moment – the hand that changes everything. This held true for female all-time money leader Kristen Foxen at the final table of Event #1: $5,100 No-Limit Hold’em of the ongoing 2025 U.S. Poker Open. The hand occurred during the three-handed play and served as a turning point for Foxen. It not only helped her stay in contention but it also gave her a big double up into the chip lead, eventually powering Foxen to her third PGT victory of 2025.
Let us break down this thrilling hand involving Kristen Foxen and Francis Anderson and uncover the logic for their respective moves or actions.
The Setup
Blinds: 150k/300k with a 300k Big Blind Ante
Action: Three-handed play
Players: Kristen Foxen (SB): A♠ 2♦ & Francis Anderson (BB): 10♥ 10♣
Pre-Flop Action
In this battle of blinds, the five-time WSOP bracelet winner Foxen shoved from the small blind with A♠ 2♦, and Anderson made no mistake, calling in the big blind with 10♥ 10♣ – a classic coin-flip scenario in tournament play.
Foxen’s Shove: When you are short, especially when just three players are left, shoving from SB with any Ace is a standard one. The ace adds blocker value and often has a decent equity against a wide calling range.
Anderson’s Call: Pocket tens is a strong starting hand and put him ahead of Foxen before the flop. It was an easy call for Anderson, who expected to be flipping against hands such as Ax, suited connectors, or small pairs. Unfortunately, the way the hand turned out was truly devastating for him.
Flop: 5♦ 2♥ 2♠
BOOM! An incredible flop for Foxen with two deuces, putting her ahead with trips and leaving Anderson needing one of the two remaining tens.
Post-Flop Equity: From an over 80% favorite preflop, Anderson’s equity quickly came down to around 9% after the flop bringing two deuces and putting Foxen in total control. Despite visibly reacting to an incredible flop for her, she managed to keep her cool during the surreal situation.
Turn & River: 6♥ & 6♦
Following a perfect flop for Foxen, the board paired on the river, further helping and giving her a full house. This left Anderson nearly felted and he busted just moments later, falling in third place ($70,950) to Kristen Foxen.
Hand Outcome
While the hand left Anderson nearly felted, it gave Kristen Foxen a massive double up, moving her into the chip lead and gaining the momentum during the three-handed play during Event #1: $5,100 No-Limit Hold’em of the 2025 U.S. Poker Open. From there on, she rode her momentum to defeat Ping Liu in the heads-up battle, securing the coveted title and the top prize worth $158k, while pushing her live earnings to nearly $10 millions.
Final Thought
While Anderson made no mistake calling with pocket tens, sometimes even good hands get cracked – that is poker. While both players made right moves, the momentum shifted to Foxen’s favour. In high-stakes poker, hands like this remind us that the game of poker is both beautiful as well as brutal sometimes. And for Anderson, it was really brutal in this instance.
One of the key takeaways from this hand is: play well, make the right moves and give yourself a chance to get lucky just like Foxen did in this hand. Although variance sometimes shifts the momentum like it did in this hand, the right gameplay is what makes you a winning player in the long run. Keep following PokerProNews for more such thrilling hands ahead!
Hand Credit: PokerGoTour/PGT Blog
