The 2016 Super High Roller Bowl took place at Aria in Las Vegas this summer and saw 49 players pony up the $300,000 buy-in. Phil Hellmuth, a 14-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, finished fourth in the event to earn $1.6 million, which was the second-largest score of his career.

At one point during his deep run, Hellmuth, 52, played an interesting hand against Fedor Holz, 23, the hottest player of 2016 after winning more than $16.4 million over the course of the year.

The hand took place on Day 2 with the blinds at 6,000-12,000 plus a 2,000 ante. Action was six-handed at each table when Hellmuth, who was sitting with 673,000, raised to 40,000 from the hijack seat holding 9 9. In a day and age when players typically make raises of two times or two and a half times the size of the big blind, the “Poker Brat's” raise of more than three times the big blind was out of the ordinary.

“I oftentimes open for a lot more than what everyone else considers standard,” Hellmuth said. “They fluctuate between 2.1 times to 2.5 times. “Standard poker theory is against a [larger] raise. Obviously, I see advantages that others may see and disagree with, or may not see.”

Holz defended from the big blind with A 7, and the flop came down 10 2 2. Holz checked, and Hellmuth checked behind. (He would later say it was a “super-conservative check.”)

When the 10 peeled off on the turn, Holz checked for a second time, and Hellmuth bet 38,000.

Holz thought about it for a bit but ultimately laid down his ace-high. This wasn't a huge hand, nor a hand that had a noticeable impact on the tournament, but it was a great example of a solid laydown by one of the world's best players.

Many players in Holz's shoes would expect their ace kicker to be good on a double-paired board, especially after their opponent checked the flop. Holz knew better.

“It was a good laydown,” Hellmuth said. “My strong preflop bet sent a signal that I was strong. I liked that he said, out loud, that I had nines or eights. Good read, kid!”

Three things made this hand interesting. The first was the size of Hellmuth's preflop raise. The second was Holz's impressive laydown. Finally, there was the “living legend vs. young gun” dynamic.

“What he has done over the last year is impressive, and he deserves props,” Hellmuth said of Holz.

Of course, Hellmuth wasn't ready to offer too much credit.

“We have seen some players crush for a year or two — I could name a dozen of them — and then fade away,” Hellmuth said. “Fedor has a chance to be special and to be around for 50 more years. We will see.”

In case you were wondering, Holz finished second in the tournament and earned $3.5 million.