Raping the Bubble: A Chad Batista Specialty

The unfortunate death last week of online poker superstar Chad Batista, 35, has resulted in a flood of posts on social media and online poker forums as players pay homage to the fallen legend.

Among those posts are numerous accounts of spectacular plays made at the tables by Batista, whose aggressive style was awed and respected by many. Known online as 'M8kingmoves' and 'lilholdem954,' Batista's poker prowess also carried over to the live tournament tables, although he reportedly disliked the slow pace of live play and much preferred the online game.

A sampling of the tributes expressed at 2 + 2:

"I remember him taking down two majors in the same night way back in the day," stated 'Ace Acumen.'

"i used to love watching/occasionally (once or twice) playing tournaments with him online," posted 'StueyIvey.' "he's gotta be one of the top 5 guys i remember from the heyday of online poker tourneys."

"kid was a pure feel player, something which is super difficult to pull off in an online setting," said 'you_wot_m8.' "never read a poker book, never studied. he openly admits he doesnt even understand what 'getting 3 to 1 on your money' means and that he has little to no understanding of the math."

One of the stories that stands out among those who posted their best memories of Batista occurred during a live tournament. The setting was a WSOP Circuit event in Indiana. Batista reportedly had a huge stack of chips in front of him and just one more player elimination would allow he and the remaining players to finish in the money.

Batista bet pre-flop with a pair of ladies in the hole, only to be met with an all-in shove by a short-stacked opponent. The vast majority of players in Batista's position would have likely called with the Queens, having the short stack well-covered and then some, but at the risk of eliminating the all-in player.

As the story goes, Batista folded his high pair in order to extend bubble play. His goal was to use his aggressive style to add to his stack while most of the other players tightened up on the bubble.

"He increased his stack by something absurd like 40-60 bbs, maybe even more, winning basically every pot till the bubble finally burst," stated 'gamballer21.' "His mind was on a different level when he played poker and it was truly an art to watch."

Batista went on to win that event in 2006, earning $262,002. He lated talked about the tournament on a poker podcast, recounting a number of hands events leading up to his victory.

Another 2 + 2 poster, 'Wiscomurray,' recalled the podcast and Batista's play in the event with a bit more clarity.

"The scenario was it folded to him in SB with QQ and the BB had 2.5 bbs, and he open folded it blind on blind since winning 2.5bbs would of knocked someone out and ended the bubble," 'Wiscomurray stated. "So he open mucked it to keep bubble alive, and basically added another 30-40bbs to his stack by 'raping the bubble' in his exact words...."

"He was way before his time that's for sure," 'gamballer21' added . "He was an inspiration to so many people."