A crypto millionaire tried to run a bluff against a poker legend in a record-smashing $3.1 million hand

• All hail the poker legend Tom Dwan.
• One of the kings of the card room made history Tuesday when he won a record $3.1 million pot.

The crypto whiz kid Wesley Fei showed great heart during Tuesday's high-stakes poker session at the Hustler Casino in Gardena, California.

The entrepreneur, who founded the investment firm Infinite Decentralization Capital, ran a triple-barreled bluff to try and get the legendary player Tom Dwan off of his hand.

It all started when Fei picked up the ace of diamonds and the king of hearts during the highly anticipated million-dollar buy-in game Hustler Casino Live organized and broadcasted.

Hands were always intended to tally hundreds of thousands of dollars and were never designed for the faint of heart.

Fei raised the action to $30,000 before a flop — the three opening community cards — had even been seen, sparking folds until Dwan was left to make a decision.

The computer reader that detected which cards players had could not see what Dwan was holding.

However, the 36-year-old raised the action once again to $100,000.

Fei wasn't going anywhere and had two clear options: call or raise again. He chose the latter and raised to $275,000, who called after a minute of deliberation.

The three of diamonds, the eight of diamonds, and the eight of spades arrived when the dealer put the flop on the board.

Dwan checked to Fei, who asked the veteran how much money he had behind. "About $1.25 million," Dwan said, bringing an intrigued silence to those around the table.

Fei down-bet to $125,000, which Dwan called, so the dealer put the next card — the turn — on the board.

After seeing the five of hearts, a largely ineffectual card, Dwan again checked to Fei, whose "hands were shaking," as observed by the Hustler Casino Live commentator David Tuchman.

Fei then bet $350,000 — slightly less than half the pot — and Dwan called after thinking about the decision for another minute.

The pot had grown to $1.5 million before the final card — the river — arrived.

When the dealer put the six of clubs onto the board, it was clear to those watching at home (but not to Dwan) that Fei failed to connect with the board and had nothing more than ace-high.

Regardless, he moved all in to grow the pot to $2.3 million.

Dwan needed only a pair to beat Fei, but how Fei had played the hand made it seem like he was holding aces, holding kings, or had somehow connected with the pair of eights on the board — perhaps making trips or quads.

"I guess he flopped an eight," Dwan said out loud as he went through his options. "It's very hard to fold."

Dwan took almost four minutes to make his decision, by which point the computer reader detected that he was holding a pair of queens in his hand — making him the winner if he called Fei's bet.

When he called, the pot grew to $3.1 million.

Within seconds, he saw the good news as Fei was distraught, flicking over his ace-king off-suit.

The poker villain Nik Airball, who was competing in the game but only observing this particular hand, patted Fei on the back to console him and said: "You have more heart than anyone here."

Eventually breaking his silence, Fei said: "You can't bluff Tom."

Watch the extraordinary, record-breaking hand right here:

In a post-event tweet, Hustler Casino Live said that there were 58,000 viewers at one point during the live broadcast. "The most in poker streaming history," the show said.

It added that the $3.1 million pot above is "the biggest in televised/streaming poker history."

Dwan praised Fei after the event finished.

"Wesley Fei plays really good," Dwan told the showrunner Ryan Feldman.

"I had a guess that he might go for a little bit today. I wasn't sure that was right. I could have easily been wrong and paid him off," he said. "But I had a bit of a read that my queens were good."

Despite only appearing four times on Hustler Casino Live, Dwan is the winningest player in the show's history with $1.8 million.

Fei, meanwhile, has appeared 102 times on the show and is down $93,915 after booking his biggest loss.