Tom Dwan wound up in the middle of one of the most memorable “High Stakes Poker” hands ever in the recent episode released on the PokerGo app. Three players were all-in before the flop, vying for all or a share of the $985,000 pot. They opted to run it three times, but one extremely lucky player scooped it all.
PokerGo brought back the popular televised poker show last month. One new episode is released every Wednesday on the poker app (paid subscription required). Gabe Kaplan and AJ Benza, the original hosts, are back together in the broadcast booth.
Through the first five episodes — the fifth released this week — the entertainment value has been high, much like the old series on the Game Show Network from 2006-2011. Past HSP players such as Jean-Robert Bellande and Tom Dwan have already appeared, and upcoming episodes will feature Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Doug Polk, and many other superstars.
The action thus far has been intense. Still, one hand, in particular, stands out from the rest so far this season. You might even argue it’s the most exciting hand in HSP history.
No One Saw that Coming
We won’t spoil too much from Episode 5, but we simply had to report on this hand because it was so crazy and massive. The way the hand was played won’t exactly appeal to a GTO-minded player, however.
With the blinds at $400/$800, Bellande put in a straddle to $1,600, holding A♣ K♣ of clubs. Rick Salomon, who loves to splash around, raised it up in early position to $4,000 with 5♣ 3♣ of clubs. Car dealership owner and 2010 WSOP Main Event final table bubble boy, Brandon Steven, made the call with A♦ J♦ of diamonds before Dwan made the odd decision to just call with pocket queens on the button.
Lynn Ji, a young, high-stakes player, called in the big blind with Q♥ 10♥ of hearts. Bellande had the clear decision to three-bet and thin the field, and he did so to $11,000, a modest-sized raise.
Solomon and Steven called before Dwan bumped it up to $54,000. Ji, one would think, would let her hand go. Instead, she opted to make a surprising play and move all-in for $163,000. Bellande, with $399,000 total, made the same play, and Dwan, who had them both covered, called.
All three players agreed to run it three times with $985,000 in the middle between the main and side pots. Somehow, someway, Dwan’s pocket queens held up on all three runouts and he busted both players.
The Hands
Tom Dwan: Q♣ Q♠
Lynn Ji: Q♥ 10♥
Jean-Robert Bellande: A♣ K♣
The Runouts
Board 1: J♣ 9♠ 9♥ 4♥ 10♠ (Dwan wins with two pair)
Board 2: Q♦ J♥ 3♠ 7♠ A♥ (Dwan wins with trip queens)
Board 3: 5♦ 5♠ 5♥ 7♥ 7♦ (Each player has a full house; Dwan wins with fives over queens)
You can catch every episode of the High Stakes Poker reboot on the PokerGo app.
