On Poker: Get ready for another run of High Stakes Poker
Whenever there isn't anything good on the 300-plus channels on my television, I'm always quick to default to the DVR, where I have every episode of High Stakes Poker saved in my queue.
The show has aired nearly 60 episodes spread over four seasons on the Game Show Network, and I've seen every one many times over.
It provides some of the most captivating poker programming on television.
High Stakes strays away from the conventional televised poker formula by focusing on the cash game element to poker instead of tournament play. While the two formats are close cousins by using the same rules, rank of hands and playing action, the strategies needed to be successful in each vary.
All of the bets are made with the players' own money, and the bets have a tendency to get big. With blinds set at $300-$600, pots frequently hit the $50,000 mark, and there is usually at least one $100,000 pot every show.
The biggest pot ever recorded ($818,000) was played between Doyle Brunson and Guy Laliberte in Season 4.
Laliberte limped into a pot for $1,200 with Ah-5h. There was one caller, and Brunson raised it $11,200 with Ad-10d. Four players called, creating a pot of $57,100 before the flop. The flop came down Ac-Js-4d.
Two players checked around to Brunson, who bet out a stiff $40,000. The action was folded around to Laliberte, who called the bet with his pair of aces. The 2d hit the turn giving Laliberte an inside straight draw and Brunson a nut flush draw.
Brunson then bet out $110,000, and Laliberte raised it to $310,000. Brunson moved in for an additional $30,500, forcing Laliberte to call due to the overwhelming pot odds. They ran the river card twice, and Brunson's hand held up each time, winning him the monster pot.
Don't feel too bad for Laliberte. He's a certified billionaire as creator and owner of Las Vegas' circuit of high-dollars shows Cirque du Soleil.
Season 5 is being filmed this week at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas, home of the original season. Fans can expect about 15 hour-long episodes to be produced out of the footage with the first episode slated for March 1 on GSN.
For me, this program is a signature of the network, GSN vice president Mike Bevan said to Cardplayer.com. It's not like a tournament where you lose your buy-in; you're losing 10 times that much.
Notable changes to this season will be the buy-in, which will be increased from a $100,000 minimum to $200,000. GSN aired four episodes last season with a $500,000 minimum buy-in as an added twist. There is no word if it plans to unveil a similar twist, or even up the ante to a $1,000,000 minimum buy-in event.
The player lineup is filled with the personalities poker fans are accustomed to seeing on the show, with a splash of new faces.
The majority of the Big Game players are scheduled to attend, including Brunson, Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Eli Elezra, Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer and Daniel Negreanu.
Phil Hellmuth will be there along with all of the theatrics he brings to the poker table.
Peter Eastgate, the 2008 World Series of Poker champ, and runner-up Ivan Demidov will put a major portion of their fresh millions on the table, and well-known online players such as Tom Dwan and Dario Minieri will play along with many others.
I can't wait to see what happens.
Got a poker question or comment? E-mail Chuck at cblount@express-news.net
