High Stakes Poker
Encyclopedia
High Stakes Poker is a cash game
poker
television program
broadcast by the cable television network GSN
in the United States
. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em
. It premiered on January 16, 2006 and ended on December 17, 2007 and it returns back on March 1, 2009 and is simulcast in 3DTV on N3D
.
The participants on the show include both professional poker players and amateur players.
The show was hosted by AJ Benza in the first five seasons, alongside Gabe Kaplan
. Starting with the sixth season, Kara Scott
replaced Benza as Kaplan's co-host, with Scott conducting interviews from the poker room floor. Starting with the seventh season, Norm Macdonald
replaced Gabe Kaplan as Scott's co-host.
in Las Vegas
, was first broadcast in January 16, 2006 and consisted of 13 episodes until April 10, 2006, hosted by A. J. Benza
and comedian/actor-turned-poker pro Gabe Kaplan
.
The second season, taped at The Palms and consisting of 16 episodes, premiered on June 5, 2006 and ended on September 18, 2006.
The third season, consisting of 13 episodes, was taped at the South Point Casino and premiered on January 15, 2007 and ended on April 9, 2007. New players for the third season included Jamie Gold
, Phil Ivey
, Chris Ferguson
, Patrik Antonius
, Paul Wasicka
, David Benyamine
, Brian Townsend
and others. Returning players from previous seasons included Doyle Brunson
, Daniel Negreanu
, Sammy Farha, Phil Laak
, Jennifer Harman
, Barry Greenstein
, Erick Lindgren
, Mike Matusow
, Brad Booth
and others.
On April 2, 2007, GSN announced that High Stakes Poker would return for a fourth season, again taped at South Point. Still 9:00pm. Taping was completed in May, with the season premiering on August 27, 2007. Returning players included Patrik Antonius
, David Benyamine
, Doyle Brunson
, Eli Elezra
, Sam Farha
, Jamie Gold
, Barry Greenstein
, Phil Hellmuth Jr.
, Jennifer Harman
, and Daniel Negreanu
. Newcomers for the fourth season include Brandon Adams, Mike Baxter
, Brian Brandon, Phil Galfond
, Guy Laliberté
, Bob Safai, Antonio Salorio, and Haralabos Voulgaris. The later episodes of this season featured a $500,000 minimum buy-in (compared to the regular $100,000 minimum) and these games saw more than $5 million in play on the table at one time. Season four finished airing on December 17, 2007 and featured 17 episodes. The network cited the show's strong ratings
performance in younger demographics.
Season five, which ran from March 1, 2009 to May 24, 2009 at 9:00pm, was taped at the Golden Nugget on December 19–21, 2008 and featured a minimum cash buy-in of $200,000 – the largest buy-in for an entire run of a television series. The format for season 5 differed slightly from its predecessors by having Kaplan and Benza not appear on camera until after the first commercial break in the show, rather than at the outset.
Season six premiered at 8:00pm on February 14, 2010 and ended on May 9, 2010, with Gabe Kaplan and Kara Scott
. It was taped for a second straight season at the Golden Nugget. The sixth season aired with three different groups of players throughout 13 episodes. Tom Dwan
and Phil Ivey bought in for $500,000. Other rotating players, including newcomers Jason Mercier
, Dennis Phillips
, Andrew Robl, and Lex Veldhuis
, bought in for $200,000.
Season seven debuted on its new GSN Saturday night time slot from February 26, 2011 to May 21, 2011, Norm Macdonald
replaced Gabe Kaplan as the host and Kara Scott conducted interviews from the poker room floor. The series was filmed in December 2010 at the Bellagio
in Las Vegas. Sponsored Full Tilt Poker
pros were required to boycott the show this time around, as rival site PokerStars
became its official sponsors. Thus, “High Stakes Poker” Season 7 is devoid of such Full Tilt pros as Phil Ivey
, Tom Dwan
, Patrik Antonius
, David Benyamine
, Mike Matusow
, and Eli Elezra
. GSN later announced it would be scaling back its airings of High Stakes Poker after PokerStars pulled out of the U.S. market following the indictments in United States v. Scheinberg et al. crackdown on online gambling.
setting. Instead, the program showed a high stakes cash game
. The minimum buy-in to the game is US$
100,000, but players have bought in for as much as $1,000,000, such as Daniel Negreanu in Season 1 and Brad Booth in Season 3. For part of the fourth season, the minimum buy-in was $500,000. The first episode with the minimum $500,000 buy-in was broadcast on November 5, 2007. The minimum cash buy-in for the fifth season increased to $200,000 – the largest buy-in for an entire run of a television series. Unlike in poker tournament
s, the chips involved represent real money. If a player loses his initial buy-in, that player may rebuy a minimum of $50,000. In addition, players may use cash instead of casino chips. Cash plays and stays as cash in the pot; it does not have to be converted into casino chips. Unlike tournament poker, blinds
and antes are constant, instead of increasing as time goes on. High Stakes Poker has $300/$600 blinds with a $100 ante. The fourth season features three forced blinds of $300, $600 and $1,200, with a "straddle" or optional fourth blind of $2,400.
The players include poker professionals along with amateurs such as Jerry Buss
and Fred Chamanara. The show was created by executive producer Henry Orenstein
. In season one, Daniel Negreanu
confirmed in a post on his website's forums that all players were paid $1,250 per hour for taking part and that 13 episodes were edited down from 24 hours of actual play. 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold
commented that players were paid for participating, though they had to put much more money at risk to get to play the game. Gold also spoke about his interactions with other players, particularly Mike Matusow. The theme song for the show is titled "I'm All In", written and performed by John Pratt, Los Angeles.
won $575,700 with four fives, beating Daniel Negreanu's full house. Hansen raised to $2,100 with , and Negreanu re-raised to $5,000 with , which Hansen called. The pot was $11,700, and the flop came . Hansen checked his set of fives with a 4% chance of winning the hand and Negreanu bet $8,000 with his set of sixes and a 94% chance of winning. Hansen raised to $26,000 and Negreanu called, bringing the pot to $63,700. The turn came , making Hansen quad fives, leaving Negreanu a 2% underdog with his full house. Hansen bet $24,000, and Negreanu called, slow playing his full house. The pot was now $111,700. The river came . Hansen checked, and Negreanu bet $65,000. Hansen then went all in for his remaining $232,000, bringing the pot to $408,700. Negreanu called, and Hansen won the pot of $575,700. This was the largest pot before the $500,000 minimum buy-in game played during Season 4.
In the November 12, 2007 episode of Season 4, Jamie Gold
won $495,867 of a $743,800 pot that developed between Gold with three Kings on the turn card, and Patrik Antonius
with a straight on the turn card. Antonius held and Gold had pocket K. After the flop and turn, Antonius was a 4-to-1 favorite with his straight vs. Gold's three kings. Gold moved all-in and Antonius called. With such a large amount at stake, the players agreed to run the river (deal the river card) three times. The first river card, , and the second river run, , both paired the board to give two wins to Gold with a full house. The third river run, , kept Antonius' straight in front. As a result, Gold won $495,867 from the pot and Antonius won $247,933. Antonius' calm demeanor after the hand prompted host A.J. Benza to comment, "I'll tell you one thing: Patrik can take a punch. Imagine if that was Phil Hellmuth."
In the November 26, 2007 episode of Season 4, Doyle Brunson
won a $818,100 pot against Guy Laliberté
. Brunson held and Laliberté . The flop came and the turn was . Brunson bet the turn, and Laliberte raised and Brunson moved all-in and was called. The players agreed to run the river twice. Brunson was a 75% favorite with his better kicker and flush draw, and he won both times to take the entire pot. After the hand, Brunson said, "When you don't make a pair for eight hours, you go crazy."
Later in that same November 26, 2007 episode of Season 4, Patrik Antonius
won $749,100 from a $998,800 pot that developed between Antonius with a pair of nines on the flop, and Sammy Farha with a king-high flush draw. Antonius went all-in after the flop and Farha called. The odds were roughly even, and the players agreed to run the turn and river four times. Antonius won three times to take three-quarters of the pot, $749,100, while Farha won $249,700.
In Season 4, Guy Laliberté
and David Benyamine
created a pot of $1,227,900 — the largest in High Stakes Poker history — before negotiating a reduction of the pot to "only" $238,900. David had and Laliberté had and the flop came giving Laliberté top two pair and Benyamine the nut flush draw. Acting after Farha, Benyamine raised to $43,000 and Laliberté reraised to $168,000. Farha folded his , Benyamine went all-in, and Laliberté called, bringing the pot to $1,227,900. After turning the respective cards over, Laliberté, knowing he was the favorite, offered to run it once or twice. After further negotiation, Laliberté offered to take the pot previous to the raises of $238,900. Benyamine agreed. Antonio Esfandiari
and a couple of other players wanted to see the turn and river, but Laliberté and Benyamine refused.
In Season 5, Tom Dwan
won the biggest pot — $919,600 — to be played straight up (with no deals or multiple runs). Dwan won with three Queens, beating Barry Greenstein
's two pair – Aces and Queens. Peter Eastgate
was the original raiser with , with Greenstein re-raising to $15,000 with , Dwan calling with and Eastgate calling behind him. The flop came , causing Dwan to bet on his pair of Queens and a King high flush draw, Eastgate to fold, Greenstein to raise with his pair of Aces and backdoor nut flush draw, Dwan to reraise, and finally Greenstein to push all-in, which Dwan quickly called. Greenstein had turned down Dwan's offer to run it twice on an earlier hand (in which Dwan had the best hand when they went all-in, though Greenstein ultimately won), and this time Greenstein again wanted to run it only once, but offered to take some of their money back, which Dwan turned down. At this point, it was almost an exactly even race. The turn was the , and the river the , so Dwan won the pot of $919,600.
with executed a successful bluff against Phil Ivey
, (then) leading with , in a pot that stood at $54,100 pre-bluff. The flop came ; Ivey's overpair was a 79% favorite to Booth's inside straight draw and backdoor flush draw. After Ivey bet $23,000 on the flop to make the pot $54,100, Booth raised to $300,000. Ivey folded.
At the beginning of Season 4, the players agreed that anyone who won a pot while holding the weakest possible hold 'em hand (2-7) would be paid $500 by every other player at the table. This led to several five-figure bluffs that were calculated to pick up the $3,500 bonus (and the respect of the table). Phil Hellmuth
won the 7-2 bonus in the second televised hand of the season, making a $40,000 bet on the river that caused Mike Matusow
to lay down pocket Kings.
The biggest unsuccessful bluff occurred as a result of this $500 for 2-7 rule. Amateurs Antonio Salorio and Brian Brandon went to a raised flop with 2-7 and K-K respectively. When Brandon flopped the best possible hand with K-4-K, Salorio continued to bet hard on his 2-7 bluff, eventually losing more than $100,000 of his own bets before giving up when Brandon raised on the turn.
In Season 5, Tom Dwan
executed a successful bluff against Barry Greenstein
and Peter Eastgate
in a pot that stood at $133,500 pre-bluff. Dwan won with a pair of tens against Barry Greenstein
's higher pair of Aces and Peter Eastgate
's (then) leading trip deuces. Greenstein, with , opened the play under the gun to $2,500 and was quickly called by all players. Before the flop came out there was $21,400 in the pot and at this point, Dwan jokingly offered to chop the pot. The flop was . Eastgate, with trip deuces on his , and Doyle Brunson
with , both checked. Greenstein led out with $10,000 after some thought, and with seven people behind him, Dwan raised the pot to $37,300. David Benyamine
, Eli Elezra
, Ilari Sahamies
and Daniel Negreanu
all quickly folded. The action came back to Eastgate, who called, as did Greenstein. With the pot already at $133,500, the turn came a , and Eastgate and Greenstein quickly checked. After some thought, Dwan (a 95% underdog at this point) bet $104,200, causing Eastgate and Greenstein to reluctantly fold. Following the hand, Dwan was quick to announce he was bluffing by stating, "Peter had the best hand, I'll make a sidebet that Peter had the best hand." Doyle Brunson accepted, and eventually lost $9,000 when Peter, after a $1,000 bribe from Dwan, announced he had a trip deuces a few episodes later. After the hand was done, commentator Gabe Kaplan
said that the only other person he knew who would have made a similar move was "Maybe the late Stu Ungar
".
In Season 6, Tom Dwan executed a successful bluff against Phil Ivey in a pot that stood at $408,700 pre-bluff. Tom Dwan raised $25,000 preflop and got called by Phil Ivey with . After a flop of , Dwan fired another $45,800 and Ivey called, making the pot $162,300. The turn came , and Dwan fired again, this time $123,200. Ivey again called with his flush and inside straight draws, creating a pot of $408,700. The river came , leaving Ivey with a small pair and Dwan with 9 high. Dwan bet another $268,200. Ivey considered calling for over 3 minutes, but ultimately folded.
lost a total of $380,000 in two hands, both to Mike Matusow
. In the first hand, Negreanu went all-in on trip nines, holding on a board. Matusow, however, had flopped a full house since he held . In the second hand, Matusow went all-in on a flop of holding for a flush draw. Negreanu called with pocket . The players agreed to run the turn and river twice; Matusow completed the flush both times.
, Antonio Esfandiari
, Barry Greenstein
, and Daniel Negreanu
.
Cash game
Cash games, also sometimes referred to as ring games or live action games, are poker games played with "real" chips and money at stake, usually with no predetermined end time, with players able to enter and leave as they see fit...
poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
broadcast by the cable television network GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em
Texas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...
. It premiered on January 16, 2006 and ended on December 17, 2007 and it returns back on March 1, 2009 and is simulcast in 3DTV on N3D
N3D
n3D is a 3DTV channel that launched on July 1, 2010. It is sponsored by Panasonic and available exclusively on DirecTV. It is the world's first 24 hour 3DTV channel.-Programs:...
.
The participants on the show include both professional poker players and amateur players.
The show was hosted by AJ Benza in the first five seasons, alongside Gabe Kaplan
Gabe Kaplan
Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional poker player.He was born in Brooklyn, New York...
. Starting with the sixth season, Kara Scott
Kara Scott
Kara Scott is a Canadian TV personality, journalist and poker player.Born in northern Alberta, Canada, Scott moved to the United Kingdom in 1999 and worked in the UK media until 2009 when she moved to California...
replaced Benza as Kaplan's co-host, with Scott conducting interviews from the poker room floor. Starting with the seventh season, Norm Macdonald
Norm MacDonald
Norman Gene "Norm" Macdonald is a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He is best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, which included anchoring Weekend Update for three years...
replaced Gabe Kaplan as Scott's co-host.
Programming history
The first season of High Stakes Poker, taped at the Golden NuggetGolden Nugget Las Vegas
The Golden Nugget Las Vegas is a luxury casino-hotel located in Las Vegas, Nevada on the Fremont Street Experience. The property is owned and operated by Landry's Restaurants....
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, was first broadcast in January 16, 2006 and consisted of 13 episodes until April 10, 2006, hosted by A. J. Benza
A. J. Benza
Alfred Joseph “A.J.” Benza is a gossip columnist and television host. He was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, though he moved with his family to West Islip, New York on Long Island shortly after his birth. He has two sisters, Rosalie and Lorraine.He is married to his second wife,...
and comedian/actor-turned-poker pro Gabe Kaplan
Gabe Kaplan
Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional poker player.He was born in Brooklyn, New York...
.
The second season, taped at The Palms and consisting of 16 episodes, premiered on June 5, 2006 and ended on September 18, 2006.
The third season, consisting of 13 episodes, was taped at the South Point Casino and premiered on January 15, 2007 and ended on April 9, 2007. New players for the third season included Jamie Gold
Jamie Gold
Jamie M. Gold is an American television producer, a talent agent, and poker player, based in Malibu, California. He is known for winning the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event and currently divides his time between his activities as president of production for the entertainment company,...
, Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey
Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...
, Chris Ferguson
Chris Ferguson
Christopher Philip Ferguson is an American professional poker player. He has won five World Series of Poker events, including the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. On September 20, 2011, the U.S...
, Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius is a Finnish professional poker player, former tennis player and coach, and model from Vantaa, Finland. He currently resides in Monte Carlo...
, Paul Wasicka
Paul Wasicka
Paul J. Wasicka is a professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada who was the runner-up at the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event and the winner of the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship....
, David Benyamine
David Benyamine
David Benyamine is a French professional poker player with a World Poker Tour title. Benyamine was a professional tennis player in his early career but had to retire because of shoulder pain. He was also a successful top ten billiards player in France. He learned poker at the age of 12 and plays...
, Brian Townsend
Brian Townsend
Brian Townsend is an American professional poker player currently residing in Santa Barbara, California.-Biography:Townsend is largely known for his success playing no limit hold 'em and pot-limit omaha at Full Tilt Poker, playing under the nickname 'sbrugby.' He is the former co-owner and lead...
and others. Returning players from previous seasons included Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
, Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
, Sammy Farha, Phil Laak
Phil Laak
Philip "Phil" C. Laak is a professional poker player, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Laak holds a World Poker Tour title, a World Series of Poker bracelet and has appeared on numerous nationally-aired television shows.-Early life:...
, Jennifer Harman
Jennifer Harman
Jennifer C. Harman-Traniello is an American professional poker player.-Early life:Harman was born and raised in Reno, Nevada. She started playing poker in 1972 at the age of eight...
, Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is a professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his profit from tournament winnings to charities, primarily Children, Incorporated, earning him the nickname "the...
, Erick Lindgren
Erick Lindgren
Erick A. Lindgren is an American professional poker player. He has won two World Poker Tour titles, one World Series of Poker bracelet, and more than seven million dollars in tournament earnings during his poker career.-Poker career:He won his first major tournament at the Bellagio in 2002 and...
, Mike Matusow
Mike Matusow
Michael Matusow is an American professional poker player, residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table...
, Brad Booth
Brad Booth
Bradley Booth is a Canadian professional poker player known for his appearances on the GSN series High Stakes Poker and buying in for a "cool million."...
and others.
On April 2, 2007, GSN announced that High Stakes Poker would return for a fourth season, again taped at South Point. Still 9:00pm. Taping was completed in May, with the season premiering on August 27, 2007. Returning players included Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius is a Finnish professional poker player, former tennis player and coach, and model from Vantaa, Finland. He currently resides in Monte Carlo...
, David Benyamine
David Benyamine
David Benyamine is a French professional poker player with a World Poker Tour title. Benyamine was a professional tennis player in his early career but had to retire because of shoulder pain. He was also a successful top ten billiards player in France. He learned poker at the age of 12 and plays...
, Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
, Eli Elezra
Eli Elezra
Eliahu Ilan Elezra is an Israeli professional poker player and a businessman, now living in Las Vegas, Nevada.While he was in Israel, Elezra was a lieutenant in the Golani Brigade. He was bedridden by a leg injury; during this time he began playing poker...
, Sam Farha
Sam Farha
Ihsan Farha is a professional poker player. He is best known for finishing as runner up in the World Series of Poker main event in 2003 and has won three bracelets at the WSOP.-Early years:...
, Jamie Gold
Jamie Gold
Jamie M. Gold is an American television producer, a talent agent, and poker player, based in Malibu, California. He is known for winning the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event and currently divides his time between his activities as president of production for the entertainment company,...
, Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is a professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his profit from tournament winnings to charities, primarily Children, Incorporated, earning him the nickname "the...
, Phil Hellmuth Jr.
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...
, Jennifer Harman
Jennifer Harman
Jennifer C. Harman-Traniello is an American professional poker player.-Early life:Harman was born and raised in Reno, Nevada. She started playing poker in 1972 at the age of eight...
, and Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
. Newcomers for the fourth season include Brandon Adams, Mike Baxter
Mike Baxter
Mike Baxter is a rugby union player for Rosslyn Park whom he joined from Bath Rugby ahead of the 2010–11 season. His position of choice is as a scrum-half, and is the younger cousin of Al Baxter, the Waratahs' Prop....
, Brian Brandon, Phil Galfond
Phil Galfond
Phil Galfond is an American professional poker player. Galfond won a World Series of Poker bracelet in the $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys event at the 2008 World Series of Poker...
, Guy Laliberté
Guy Laliberté
Guy Laliberté, OC, CQ is a Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist, poker player, space tourist and the current CEO of Cirque du Soleil...
, Bob Safai, Antonio Salorio, and Haralabos Voulgaris. The later episodes of this season featured a $500,000 minimum buy-in (compared to the regular $100,000 minimum) and these games saw more than $5 million in play on the table at one time. Season four finished airing on December 17, 2007 and featured 17 episodes. The network cited the show's strong ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
performance in younger demographics.
Season five, which ran from March 1, 2009 to May 24, 2009 at 9:00pm, was taped at the Golden Nugget on December 19–21, 2008 and featured a minimum cash buy-in of $200,000 – the largest buy-in for an entire run of a television series. The format for season 5 differed slightly from its predecessors by having Kaplan and Benza not appear on camera until after the first commercial break in the show, rather than at the outset.
Season six premiered at 8:00pm on February 14, 2010 and ended on May 9, 2010, with Gabe Kaplan and Kara Scott
Kara Scott
Kara Scott is a Canadian TV personality, journalist and poker player.Born in northern Alberta, Canada, Scott moved to the United Kingdom in 1999 and worked in the UK media until 2009 when she moved to California...
. It was taped for a second straight season at the Golden Nugget. The sixth season aired with three different groups of players throughout 13 episodes. Tom Dwan
Tom Dwan
Thomas Dwan Jr. is an American professional poker player who regularly plays online in the highest-stakes No-Limit Texas hold 'em and Pot-Limit Omaha games, primarily on Full Tilt Poker, where he plays under the screen name "durrrr"...
and Phil Ivey bought in for $500,000. Other rotating players, including newcomers Jason Mercier
Jason Mercier
Jason Mercier is an American professional poker player from Hollywood, Florida. He has won two World Series of Poker bracelets and one European Poker Tour title...
, Dennis Phillips
Dennis Phillips (poker player)
Dennis N. Phillips is a poker player and an account manager for Broadway Trucks, a commercial trucking company in St Louis, Missouri. Phillips qualified for the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event through a $200 satellite tournament at Harrah's St. Louis, his local Harrah's casino...
, Andrew Robl, and Lex Veldhuis
Lex Veldhuis
Lex Veldhuis is a Dutch professional poker player.-History:In his youth Veldhuis began playing StarCraft, in which he became a notable player. During one of the international events he met the French player Bertrand Grospellier. ElkY made him enthusiastic to play poker, which the Frenchman already...
, bought in for $200,000.
Season seven debuted on its new GSN Saturday night time slot from February 26, 2011 to May 21, 2011, Norm Macdonald
Norm MacDonald
Norman Gene "Norm" Macdonald is a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He is best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, which included anchoring Weekend Update for three years...
replaced Gabe Kaplan as the host and Kara Scott conducted interviews from the poker room floor. The series was filmed in December 2010 at the Bellagio
Bellagio
Bellagio is a comune in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located on Lake Como. It has long been famous for its setting at the intersection of the three branches of the Y-shaped lake, which is also known as Lario....
in Las Vegas. Sponsored Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
pros were required to boycott the show this time around, as rival site PokerStars
PokerStars
PokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world. PokerStars' satellite tournaments produced the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, Chris Moneymaker. 1983 champion Tom McEvoy, 2005 champion Joe Hachem, 2009 champion Joe Cada and 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel and others also represent...
became its official sponsors. Thus, “High Stakes Poker” Season 7 is devoid of such Full Tilt pros as Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey
Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...
, Tom Dwan
Tom Dwan
Thomas Dwan Jr. is an American professional poker player who regularly plays online in the highest-stakes No-Limit Texas hold 'em and Pot-Limit Omaha games, primarily on Full Tilt Poker, where he plays under the screen name "durrrr"...
, Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius is a Finnish professional poker player, former tennis player and coach, and model from Vantaa, Finland. He currently resides in Monte Carlo...
, David Benyamine
David Benyamine
David Benyamine is a French professional poker player with a World Poker Tour title. Benyamine was a professional tennis player in his early career but had to retire because of shoulder pain. He was also a successful top ten billiards player in France. He learned poker at the age of 12 and plays...
, Mike Matusow
Mike Matusow
Michael Matusow is an American professional poker player, residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table...
, and Eli Elezra
Eli Elezra
Eliahu Ilan Elezra is an Israeli professional poker player and a businessman, now living in Las Vegas, Nevada.While he was in Israel, Elezra was a lieutenant in the Golani Brigade. He was bedridden by a leg injury; during this time he began playing poker...
. GSN later announced it would be scaling back its airings of High Stakes Poker after PokerStars pulled out of the U.S. market following the indictments in United States v. Scheinberg et al. crackdown on online gambling.
Format
When it first aired, High Stakes Poker was unique among televised poker series because it did not take place in a tournamentPoker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
setting. Instead, the program showed a high stakes cash game
Cash game
Cash games, also sometimes referred to as ring games or live action games, are poker games played with "real" chips and money at stake, usually with no predetermined end time, with players able to enter and leave as they see fit...
. The minimum buy-in to the game is US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100,000, but players have bought in for as much as $1,000,000, such as Daniel Negreanu in Season 1 and Brad Booth in Season 3. For part of the fourth season, the minimum buy-in was $500,000. The first episode with the minimum $500,000 buy-in was broadcast on November 5, 2007. The minimum cash buy-in for the fifth season increased to $200,000 – the largest buy-in for an entire run of a television series. Unlike in poker tournament
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
s, the chips involved represent real money. If a player loses his initial buy-in, that player may rebuy a minimum of $50,000. In addition, players may use cash instead of casino chips. Cash plays and stays as cash in the pot; it does not have to be converted into casino chips. Unlike tournament poker, blinds
Blind (poker)
The blinds are forced bets posted by players to the left of the dealer button in flop-style poker games. The number of blinds is usually two, but it can range from none to three....
and antes are constant, instead of increasing as time goes on. High Stakes Poker has $300/$600 blinds with a $100 ante. The fourth season features three forced blinds of $300, $600 and $1,200, with a "straddle" or optional fourth blind of $2,400.
The players include poker professionals along with amateurs such as Jerry Buss
Jerry Buss
Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss Ph.D., M.S. is an American businessman, real estate investor, and a former chemist. He is the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers professional basketball team along with other professional sports franchises in Southern California...
and Fred Chamanara. The show was created by executive producer Henry Orenstein
Henry Orenstein
Henry Orenstein is a poker player and entrepreneur who resides in Verona, New Jersey, United States....
. In season one, Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
confirmed in a post on his website's forums that all players were paid $1,250 per hour for taking part and that 13 episodes were edited down from 24 hours of actual play. 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold
Jamie Gold
Jamie M. Gold is an American television producer, a talent agent, and poker player, based in Malibu, California. He is known for winning the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event and currently divides his time between his activities as president of production for the entertainment company,...
commented that players were paid for participating, though they had to put much more money at risk to get to play the game. Gold also spoke about his interactions with other players, particularly Mike Matusow. The theme song for the show is titled "I'm All In", written and performed by John Pratt, Los Angeles.
Large Pots
In Season 2, Gus HansenGus Hansen
Gustav "Gus" Hansen is a professional Danish poker player who lives in Monaco. In his poker career, Hansen has won three World Poker Tour open titles, the 2007 Aussie Millions main event and was the season one winner of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament...
won $575,700 with four fives, beating Daniel Negreanu's full house. Hansen raised to $2,100 with , and Negreanu re-raised to $5,000 with , which Hansen called. The pot was $11,700, and the flop came . Hansen checked his set of fives with a 4% chance of winning the hand and Negreanu bet $8,000 with his set of sixes and a 94% chance of winning. Hansen raised to $26,000 and Negreanu called, bringing the pot to $63,700. The turn came , making Hansen quad fives, leaving Negreanu a 2% underdog with his full house. Hansen bet $24,000, and Negreanu called, slow playing his full house. The pot was now $111,700. The river came . Hansen checked, and Negreanu bet $65,000. Hansen then went all in for his remaining $232,000, bringing the pot to $408,700. Negreanu called, and Hansen won the pot of $575,700. This was the largest pot before the $500,000 minimum buy-in game played during Season 4.
In the November 12, 2007 episode of Season 4, Jamie Gold
Jamie Gold
Jamie M. Gold is an American television producer, a talent agent, and poker player, based in Malibu, California. He is known for winning the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event and currently divides his time between his activities as president of production for the entertainment company,...
won $495,867 of a $743,800 pot that developed between Gold with three Kings on the turn card, and Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius is a Finnish professional poker player, former tennis player and coach, and model from Vantaa, Finland. He currently resides in Monte Carlo...
with a straight on the turn card. Antonius held and Gold had pocket K. After the flop and turn, Antonius was a 4-to-1 favorite with his straight vs. Gold's three kings. Gold moved all-in and Antonius called. With such a large amount at stake, the players agreed to run the river (deal the river card) three times. The first river card, , and the second river run, , both paired the board to give two wins to Gold with a full house. The third river run, , kept Antonius' straight in front. As a result, Gold won $495,867 from the pot and Antonius won $247,933. Antonius' calm demeanor after the hand prompted host A.J. Benza to comment, "I'll tell you one thing: Patrik can take a punch. Imagine if that was Phil Hellmuth."
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
won a $818,100 pot against Guy Laliberté
Guy Laliberté
Guy Laliberté, OC, CQ is a Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist, poker player, space tourist and the current CEO of Cirque du Soleil...
. Brunson held and Laliberté . The flop came and the turn was . Brunson bet the turn, and Laliberte raised and Brunson moved all-in and was called. The players agreed to run the river twice. Brunson was a 75% favorite with his better kicker and flush draw, and he won both times to take the entire pot. After the hand, Brunson said, "When you don't make a pair for eight hours, you go crazy."
Later in that same November 26, 2007 episode of Season 4, Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius is a Finnish professional poker player, former tennis player and coach, and model from Vantaa, Finland. He currently resides in Monte Carlo...
won $749,100 from a $998,800 pot that developed between Antonius with a pair of nines on the flop, and Sammy Farha with a king-high flush draw. Antonius went all-in after the flop and Farha called. The odds were roughly even, and the players agreed to run the turn and river four times. Antonius won three times to take three-quarters of the pot, $749,100, while Farha won $249,700.
In Season 4, Guy Laliberté
Guy Laliberté
Guy Laliberté, OC, CQ is a Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist, poker player, space tourist and the current CEO of Cirque du Soleil...
and David Benyamine
David Benyamine
David Benyamine is a French professional poker player with a World Poker Tour title. Benyamine was a professional tennis player in his early career but had to retire because of shoulder pain. He was also a successful top ten billiards player in France. He learned poker at the age of 12 and plays...
created a pot of $1,227,900 — the largest in High Stakes Poker history — before negotiating a reduction of the pot to "only" $238,900. David had and Laliberté had and the flop came giving Laliberté top two pair and Benyamine the nut flush draw. Acting after Farha, Benyamine raised to $43,000 and Laliberté reraised to $168,000. Farha folded his , Benyamine went all-in, and Laliberté called, bringing the pot to $1,227,900. After turning the respective cards over, Laliberté, knowing he was the favorite, offered to run it once or twice. After further negotiation, Laliberté offered to take the pot previous to the raises of $238,900. Benyamine agreed. Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari is a professional poker player, known for his elaborate chip tricks.-Early life:When he was 9 years old his family moved to San Jose, California...
and a couple of other players wanted to see the turn and river, but Laliberté and Benyamine refused.
In Season 5, Tom Dwan
Tom Dwan
Thomas Dwan Jr. is an American professional poker player who regularly plays online in the highest-stakes No-Limit Texas hold 'em and Pot-Limit Omaha games, primarily on Full Tilt Poker, where he plays under the screen name "durrrr"...
won the biggest pot — $919,600 — to be played straight up (with no deals or multiple runs). Dwan won with three Queens, beating Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is a professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his profit from tournament winnings to charities, primarily Children, Incorporated, earning him the nickname "the...
's two pair – Aces and Queens. Peter Eastgate
Peter Eastgate
Peter Eastgate is a poker player from Denmark, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2008 World Series of Poker. At the time, he became the youngest player ever to win the event. He was consequently surpassed by Joe Cada in 2009.-Early life:Eastgate was raised in Dalum, a suburb of...
was the original raiser with , with Greenstein re-raising to $15,000 with , Dwan calling with and Eastgate calling behind him. The flop came , causing Dwan to bet on his pair of Queens and a King high flush draw, Eastgate to fold, Greenstein to raise with his pair of Aces and backdoor nut flush draw, Dwan to reraise, and finally Greenstein to push all-in, which Dwan quickly called. Greenstein had turned down Dwan's offer to run it twice on an earlier hand (in which Dwan had the best hand when they went all-in, though Greenstein ultimately won), and this time Greenstein again wanted to run it only once, but offered to take some of their money back, which Dwan turned down. At this point, it was almost an exactly even race. The turn was the , and the river the , so Dwan won the pot of $919,600.
Large Bluffs
In Season 3, Brad BoothBrad Booth
Bradley Booth is a Canadian professional poker player known for his appearances on the GSN series High Stakes Poker and buying in for a "cool million."...
with executed a successful bluff against Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey
Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...
, (then) leading with , in a pot that stood at $54,100 pre-bluff. The flop came ; Ivey's overpair was a 79% favorite to Booth's inside straight draw and backdoor flush draw. After Ivey bet $23,000 on the flop to make the pot $54,100, Booth raised to $300,000. Ivey folded.
At the beginning of Season 4, the players agreed that anyone who won a pot while holding the weakest possible hold 'em hand (2-7) would be paid $500 by every other player at the table. This led to several five-figure bluffs that were calculated to pick up the $3,500 bonus (and the respect of the table). Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...
won the 7-2 bonus in the second televised hand of the season, making a $40,000 bet on the river that caused Mike Matusow
Mike Matusow
Michael Matusow is an American professional poker player, residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table...
to lay down pocket Kings.
The biggest unsuccessful bluff occurred as a result of this $500 for 2-7 rule. Amateurs Antonio Salorio and Brian Brandon went to a raised flop with 2-7 and K-K respectively. When Brandon flopped the best possible hand with K-4-K, Salorio continued to bet hard on his 2-7 bluff, eventually losing more than $100,000 of his own bets before giving up when Brandon raised on the turn.
In Season 5, Tom Dwan
Tom Dwan
Thomas Dwan Jr. is an American professional poker player who regularly plays online in the highest-stakes No-Limit Texas hold 'em and Pot-Limit Omaha games, primarily on Full Tilt Poker, where he plays under the screen name "durrrr"...
executed a successful bluff against Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is a professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his profit from tournament winnings to charities, primarily Children, Incorporated, earning him the nickname "the...
and Peter Eastgate
Peter Eastgate
Peter Eastgate is a poker player from Denmark, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2008 World Series of Poker. At the time, he became the youngest player ever to win the event. He was consequently surpassed by Joe Cada in 2009.-Early life:Eastgate was raised in Dalum, a suburb of...
in a pot that stood at $133,500 pre-bluff. Dwan won with a pair of tens against Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is a professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his profit from tournament winnings to charities, primarily Children, Incorporated, earning him the nickname "the...
's higher pair of Aces and Peter Eastgate
Peter Eastgate
Peter Eastgate is a poker player from Denmark, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2008 World Series of Poker. At the time, he became the youngest player ever to win the event. He was consequently surpassed by Joe Cada in 2009.-Early life:Eastgate was raised in Dalum, a suburb of...
's (then) leading trip deuces. Greenstein, with , opened the play under the gun to $2,500 and was quickly called by all players. Before the flop came out there was $21,400 in the pot and at this point, Dwan jokingly offered to chop the pot. The flop was . Eastgate, with trip deuces on his , and Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
with , both checked. Greenstein led out with $10,000 after some thought, and with seven people behind him, Dwan raised the pot to $37,300. David Benyamine
David Benyamine
David Benyamine is a French professional poker player with a World Poker Tour title. Benyamine was a professional tennis player in his early career but had to retire because of shoulder pain. He was also a successful top ten billiards player in France. He learned poker at the age of 12 and plays...
, Eli Elezra
Eli Elezra
Eliahu Ilan Elezra is an Israeli professional poker player and a businessman, now living in Las Vegas, Nevada.While he was in Israel, Elezra was a lieutenant in the Golani Brigade. He was bedridden by a leg injury; during this time he began playing poker...
, Ilari Sahamies
Ilari Sahamies
Ilari Sahamies , also known as Ziigmund, is a Finnish professional poker player. He specializes in high stakes pot-limit Omaha cash games. Sahamies is known for his trashtalk at the poker table, usually aimed towards his fellow pros, which has led to an online following...
and Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
all quickly folded. The action came back to Eastgate, who called, as did Greenstein. With the pot already at $133,500, the turn came a , and Eastgate and Greenstein quickly checked. After some thought, Dwan (a 95% underdog at this point) bet $104,200, causing Eastgate and Greenstein to reluctantly fold. Following the hand, Dwan was quick to announce he was bluffing by stating, "Peter had the best hand, I'll make a sidebet that Peter had the best hand." Doyle Brunson accepted, and eventually lost $9,000 when Peter, after a $1,000 bribe from Dwan, announced he had a trip deuces a few episodes later. After the hand was done, commentator Gabe Kaplan
Gabe Kaplan
Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional poker player.He was born in Brooklyn, New York...
said that the only other person he knew who would have made a similar move was "Maybe the late Stu Ungar
Stu Ungar
Stuart Errol "Stu" Ungar was a professional poker and gin rummy player, widely regarded to have been the greatest Texas hold 'em and gin rummy player of all time....
".
In Season 6, Tom Dwan executed a successful bluff against Phil Ivey in a pot that stood at $408,700 pre-bluff. Tom Dwan raised $25,000 preflop and got called by Phil Ivey with . After a flop of , Dwan fired another $45,800 and Ivey called, making the pot $162,300. The turn came , and Dwan fired again, this time $123,200. Ivey again called with his flush and inside straight draws, creating a pot of $408,700. The river came , leaving Ivey with a small pair and Dwan with 9 high. Dwan bet another $268,200. Ivey considered calling for over 3 minutes, but ultimately folded.
Quick Loss
In a single episode of Season 6, Daniel NegreanuDaniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
lost a total of $380,000 in two hands, both to Mike Matusow
Mike Matusow
Michael Matusow is an American professional poker player, residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table...
. In the first hand, Negreanu went all-in on trip nines, holding on a board. Matusow, however, had flopped a full house since he held . In the second hand, Matusow went all-in on a flop of holding for a flush draw. Negreanu called with pocket . The players agreed to run the turn and river twice; Matusow completed the flush both times.
Players
These players have appeared in all seven seasons: Doyle BrunsonDoyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
, Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari is a professional poker player, known for his elaborate chip tricks.-Early life:When he was 9 years old his family moved to San Jose, California...
, Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is a professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his profit from tournament winnings to charities, primarily Children, Incorporated, earning him the nickname "the...
, and Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
.