Season 5 of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” kicked off on Sunday night. The $200,000 buy-in cash game was filmed at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas last December. A total of 13 episodes will air on Sundays, which is dubbed “Poker Night” by GSN. This season’s premiere featured up and comers Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, and Peter Eastgate squaring off against poker’s established guard: Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Eli Elezra, and David Benyamine.
The very first hand of the show featured Dwan and Eastgate sparring in a battle of the young guns of poker. Dwan is in the midst of his Million Dollar Challenge against Full Tilt Poker pro Patrik Antonius. He’s also one of the top cash game minds on the planet. Eastgate won the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, banking $9.1 million and becoming the youngest winner of the prestigious tournament.
Pre-flop, Eastgate raised with 8-9 of clubs to $5,000. Dwan re-raised with K-9 of hearts to $16,000 and Eastgate called. The flop came K-5-4 rainbow. Dwan checked and Eastgate bet $20,000; Dwan promptly called. The turn was the jack of spades and the action went check-check. The river came the 10 of clubs and neither player bet. Dwan raked in the first pot of the night that aired, setting the tone for the loose style that would characterize his play for the remainder of the episode.
Dwan was the most active player at the table by far, seeing the flop in nearly every pot shown. In one instance, he held pocket twos and raised to $3,000 pre-flop. Elezra, Sahamies, and Negreanu all called, with Sahamies holding 6-3 offsuit. The flop came 2-3-Q, giving Dwan a set. He led out and bet $8,300 and Sahamies re-raised to $26,500; Negreanu and Elezra got out of the way. High Stakes Poker commentator Gabe Kaplan explained, “He thinks any pair is good against Dwan” due to durrrr’s loose style. Dwan called Sahamies’ raise and the turn came the jack of diamonds. Dwan checked and Sahamies checked behind. After a 10 of clubs on the river, Dwan bet $54,300 and Sahamies thought before folding. Ziigmund was largely quiet the rest of the evening.
The largest pot during the premiere of High Stakes Poker Season 5 was between Eastgate and Dwan. Both turned trip sixes, with Dwan holding 7-6 and Eastgate holding A-6, having Dwan out-kicked. Dwan bet $20,200 after the turn, about two-thirds of the pot. Eastgate called to see the river come a king. Dwan once again led out and bet $53,900, which Kaplan described as a potential “big bully bet.” Eastgate just called and raked in $175,200, nearly the size of the minimum buy-in.
Dwan was involved in several pots against Benyamine, whom he will face as part of his Million Dollar Challenge after play against Antonius has concluded. Five-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Ivey has also taken up the contest. Dwan and Antonius have played 4,178 hands out of 50,000, with Dwan up $140,000. Dwan showed his willingness to see flops and, at the same time, carry on several conversations at once at the High Stakes Poker table.
In the last hand of the one hour show, Negreanu battled against Eastgate. The 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion held A-K, while Negreanu, who raised from the button, held J-2. The flop came 2-2-K. Eastgate, in the small blind, led out and bet $6,000 and Negreanu called. The turn came a jack and Eastgate once again bet, this time $14,000. Negreanu called to see a river eight. Eastgate bet $19,000, Negreanu made it $59,000, and the Dane went into the tank before folding.
Footage from future episodes shows a variety of prop betting, including one that involves push-ups. Only one live straddle was shown during the first episode; it was made by Dwan. The GSN show’s advertisers include Card Player, which appears on the table’s felts, and SpadeClub, a subscription-based online poker room that is owned by the popular poker magazine.
A representative from CardPlayer told Poker News Daily, “Card Player and SpadeClub are proud to be presenting sponsors of the fifth season of High Stakes Poker on GSN. High Stakes Poker continues to be one of the highest quality and most popular poker programs on television. We think that this relationship will strengthen the Card Player and SpadeClub brands and help us reach an expanded audience.”
New episodes of High Stakes Poker air on Sunday nights at 9:00pm Eastern Time on GSN. Also scheduled to appear during Season 5 are Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, Joe Hachem, Howard Lederer, Adam Meltzer, Dario Minieri, David Peat, Nick Cassavetes, and Sam Simon, among others.
