Wednesday's latest "High Stakes Poker" episode on PokerGO was a doozy, featuring what will undoubtedly go down as one of the biggest pots of the entire season. And it was one of the show's most familiar faces running well once again in the huge spot.
Here's a recap of the $400/$800/$800 action — sometimes with a $1,600 straddle — that took place at the PokerGO Studio.
Early Cooler Irritates Bellande
The show opened with a bit of a cooler right off the bat as Tom Dwan opened with 8♦️
Dwan continued for $9,000, just over half the pot, on the 6♠️9♦️10♥️ flop that gave him the nuts. Bellande made it $31,000, Dwan raised it back, and JRB jammed for $167K. Dwan obviously called.
"That's a cold flop," Brandon Steven observed.
"Yeah, ya think so?" Bellande retorted.
Dwan won both runouts to drag $352K and couldn't contain his smile as Bellande groused about his poor luck.
"What a surprise that the number one cooler of the day, I'm on the shit end of it," he said.
Bellande Feeling Better
The other side of variance showed up for Bellande in the next big pot. Dwan limped under the gun with 5♥️2♥️, Bellande made it $7,000 to go in the cutoff with 7♠️7♥️, and Rick Salomon called with q♣️j♠️ in the small blind. Brandon Steven woke up with a♥️k♦️ in the big blind and raised to $24,000. Dwan ducked out of the way but the other two called.
Steven bet $37,000 when he hit top pair on the k♠️9♠️7♦️ flop and Bellande played it slow with a call. Bellande had $138K left to play on the 3♣️ turn. With $147,600 in the middle, Steven bet $77,000 and called the rest.
"Still complaining now, John?" Steven asked.
"I do feel a lot better," he allowed.
Kenney Turns Top Pair into a Bluff
Kenney opened to $2,500 under the gun with a♠️j♦️. Steven three-bet a couple of seats over with j♥️10♥️ to $8,500 and Kenney called.
Steven found his three-outer and more on the 7♦️10♦️8♥️ flop. Kenney double-checked his cards then fired in a check-raise to $35,000. Steven peeled, bringing the j♣️. Kenney continued for $69,000 and Steven called again. On the 3♠️ river, Kenney put in a third barrel of $147,000 into the $227,000 pot.
Steven sighed and stretched back in his seat, muttering that Kenney had the 9♦️ in his hand. He said he didn't think he was going to call and he did toss in his cards.
Kenney asked if he had worse than an overpair and Steven said better than an overpair.
"I had you?" he asked.
Kenney smiled and nodded.
The $985K Pot
With the straddle back on, Salomon opened to $4,000 second to act with 5♣️3♣️. Steven called with ♦️aj♦️ and Dwan came along with q♠️q♣️ on the button. Lynne Ji called as well with q♥️10♥️ in the big blind and Bellande woke up with a♣️k♣️ in the straddle. He made it $11,000, the next two players called, and Dwan put in $54,000.
Ji went all in for $163,000, JRB instantly followed suit for $399,000, and Salomon and Stevens finally mucked.
Dwan covered both players and thought awhile before chucking in a stack of chips.
The players agreed to run it three times for both the main and side pots. Dwan had already dodged a few cards because of Steven and Kenney throwing aces away, along with the king that Petrangelo had mucked. Here's how the boards rolled off:
- First board: j♣️9♠️9♥️4♥️10♠️
- Second board: q♦️j♥️3♠️7♠️a♥️
- Third board: 5♦️5♠️5♥️7♥️7♦️
Everything worked out perfectly right Dwan, right down to the last five being dead to take away an out on the final run.
Busted, Ji and Bellande headed for the doors and left two seats open. Jason Koon filled one immediately.
Massive Pot Between Kenney and Dwan
Kenney opened early to $2,500 with ♦️a3♦️ and got action from Steven and his 7♠️7♦️ in the cutoff before Dwan made it $12,000 with a♠️k♠️ on the button.
They went three ways for that price to a♥️k♣️3♥️. Dwan continued for $22,000 and Kenney called, bringing a 3♣️. Kenney checked again, this time calling a barrel worth $55,000. On the 10♥️, Kenney checked again. Dwan bet $95,000.
This time, Kenney cut out a raise to $285,000. Dwan rubbed his face as he thought for awhile before he finally mustered up a fold. Kenney smiled and showed the ♦️a as Dwan muttered about his "stupid f****** river bet."
"Three of diamonds," Dwan accurately guessed.
