High Stakes Poker

1. High Stakes Poker is a popular TV show on the network GSN (also known as Game Show Network). It features a very high stakes No Limit Hold'em cash game between the best poker players in the world.

History

The first season of High Stakes Poker aired in January of 2006 and ran for 13 episodes, which were hosted by A.J. Benza and Gabriel Kaplan. The second season ran for 16 episodes, while the third season got cut back down to 13. Season four featured a episodes with a $500K minimum buy-in, and ultimately the success of these episodes caused creators to raise the regular buy-in to $200K. The show is currently in the middle of its sixth season, and has featured the likes of Phil Ivey, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Phil Laak, Jennifer Harman, Doyle Brunson, Chris Ferguson, Jamie Gold, and Patrik Antonius.

Format

High Stakes Poker was the first non-tournament poker show to air, and as such, has had a very popular run. Originally, the minimum buy-in for the game was $100K, but players like Daniel Negreanu and Brad Booth would regularly sit with more than that (sometimes with as much as a million). The show began with $300/$600 blinds with a $100 ante. More recently, the blinds were changed to $300/$600/$1200 with a $2400 straddle option, and the minimum buy-in was raised to $200K.

When Is HSP on TV?

High Stakes Poker airs on Sunday nights at 9 PM EST. The 5th season premiered on Sunday March 1st, 2009.

The 5th season features, among others: Daniel Negreanu, Tom "durrrr" Dwan, Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein, Peter Eastgate and Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies.

Tough Decision for Ivey on High Stakes Poker

In a pot featured on GSN's High Stakes Poker, Brad Booth puts Phil Ivey to the test by making a huge semi-bluff. Unbelievably, Booth actually makes Ivey fold the best hand.

Dwan vs Greenstein

The clip below features the biggest pot ever played in High Stakes Poker history. In the hand, Barry Greenstain and Tom Dwan get all-in on a 4s-2s-Qh flop holding AdAc and KsQs respectively. Since the hand was essentially a race, Greenstein offered to take some of the money back, but Dwan declined. In the end, Dwan took down the $919K pot when he binked a Q on the turn.

Dwan Makes Funny Face

Below is a clip of Tom Dwan making a hilarious face after losing a pot to Peter Eastgate during an episode of High Stakes Poker.