The much anticipated premier of High Stakes Poker, Season 5 begins this Sunday, March 1st on the Game Show Network. After last season there had been some question about whether there would even be a season 5. However, to the delight of High Stakes Poker fans, GSN announced that there would be and with the quality and diversity of players that will be on the show this year, there are sure to be plenty of fireworks and tons of action.
GSN has released some teaser videos on You Tube to whet the poker appetites of its viewers. The first video, released a few days ago, shows The Unibomber, Phil Laak, butting heads with Patrik Antonius. After Antonius straddles $1,600 UTG, Laak raises his AJo to $4,000, Howard Lederer calls with 88, and Antonius calls with T4 of spades. On a flop of 3s2h4h, Patrik checks and Laak c-bets $16,000. After some consideration Lederer folds his overpair, but Antonius calls the bet. The turn brings the King of spades, giving Antonius a pair and flush draw. He decides to check-call Phil’s bet of $37,300. The river is a blank for everyone, Queen of diamonds. However, after Patrik checks again, Laak fires the third barrel, betting $80,000 into the $127,400 pot. Antonius takes his time and eventually calls with his pair of fours, leaving many at the table with a stunned look, while Daniel Negreanu and Antonio Esfandiari get a nice chuckle at Phil Laak’s expense.
The second hand is an interesting one between the current WSOP Champion, Peter Eastgate, and well-known online player Durrrr, Tom Dwan. Eastgate opens to $2,500 with A6 of hearts and gets a few callers, including Doyle Brunson with AJ off, Barry Greenstein with JT of clubs and Dwan, calling from the blinds with 76 of clubs. The flop comes 653 with one heart. Dwan leads out for $7,700, folding out everyone but Eastgate, who calls. The turn brings the case 6 and Dwan again leads, this time for $20,200. Eastgate again just calls. The river is a harmless K and once again Dwan leads out for $53,900, which Eastgate once again just calls, to the surprise of many at the table. Tom Dwan’s face shows his shock, and Eastgate asks, “Could I have raised it, and you would call?”, to which Dwan replies emphatically, “Yeah!”. Negreanu points out to Eastgate, “He doesn’t like folding, that’s kinda his thing.”
So, if the rest of the season is anything like the teasers put out by GSN, we could be in for a great one! Don’t forget, set your DVRs if you must, Season 5 starts this Sunday at 9 PM est on GSN.