Week 1 of the “Big Game” is over!
The “Big Game” is a high-stakes cash game that pits an amateur Loose Cannon versus 5 seasoned professionals. During the first week, Ernest Wiggins, the Loose Cannon, took on Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Phill Laak, Daniel Negreanu, and loud mouth Tony G. You can watch all the action here. Wiggins played passively, but made excellent decisions when big money was on the line.
Below are Week 1’s biggest hands:
DN raises to $3000 from the button with QJ and Tony G calls from the big blind with Big Slick. The comes Q-6-J, Tony G checks, and Negreanu bets $5,500. Tony G calls with a gutshot and overs. The turn, a ten, gives Tony G the nuts. Tony G checks and Kid Poker bets $14,000 and is quickly checkraised to $50,000. Daniel contemplates for a moment and makes the call. The queen of diamonds falls on the river, filling Daniel up. Tony G checks, Negreanu fires $80,000 into the pot, and Tony G instantly calls. Negreanu shows Tony G the bad news and scoops a pot of nearly $300,000.
Wiggins, as usual, limps the cutoff and Daniel isolates him from the button with 56. Laak, the big blind, just calls Negreanu’s raise of $3500. Tony G had straddled preflop and also calls $3500 with a speculative 86 of hearts. The flop of A-K-2 hits Laak who checks. Tony G checks and Negreanu makes a continuation bet of $6500. Laak calls with top pair and Tony G folds. The turn comes the ace of club, giving Laak trips. Laak checks and Negranu makes it a cool $9,000 with air. The river is a jack and Laak checks again. Negreanu fires a third barrel of $28,000 which causes Laak to think out loud for a moments. The bet was so small that Laak thought Negreanu wanted him to call it with a worse hand. Laak verbalizes that Negreanu may have pocket deuces or KK and reluctantly makes the call. Negreanu shows the bluff and Laak rakes in a pot of almost $100,000.
Perhaps the most exciting hand of the week was when Wiggins got KK all in on a board of 9T9 versus the A9 of Hellmuth. The Poker Brat perhaps slow rolled the amateur Loose Cannon when revealing his trip nines. Both parties agree to run it 4 times. Wiggins bricks the first turn and river, turns a full house the second time, rivers a flush the third run, and on the final run he makes a boat on the river. Wiggins won 3/4 of the pot despite being over a 4-1 underdog. After the hand, Hellmuth looked like he had taken a cannonball to the stomach.
In the end, Wiggins finishes up a shade over $50,000 and decides to walk away with his profit. Congratulations to Ernest Wiggins for coming out on top!
The “Big Game” airs every week night on Fox. You can also find the “Big Game” right here on FTR. Do you want to be on TV as the Loose Cannon? Satellites are running until June 25. If you are interested, you can find a Big Game qualifiers by selecting the ‘Tourney’ tab and then clicking ‘Regional’ in the PokerStars lobby.