It’s been 15 months since a new episode of High Stakes Poker has been released, but the wait has finally come to an end. High Stakes Poker is BACK!
Here is the first episode of season 5 as it aired on GSN last night (March 1, 2009).
High Stakes Poker Season 5 Episode 1 Summary
There are several changes for the fifth season of High Stakes Poker, but a few things remain the same. For starters the hosts are still AJ Benza and Gabe Kaplan and some old faces are back at the poker table in Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, David Benyamine, Eli Elezra and Barry Greenstein.
What’s different this season is the stakes have been increased to $400/$800 with a $200 ante, the minimum buy-in is now $200,000 and the show has returned to its original home at the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas.
Three players made their High Stakes Poker debut during this episode: Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies and Peter Eastgate. The biggest pot of the night occurred between two of these players (starts: 21:40 mark on video) when 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate and 22 year old poker sensation who is at the height of most best player in the world debates Tom “durrrr” Dwan squared off. Durrrr lost this pot and his reaction when he did was near priceless as he could hardly believe Eastgate didn’t raise with trips and top kicker.
This loss didn’t spoil Durrrr’s night any. He was by far the most active player at the table being involved in almost every pot and at the center of most the conversation. If the first episode is any indication of how the season will play out we might as well rename the show “High Stakes Poker with Durrrr”, or something to that effect.
A couple of the hands that didn’t involve Durrrr, involved Daniel Negreanu. He missed a big draw against Doyle Brunson who avoided getting in trouble slow playing kings. Another was the last hand when he played a big pot against Peter Eastgate.
The show was really entertaining with great commentary and table talk. A couple of the memorable conversations include players picking on Durrrr for playing too slow, a discussion about how Ziigmund once had 48 against Kenny Tran and pushed all in with no pair and no draw and backdoored a straight to crack Tran’s pocket aces.
Later in the episode we learn Vodka Cranberry with Soda is Ziigmunds favorite drink and that the only way to stop Doyle Brunson from eating is to take his crutch away.
If you’re at all lost, well then stop reading and watch the video above. We’ll be back next week with High Stakes Poker Season 5 Episode 2.
