Dwan pays off Chamath Palihapitiya in a huge hand from the new episode
Tom Dwan took it all in stride as the dealer pushed a $246,000 pot the way of Chamath Palihapitiya.
“That’ll do it,” said Dwan with a resigned smirk on the latest episode of High Stakes Poker. Seconds earlier, Dwan made a call that commentator Gabe Kaplan said “seemed like a snap fold,” and Palihapitiya confirmed that assessment by turning over quad nines.
Episode 10 of High Stakes Poker Season 8 continued with the most star-studded lineup we’ve seen yet on the show reboot. High Stakes Poker’s 2020-2021 revival airs new episodes each Wednesday on PokerGO.
The new High Stakes Poker season hasn’t disappointed so far, producing a series that feels authentic to the iconic first run of the show from 2007-2011. The Episode 10 lineup features names like Dwan, Palihapitiya, Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, and Brandon Adams, with Jason Koon replacing Ivey late in the episode.
Palihapitiya takes $246,000 pot off Dwan
The big hand between Palihapitiya and Dwan begins with Palihapitiya putting out a $1,600 straddle, then looking down at 9❤️9♣.
Dwan, on Palihapitiya’s immediate left, raises to $5,000 with 7♦️5❤️. Palihapitiya three-bets to $17,000, and Dwan makes a quick call.
Palihapitiya flops middle set, with 5♣T♠9♠ hitting the board. The billionaire recreational player bets $20,000 into the $36,000 pot, and Dwan makes the call with third pair.
The turn brings in quads for Palihapitiya, with the dealer putting the 9♦️ on the felt. Holding one of the best possible hands in the poker hand rankings, Palihapitiya checks and Dwan checks back.
The river brings the 7♣, and Palihapitiya overbets, putting $85,000 into the $76,000 pot. Dwan utters “wow” with a smile on his face, with the river card pairing his 7♦️.
“This looks like it should be a snap fold,” comments Kaplan, but Dwan clearly doesn’t have that in mind. Dwan spends a couple of minutes in the tank, calling chips in hand.
“It kind of feels like you might be going for it,” says Dwan. “Alright, I’ll make a crazy call.”
That hero call doesn’t pay off for Dwan, as Palihapitiya announces his quads to clinch the $246,000 pot.
Ivey exits; enter Jason Koon
The Episode 10 table gets pretty quiet late in Wednesday’s chapter, and both Phil Hellmuth and Phil Ivey leave the table. As could be expected, Hellmuth often drives the conversation at the table, with the off-hand banter among the players slowing down significantly when the “Poker Brat” steps away.
Hellmuth eventually comes back, but Ivey’s exit marks the last we see of the poker legend in Episode 10. Ivey is replaced a few minutes later by Jason Koon, who enters the Season 8 lineup for the second time.
Other highlights from Wednesday’s new episode include a vintage Hellmuth blowout, with James Bord on the receiving end of Hellmuth’s ire.
The current lineup (apparently minus Ivey) sits for one more episode, airing next Wednesday on PokerGO. After that, we get one more lineup change for the final three installments of the 14-episode season.
We know Doug Polk enters the fray at some point, based on teaser clips released by PokerGO before Season 8. The first ten episodes of the High Stakes Poker reboot have gone by remarkably fast, and poker fans hope the best is yet to come in the final four episodes of the season.
Featured image source: PokerGO
