The latest episode of No Gamble, No Future aired Tuesday evening and brought a crop of fresh faces to the PokerGO Studio for a $25/$50 No-Limit Hold'em cash game.
The new contingent of players included two of PokerStars' finest exports – poker commentator, comic book author, and comedian Joe Stapleton and recent signing Caitlin Comeskey – alongside Kasey 'PokerMommaa' Mills. The trio of debut players were joined by No Gamble, No Future regulars Jimmy D'Ambrosio, Shawn Madden, Justin Young, and Sashimi.
While Stapleton has always been more comfortable chewing the fat from the commentary booth – "I'm actually quite sick to my stomach already," he said, jokingly, during the first hand dealt – he's clearly picked up a few tidbits from years watching high-level play. And he used them to his advantage to haul in the biggest pot of the night.
Stapes' snap call
It all started with an under-the-gun limp from Young and his 
– an action which encouraged Sashimi to come along with 
and Stapleton with 
. Madden tried to lay down the hammer with a squeeze to $250, but failed to shed any of his opponents.
On the 
flop, Madden continued for $350 with his flush draw and, this time, only Young and Stapleton made the call. The turn 
added a pair to Madden's arsenal and he fired a second barrel of $1,800. Young bowed out of the way, but Stapleton counted out calling chips and placed them across the betting line.
With $5,600 in the middle, Stapleton held the best hand, but still had to fade a decent number of Madden's outs. On the river 
, he did just that, but the hand wasn't over yet and Madden had one last barrel in the chamber – an all-in for Stapleton's remaining $3,900.
It took less than two seconds for Stapleton to flick a single calling chip across the betting line. After turning over the winner, the adrenaline – or pure shock – sent him to his feet for a victory lap/breather as the rest of the players showered him with a mixture of praise and light-hearted needles.
"You sexy beast, you," Young chimed.
"I think we need Joe's extra pair of pants that he brought for this occasion," Comeskey joked.
As he paced behind the table, arm covering his mouth, Stapleton pointed off-screen and asked, "Are you getting this on camera?"
On returning to his seat, Stapleton offered a glimpse into his thought process when he said, "All the draws missed."
From the commentary booth, Jeff Platt lauded his peer, saying, "Years of commentary pays off, huh?"
No Gamble, No Future airs Tuesday evenings at 8pm ET, exclusively on PokerGO.
Images courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO
