Best Poker TV Moments – Part One

The Best TV Moments We Could Find:

Ever since the hole cam revelation, poker fans have witnessed the craziest bluffs, loosest calls and boldest of bets in full suspense. ESPN’s WSOP coverage, and more recently High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark, have provided us with some of the best TV poker moments. Here are just a few:

Durrrr wins biggest pot in TV poker history on HSP Season 5

Tom Dwan made a gargantuan impact on live poker when he hit our television screens this year. Having out-foxed and bluffed conservative Full Tilt Poker owner Howard Lederer (AceKing) with a poxy 8-6, Dwan went on to wina record $919,600 pot to the shock of Barry Greenstein. Holding pocket aces, Greenstein moved all in on a 4s 2s Qh board, receiving a quick call from Dwan, Ks Qs. Dwan, well acclimatized to such sums of money through his online poker exploits, politely declined when Greenstein asked if he wanted to ‘take a few hundred thousand back’. It wasn’t another spade that gifted Dwan the pot, but the Qc on the turn. Dwan followed up his High Stakes Poker success with an equally effective display on Poker After Dark Cash Game, where he bullied real estate agent Bob Safai in a series of pots. Online, however, it’s been a different story, as Dwan suffers losses of $6.8 million recently, mainly at the hands of mystery Swede Isildur1. The $919,00 mark has since been surpassed by Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey in the Full Tilt Million Dollar Cash Game, but the show does not air till January 2010.

Negreanu and Hansen play out a $575,700 pot on High Stakes Poker

The cool $575,000 at stake may have been eclipsed since, but the clash between outspoken Negreanu and super aggressive Dane Gus Hansen is one of our fondest TV poker moments. Both relatively young, adrenaline seeking action junkies, Hansen and Negreanu both hit trips and waged war on a 9c 6d 5h flop. The 5h on the river gave Negreanu a full house…and Hansen quads. A confident Negreanu made a strong value bet, only to be dumbstruck by a monster check-raise all in. Negreanu, sensing that Hansen held pocket nines or quads, made a crying call. The bubbly Canadian Negreanu has endured a pretty tough career on High Stakes Poker, and was subject to intense criticism on the twoplustwo forum boards for his loose play during HSP Season 5. See video below.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YNc9oB2kp4

Ivey prevails in bluffing war

If the Full Tilt Poker advertisements didn’t capture the unique, mechanical mind of Phil Ivey, then this clip from the Monte Carlo Millions certainly did. On a 7c Jc Jd, both players tabled air – Ivey 6s 5d, Jackson Qh 8h. This didn’t stop Ivey making a soul-read and making an incredibly gutsy 5-bet. Ivey led out, only to be insta re-raised by Jackson. Ivey fired back, but a stubborn Jackson retaliated. Stone cold Ivey wasn’t phased however, and made the final, decisive bluff to scoop the pot. Ivey went to seal the tournament, and on reflection, claims he knew Jackson didn’t have a jack ‘because of the re-raise on the flop’, allowing Phil to represent a monster. See video below.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–Qap3VT_ZY

Amazing Cold Deck at Party Poker Open

With its place firmly embeded in poker folklore, this clip captures the unpredictable essence of the game perfectly. It’s literally raining pocket pairs in a monster hand at the Party Poker Open, as players at the table including O’Mahooney, Kallakis and Nickman get dealt 55, 77, QQ, KK and AA in a single hand. With a flurry of re-raises, Irishman O’Mahoney makes a superb lay down with pocket kings, paving the way for Kallakis (AA) against Nickman (QQ). If there wasn’t enough drama, the board came 2d 3h Ks 4c Qh, ensuring a brutal beat for Kallakis, and leaving O’Mahoney cursing his luck. See video below.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSeSrCNRV2A