High Stakes Poker Season 6 Episode 2 Is a Snoozer

Tom Dwan: not a fan of High Stakes Poker‘s latest episode.

After the Episode 1 of the new season of High Stakes Poker saw Phil Hellmuth find new and creative ways to dust off $200,000 in record time, Episode 2 featured little more than Norway’s Andreas Hoivold dropping the rest of his initial buy-in and declining to continue against a lineup of some of the world’s top poker pros. 

The key hand for Hoivold, the 2007 EPT Dortmund champion, came when he flat-called a Tom Dwan junk raise in position with A-Q and Gus Hansen, priced in from the small blind, called with 6-3 to make it a five-way pot. Hansen flopped bottom two pair but checked, and everyone else checked behind. When the queen hit the turn and Hansen bet o

ut you could see Hoivold getting ready to go bust a mile away. To his credit, Hoivold handled his exit with class, shaking the hands of everyone at the table and telling them it was nice to play poker with them. 

Aside from Hoivold’s exit and new addition Eli Elezra subtly steaming a bit after getting no action with a flopped set of aces, there was very little action of any consequence. The lovely Kara Scott’s purpose for being on the show still hasn’t been divined after two full hours of Season 6, unless it is to make Tom Dwan contort his face (see above) in response to silly questions. And Gabe Kaplan’s commentary, while occasionally humorous enough to draw a smile, continues to ring hollow in the absence of an announcing partner. 

All of which makes you wonder what the producers were thinking when they canned A.J. Benza, who became an integral part of the show’s flow during its first five seasons. If the action doesn’t pick up in the next episode, High Stakes Poker might find itself beginning to lose its audience. Luckily 2009 Bluff Player of the Year Jason Mercier is due to take a seat at the table next time, so there may be hope for HSP yet.

Andreas Hoivold’s bustout hand starts at about the 2:20 mark in this clip: