Dan Bilzerian, Bill Perkins take center stage on Poker After Dark

Dan Bilzerian, Bill Perkins take center stage on Poker After Dark
Poker writer Geoff Fisk profile photo
Geoff Fisk
Posted on: April 06, 2021 12:16 PDT

Latest player lineup includes a roster of celebrity recreational players

PokerGO viewers might get treated to plenty of out-of-line play on the next series of Poker After Dark episodes.

Season 12 of the long-running poker program continued Monday night with Episode 1 of “Blitz Week,” with GGPoker Ambassador Dan “Blitz” Bilzerian at the center of the table. The controversial Bilzerian also sat at the center of several big hands, and seemingly couldn’t lose on Monday’s new episode.

The splashy play on display in the debut “Blitz Week” episode likely sets the tone for the entire run of shows that includes this current player lineup. Billionaire recreational players like Bilzerian and Bill Perkins sat down with musicians like Steve Aoki and Mally Mall at the PokerGO Studio for the latest chapter of Poker After Dark, with no shortage of big action developing among the eclectic player lineup.

Boxer Chris Eubank, Jr., along with Lara Sebastian (Perkins' fiancée) and investor David Bell rounded out Monday’s new player rotation.

No scared money among the new Poker After Dark lineup

The first big pot that developed Monday on PokerGO could offer an indication of what viewers can expect from this lineup of deeply-bankrolled recreational players.

Perkins opens up the betting with a raise to $400 holding 7♠7❤️. Aoki calls with A♠Q♦️, and Mall calls with T♦️T♣.

Facing the Perkins open and two callers, Bilzerian looks down at A❤️A♣ and squeezes to $1,900. Action folds back around to Perkins, who four-bets to $6,000 with his pocket sevens.

Aoki gets out of the way, and Mall pushes his entire $15,700 stack into the middle. Bilzerian snap calls, and Perkins thinks it over for a bit before committing his remaining $13,350 to the pot.

The players decide to run the board once, and Bilzerian’s pocket aces hold up for a $55,000 pot. The trend of Bilzerian continuously pulling in the chips persists throughout the episode, as the aptly-named “Blitz Week” begins with a dominant run by Bilzerian.

“Blitz Week” continues next Monday

The seven players seated for “Blitz Week” Episode 1 return for next Monday’s episode of Poker After Dark. The next chapter in the series airs April 12 at 8pm ET on PokerGO.

Bilzerian ended Monday’s episode up big, and he busted Mally Mall for a second time later in the episode.

Another hand saw the dealer push a pot to Bilzerian, despite the on-screen graphics showing Bell holding a jack-high flush for the winning hand. Neither Bell nor anyone else seemed to notice, leaving play-by-play man Ali Nejad befuddled in the commentary booth.

Next Monday’s episode concludes the run of “Blitz Week” episodes, and that chapter will likely once again offer plenty of action from the celebrity lineup.

Featured image source: PokerGO