High Stakes Poker returned to the airwaves Monday night after a brief hiatus for the PokerGO Tour 2024 Poker Masters. While the absence of the show left a gaping hole in our Monday nights, the old adage holds true: absence makes the heart grow fonder.
After making his High Stakes Poker debut in Episode 6, Humboldt Mike returned to the felt to mix it up with the likes of Andrew Robl, Nik Airball, Jennifer Tilly, Samy Elamawy, Justin Gavri, Stanley Tang, and Brandon Steven.
Tang vs. Tilly
The hand of the episode came in a confrontation between Tilly and Tang, which saw the latter put the former in a tough spot for nearly all of her chips. After taking his lumps from Airball in the previous episode, Tang came ready to battle this time around and Tilly fell squarely in his sights – collateral damage on the revenge tour.
With $344,000 in her stack, Tilly started proceedings with a raise to $6,000, holding 
. Steven made the call in the big blind with 
and Tang came along from the straddle with 
and $288,000 in front of him.
The dealer spread the 
board to vault Tang into the lead with two pair, while Tilly added a gutshot straight draw to go with her pocket pair. Both Steven and Tang checked to the preflop aggressor and she continued with a $10,000 bet into the $19,500. Steven pitched his cards back to the dealer and Tang opted to downplay the strength of his hand with just a call.
The turn 
counterfeit Tang's two pair and, with the flip of a card, the lead swung back in Tilly's favor. Tang checked once more and Tilly, sensing her two pair best, fired out a bet of $17,000. With his flopped-two pair heavily downgraded, Tang decided to turn his hand into a bluff and raised to $70,000. Tilly considered her options, correctly sniffing out a suspicious vibe to her opponent's play, before putting in the additional chips. Tang would need to improve on the river or adequately convince Tilly of his story to win the pot and the 
left him with only the latter option.
No stranger to measured risk, the DoorDash founder put the finishing touches on his tall tale by announcing an all-in shove for $204,000 into the $179,500 pot. Tilly wondered aloud if her opponent had back-doored a flush while taking stock of her chips. After a few moments, she folded her hand and as Tang slid his cards to the dealer, he offered her the chance to pick one. Tilly pointed to one of his cards and he flipped it, exposing the for all to see as he raked in the pot.
High Stakes Poker airs on Monday nights at 8:00pm ET, exclusively on PokerGO.
