It's back.
The first installment of High Stakes Poker Season 16 hit the PokerGO airwaves today – and already the show is living up to its own hype.
With a mix of familiar faces and debutants – alongside one of the world's most-famous comedians – it's no surprise that the Season 16 kickoff episode brought the fireworks.
After appearing in a five-episode stint to open Season 15 and a special live edition of High Stakes Poker back in April, superstar Kevin Hart made his triumphant return to the PokerGO Studio to put on another grand show. Amongst the crew of regulars back in the action were Andrew Robl, Sam 'Senor Tilt' Kiki, Darin Feinstein, Sameh Elamawy, and Santhosh Suvarna.
And there was a double dose of fresh blood at the table as DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish and high stakes legend Alfred 'Big Al' Decarolis made their show debuts.
'Big Al' spikes the river
It didn't take long for the first big pot of the season to arrive.
Kiki kicked off the action with a raise to $3,000 with 
and picked up two callers – Elamawy with 
and Suvarna with 
– before Decarolis looked down at 
in the big blind and three-bet to $20,000.
Kiki called, allowing Suvarna and Elamawy in with their speculative holdings. The 
flop didn't connect with anyone, but when the action checked around to him, Suvarna fired $55,000 into the $81,500 pot. Elamawy and Kiki fled the scene, but Decarolis made the call to see the 
turn. Decarolis checked once again and Suvarna – now armed with two pair – fired $75,000. With only $123,000 behind, Decarolis opted to ship it all in and Suvarna quickly called.
On Decarolis' insistence, they ran only a single river card. And it was a good one for him. The 
river improved Decarolis to a full house and delivered him the entire $437,500 pot.
Kevin Hart spikes the flop
Throughout the episode, Hart was all over the action – but he delivered the coup de grace at the close of the episode. After Hart limped in for $2,000 with 
, Feinstein peeled 
and raised to $22,000. Kiki cold-called with 
from the small blind and Hart came along as well.
The 
flop was gin for the funny man as he made trips. With $70,000 in the middle, Feinstein opted for an overbet of $125,000. Kiki couldn't call, but Hart sure could – in fact, he raised to put Feinstein all-in.
After a moment or two of thought, Feinstein called it off and saw the bad news. With $576,000 in the pot, they agreed to run two turns and rivers. On the first runout, neither the 
turn nor 
river offered Feinstein any help.
And he came up empty on the second runout too as the 
turn and 
river completed the board.
When the dust settled on Episode 1, Hart's stack neared the million dollar mark – covered only by Robl.
Season 16 of High Stakes Poker is now available to watch, in its entirety, on PokerGO.
