Jean-Robert Bellande can’t seem to catch a break on Season 8 of High Stakes Poker. Two weeks ago we saw the man known by his @BrokeLivingJRB Twitter handle somehow lose all three runs of a nearly $1 million pot, despite having ace-king suited against Tom Dwan’s pocket queens and Lynne Ji’s queen-ten suited.
Bellande went into that three-way all-in preflop hand with an 82 percent chance of winning at least one run. The players agreed to run the board three times, and Dwan lived up to his High Stakes Poker legend by scooping all three.
The tough beat for Bellande begins with Damien Leforbes raising to $1,600 with 6♣5♣ over an $800 straddle from Dwan. Bellande calls with 7♠6♠, and Schwimer three-bets to $7,000 with Q♣Q♠.
Dwan calls with A❤️4❤️, and both Leforbes and Bellande also call. With $29,000 already in the pot, the flop comes 2♠7❤️9♠.
The action checks to Schwimer, and the former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher bets $24,000. Dwan and Leforbes both fold, putting the action on Bellande.
Bellande asks for a count on Schwimer’s remaining stack, then goes all-in for $135,000. Schwimer quickly calls, and a lengthy discussion ensues about how many times to run the board.
The two players finally decide to run it twice, with Schwimer a slight favorite at 54% equity.
Tough run for Bellande
Bellande leaves the decision to run it twice up to Schwimer, who wins the first board. That run finishes with a turn T♦️ and a river 4♣, keeping his pocket queens out in front.
The second run begins with some good news for Bellande, as the A♠ hits the board and brings in a flush for JRB.
Schwimer winces at that turn of events, but his anguish is short-lived. The dealer puts out the K♠ on the river, giving Schwimer the superior flush and sending the $299,400 pot his way.
Gabe Kaplan and A.J. Benza, on commentary, lament the visible pain on Bellande’s face as Schwimer collects his chips.
Bellande recovers as Episode 7 group plays on
The touch beat for Bellande leaves him with $88,000 and doubles Schwimer’s stack. By the end of Episode 7, however, Bellande gets back up to $489,000, taking several big hands.
The last of those pots comes against Rick Salomon, with Bellande getting a river value bet out of quad jacks against Salomon’s full house.
The current High Stakes Poker lineup features Bellande, Schwimer, Dwan, Salomon, Leforbes, Sean Perry, and John Andress playing $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em. The players often implement an obligatory $800 straddle, and several pots in Season 8 have gone well into six-figures at the seven-episode mark.
This season of High Stakes Poker marks the return of one of poker’s most popular shows of all time. The first seven seasons of the show ran from 2007-2011. The current season, and all previous seasons, can currently be viewed by PokerGO subscribers.
Featured image source: PokerGO
