'It's a smart play' – Sam Grafton excited for The Big Game on Tour Uncut

Posted on: March 28, 2025 14:02 PDT

In anticipation of The Big Game on Tour Season 2 – which hits the airwaves in May – PokerStars has announced the release of never-before-seen footage from Phil Hellmuth's session in Season 1. As viewers of the show know, the players involved partake in 150 hands, but not all of those make the final cut. Now, PokerStars is diving into its archive to release footage of every single hand played during the taping process.

The Big Game on Tour Uncut offers audiences the chance to watch all 150 hands dealt during the show's taping – providing for a raw look at every single hand played by Hellmuth, Lex Veldhuis, Arden Cho, Jennifer Tilly, Nikki Limo, and Alan Keating.

The Big Game on Tour will air live on the PokerStars Twitch and YouTube channels on April 4 and 5 – and will feature live commentary from James Hartigan, Joe Stapleton, Sam Grafton, Jason Koon, Maria Ho, Griffin Benger, and Alan Keating.

The Big Game on Tour Uncut will stream live on Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5.

While those who watched the Season 1 episodes will surely remember some of the crazy pots played, the Uncut version has all the hands that didn't make the cut for one reason or another.

Grafton, Stapes, and Hartigan tease the goods

On the most recent episode of the Poker in the Ears podcast, hosts James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton teased the release of The Big Game on Tour Uncut – with an assist from none other than Sam Grafton. Crucially, the trio posit that the unseen hands won't just be one player raising pre-flop and the rest folding their cards – there's going to be action.

After highlighting the details and dates involved, Grafton said, "I guarantee there's not much raise-and-take-it with Keating at the table, and Lex and Jen. That's definitely not the case. I think it'll be a very rich experience."

Grafton continued, "It's a smart play. We have this great footage. It's like they reduced The Godfather to a 40-minute episode. You have to give people the chance to see what happened."

^{Images Courtesy of PokerStars}