The tenth episode of High Stakes Poker Season 13 kicked off with a bang as Justin Gavri raked in back-to-back six-figure pots – but the action didn't stop there. The rest of the players at the table, Nik Airball, Brandon Steven, Jennifer Tilly, Sameh Elamawy, Humboldt Mike, and Stanley Tang, matched Gavri's gamble with massive pots of their own throughout one of the most action-packed episodes in High Stakes Poker history.
With over $3,500,000 on the table (check out the table below to see stack distribution) the big pots were bound to come at some point and this episode did not disappoint in that regard.
Gavri shines in back-to-back pots
Gavri's moment in the spotlight started with a sizable pickup in a hand against Robl that started, as all the best poker hands do, with a $2,000 straddle. Robl raised the price of poker to $5,000 with 
and Elamawy called behind with 
before Gavri proceeded to lay the hammer down with a re-raise to $30,000 from the straddle, holding 
. Robl made the call, but Elamawy bowed out, leaving the two players to take the 
flop.
With his nut flush draw, Gavri kept his foot on the gas and bet $20,000 into the $67,500 pot. Robl's overpair remained the best hand, but he continued with caution and simply called the bet. The 
turn added to the board's dynamism and locked up the pot for Gavri, leaving him with only value extraction to worry about. Interestingly, he opted to check the action to Robl, who bet $50,000, and then played his hand as just a call on the turn. The river 
improved Robl's hand and, despite facing another check from Gavri, he opted to take his jack-high flush to showdown.
On seeing Gavri's winning hand Robl remarked, "Oh, you had it on the turn. Wow... wow."
Justin Gavri started strong in the latest episode of High Stakes Poker. The very next hand in the episode's run saw Tang raise it up to $5,000 with 
and receive no less than four callers from the field – Elamawy started the fun by calling with 
before Humboldt Mike decided to flat with his 
, which brought Gavri in with his 
and Steven, getting the greatest price ever laid, came along from the straddle with his 
. The five players went to the 
flop, which left two players with overpairs and one with a sneaky middle set.
Tang continued with an $8,000 bet and Elamawy called behind with just jack-high. Humboldt Mike, perhaps seeking clarity on his hand strength, raised to $26,000 and Gavri, next to act, continued lay in the weeds with just a call. Steven bowed out quickly and, with the action back on him, Tang wisely tossed his cards back to the dealer. Elamawy followed suit and, with that, five players became two as the 
turn added gutshot straight outs for Humboldt Mike.
Gavri remained in trapping mode as he checked to the aggressor and Humboldt Mike took the bait, betting out for $54,000 into the $94,500 pot. With plenty of draws on board, Gavri decided it was time to spring his well-set trap and moved all-in for the rest of Humboldt Mike's stack. After counting out his chips, Humboldt Mike made the call and the two players agreed to run out two river cards. The 
on the first board improved Gavri to a full house, securing him half the pot in the process, while the on the second board changed nothing for either player, sending the entire $473,500 pot his way.
Tilly heads for the exit
Later in the episode, Tilly and Steven clashed in one of poker's classic showdowns: Tilly's 
against Steven's . When the action folded around to her, Tilly raised to $6,000 with her ladies and Steven bumped it up to $23,000. The remaining action in the hand happened in an instant as Tilly four-bet to $81,000 before Steven immediately went all-in. In the blink of an eye, $599,500 was in the middle, hanging in the balance, and the two players agreed to run out two full boards.
The first runout came down 
to lock up half the pot for Steven with his higher two pair. As he pulled his chips back towards him, Steven said to Tilly, "I hope we chop, I really do."
Brandon Steven got lucky on both boards to stack Jennifer Tilly in a $600,000 pot. "I hope so too," responded Tilly, drawing a round of laughs from the table.
Tilly's path to a chop grew perilously narrow as the dealer spread the second flop of 
. The 
on the turn left Tilly with just 5% equity and she rose to her feet as the 
sealed her fate.
"Goodnight, everybody," said Tilly as she collected her belongings and headed for the exit.
Talking about the stacks still in play, AJ Benza on comms said, "The swings in this game are insane. It's not every night you see two players with stacks over $1 million, and over $4.5 million in play. Crazy, just crazy."
Ending with a bang
Towards the tail end of the episode, Elamawy and Tang clashed in the biggest pot of the night – thanks, in part, to a double straddle from the latter. It was a battle of the C-suite business titans as Elamawy started things off by calling the $4,000 with 
. Steven limped in as well with before Tang looked down at 
in the double straddle and raised to $25,000. Elamawy made the call and Steven got out of the way, leaving the two tycoons to fight it out on the 
flop – and fight they did.
Tang, with his top set, continued his aggression to the tune of a $35,000 bet and Elamawy wasted no time before raising to $175,000 with his open-ended straight draw. Tang put the rest of his chips in the middle and Elamawy called it off.
"Once or twice?" the Scratch CEO asked.
"Twice," the DoorDash CPO responded.
The first runout brought the inconsequential turn and 
river to secure half the pot for Tang, while the second runout saw Elamawy improve to a straight on the turn, but the 
river improved his opponent to a full house, sending the entire $765,500 pot to Team DoorDash.
High Stakes Poker Episode 10 Stack Sizes
| Player | Started With | Finished With |
|---|---|---|
| Sameh Elamawy | $803,000 | $511,000 |
| Brandon Steven | $767,500 | $1,100,500 |
| Andrew Robl | $688,500 | $1,165,500 |
| Jennifer Tilly | $309,500 | $0 |
| Stanley Tang | $297,500 | $649,500 |
| Justin Gavri | $288,000 | $622,500 |
| Nik Airball | $274,500 | $424,000 |
| Humboldt Mike | $220,000 | $266,500 |
High Stakes Poker airs on Monday nights at 8:00pm ET, exclusively on PokerGO.
Images Courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO
