On Monday evening, poker's most-beloved show returned to the airwaves as High Stakes Poker launched its Season 14 run. The first episode of Season 14 brought together a stacked lineup with a number of familiar faces, including Andrew Robl, Brandon Steven, and Justin Gavri. The three veterans were outnumbered at the table as Jared Bleznick, Seth Gottlieb, Markus Gonsalves, and Marc Kulick all made their High Stakes Poker debuts.
While he wasn't the lone newcomer at the table, Kulick started the episode as a complete unknown – within the poker world, that is. By the end of the 45-minute runtime, however, he had cemented his place in High Stakes Poker lore by taking down a monster pot in dramatic fashion.
With over a million dollars on the table to kick off the new season – and stakes of $200/$400 – the big pots were bound to come and Kulick was ready to make the most of his moment.
The seven combatants kicking off High Stakes Poker Season 14. (From left to right: Markus Gonsalves, Andrew Robl, Brandon Steven, Seth Gottlieb, Marc Kulick, Jared Bleznick, Justin Gavri)'That's a needle'
While numerous six-figure pots took place throughout the episode, it wasn't until the final hand that the fireworks really popped off. With the $800 straddle in play, Kulick looked down at 
and raised to $2,200 off of his stack of $224,000. Bleznick, next to act and holding 
, put in a three-bet to $6,000 with a covering stack. When the action folded back around to him, Kulick wasted no time in matching the wager and, as the two players awaited the flop, he decided to bet $2,500 in the dark.
As the dealer spread the 
flop, Kulick's betting chips were already gathering dust across the betting line. For Bleznick – having flopped the nut straight – this was surely a welcome sight, but with such a strong hand he needed to build the pot and opted for a raise to $10,000. With his open-ended straight draw, Kulick had a slim path to victory and made a quick call to take the two players to the 
turn. Bleznick kept his foot on the gas pedal, tossing a singular $25,000 cranberry across the betting line, and Kulick quickly called once more.
Marc Kulick came ready to gamble on his High Stakes Poker debut. On the river 
, Kulick's persistence paid off – literally – as he improved to the nut straight. Bleznick, still confident in his hand and unaware of just how bad the river card was for him, bet $50,000 into the $83,800 pot. For the first time in the entire hand, Kulick took his time with his decision before eventually moving all-in over the top for $183,000 total.
Bleznick, clearly unhappy with the situation, asked for a count of the bet and deliberated over his decision. Kulick, meanwhile, reached for his glass of cognac and silently hoped for a call. After a few minutes, Bleznick tossed a singular chip across the betting line for a call, only to hear the bad news as Kulick announced, "I have the nuts."
While Bleznick was still paying off the bet, Gottlieb chimed in with, "I don't want to needle, but I want to ask if you even had a queen?"
"That's a needle," confirmed Steven.
"That was probably the worst beat I've taken...It was the worst beat I've taken in my whole career," Bleznick lamented.
Images Courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO
