Did Phil Hellmuth redeem himself on High Stakes Poker?

Did Phil Hellmuth redeem himself on High Stakes Poker?
Poker writer Geoff Fisk profile photo
Geoff Fisk
Posted on: March 11, 2021 13:05 PST

Up and down night for the poker legend in the latest High Stakes Poker episode

Last week on High Stakes Poker, Phil Hellmuth sat on the wrong end of what was perhaps the greatest fold in the history of the show. This week’s episode resumes immediately after that hand for the ages, with Doug Polk’s big laydown against Hellmuth still the talk of the table.

Polk departs before the end of Season 8 Episode 13, which went live on PokerGO Wednesday night. The 15-time WSOP bracelet-winning Hellmuth sticks around through the entire episode, however, and finds himself in a tricky calling position on a couple of occasions.

The penultimate Season 8 episode continued with the same player lineup from last week, beginning with Hellmuth, Polk, Tom Dwan, and Bryn Kenney among the combatants. Rick Salomon replaces Polk midway through the episode, which featured plenty of big pots.

Did the “Poker Brat” find redemption on this week’s episode?

Hellmuth makes two big river calls on Wednesday’s High Stakes Poker episode, with the first coming against Jake Daniels.

The hand begins with the stakes at $200/$400 and James Bord raising to $1,100 with 7♣6❤️. Daniels calls with K♠J❤️, and Hellmuth calls in the big blind with 7♠4♠.

The flop comes 8♠9♠7♦️, giving Hellmuth bottom pair plus a flush draw. Hellmuth checks, Bord bets $2,000, and Daniels calls. Hellmuth then raises to $5,000, Bord folds, and Daniels makes the call.

Players at the table are still discussing Polk’s big fold from last week when the Q♠ hits the turn, completing a flush for Hellmuth. Hellmuth checks, Daniels bets $7,100, and Hellmuth snap calls.

The 2❤️ comes in on the river, and Hellmuth leads out for $14,000. Daniels chooses to bluff, raising to $57,000 with just king-high.

Daniels’ move sends Hellmuth into the tank for several minutes. Daniels eventually calls the clock, and just before that countdown expires Hellmuth makes the call. The winning call pushed the $144,000 pot to Hellmuth.

Hellmuth hero call goes wrong against Bord

Another big call later in the episode leads to a mini-blowup from Hellmuth. The blinds have increased to $400/$800 by then, and the hand begins with Hellmuth limping under the gun with A♠J♠.

Bord raises to $2,600 with A♣Q❤️, and Salomon calls with A♦️4♣. Kenney calls from the big blind with 9♠9♦️, and Hellmuth makes the call to send four players to the flop.

That flop falls K♣7♣T♣, and all four players check. The turn comes J♦️, Kenney checks, and Hellmuth bets $7,000. Bord, who’s turned the nut straight at that point, calls, and the remaining two opponents fold.

Hellmuth bets again on the 3♠ river, putting $9,000 more into the pot. Bord raises to $33,000, and after contemplating for a couple of minutes, Hellmuth makes the call. The hero call wasn’t the right one, and Bord collects the $91,600 pot.

Next week’s High Stakes Poker episode marks the final chapter of Season 8. The show airs on PokerGO each Wednesday, and Episode 14 continues with the same player lineup we saw in this week’s episode.

Featured image source: PokerGO