Jeff Haney previews the upcoming third season of 'High Stakes Poker'
by Jeff Haney
Almost a year to the day after its debut, "High
Stakes Poker" will begin its third season of shows at 9 p.m.
Monday on GSN (Cox cable channel 344).
The program portrays some of poker's top players competing,
by invitation only, in a no-limit Texas hold 'em cash game with a
minimum buy-in of $100,000.
The show has emerged as a hit among fans as well as
professional poker players, who are drawn by the more subtle strategy
inherent in a high-stakes cash game, as opposed to the usual TV format
of a tournament, coordinating producer Mori Eskandani said.
"The pros can't get enough of it," Eskandani,
a former poker pro, said.
Footage for the 13-week third season of "High Stakes
Poker" was shot during two days of extended play on a specially
con structed - and tightly secured, given the amount of money on hand
- set in October at South Point .
Many players opted to buy in for more than the $100,000
minimum, so it was common for more than $4 million - in the form of
live casino chips and bundled stacks of $100 bills - to be sitting
on the table at any given time, Eskandani said.
The two previous go-rounds of "High Stakes Poker"
were also filmed in Las Vegas. Season 1, which began airing last January,
was shot at the Golden Nugget. Season 2, which ran for 16 weeks starting
in June, was shot at the Palms.
As in previous versions of the show, players in Season
3 posted "blinds," or forced bets, of $300 and $600 along
with an ante of $100 to get the action going. Players who bust out,
or lose all their chips, were permitted to make one "short"
buy of $50,000 (or more) if they wanted to continue playing. As in
a casino poker game, players were allowed to take breaks at will and
cash out at any time.
Regular viewers will notice one difference in Season
3. Producers asked the players to refrain from engaging in so-called
"props," or proposition wagers - meaning side bets among
themselves on what community cards would be dealt. Although betting
on props is common in big casino poker games, in Season 2 of "High
Stakes Poker," players could be heard chattering about the results
of prop bets, which some viewers might have found distracting.
The cast of Season 3 will feature "High Stakes
Poker" veterans such as Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Shawn
Sheikhan and Mike Matusow, along with newcomers such as reigning World
Series of Poker champ Jamie Gold, World Series finalist Paul Wasicka,
Internet poker star Brian Townsend and Bill Chen, co-author of the
book "The Mathematics of Poker."
Established poker stars Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
and Phil Ivey also make their first appearances on "High Stakes
Poker" this season.
Gabe Kaplan, the series' on-air analyst along with host
A.J. Benza, makes a surprise entrance onto the set during the second
episode. One of the players in the game volunteers to relinquish his
seat, and Kaplan sits down to take on the game's elite with his own
money. An accomplished poker player and investor, Kaplan is best known
for his starring role on "Welcome Back, Kotter" and for
a classic, if brief, interview with Stu Ungar after Ungar's 1997 World
Series of Poker victory. After a poignant conversation in which the
troubled Ungar says he hopes to turn his life around, just before
the ESPN footage fades to black, Kaplan cracks: "Can I get that
$300 you borrowed from me about six years ago?"
Gold, who won the $12 million top prize at last year's
World Series, figures to be a draw on "High Stakes Poker,"
as viewers tune in to find out if he can reprise his successful run
at the Rio. Show executives do not reveal the game's big winners and
losers beforehand, nor do the players. Eskandani did say Gold was
feeling confident enough to ask for more playing time in the high-stakes
cash game at South Point after his scheduled allotment had expired.
As a teaser for the Season 3 premiere, at 8 p.m. Monday
GSN will air a one-hour special in which Kaplan and Benza recap the
best moments from the first two seasons.
"High Stakes Poker" podcasts, featuring interviews
in which the players discuss their strategies in the big game, will
be available on Apple's iTunes.