Season 9 of High Stakes Poker is dropping on PokerGO today. Ahead of the first episode's release, Phil Ivey did an interview promoting the season, of which he is one of the major draws.
Ivey teased the star-studded lineup. When asked who his favorite opponents to play with were, Ivey replied: “These guys right here today. Patrik [Antonius], Daniel [Negreanu], Tom [Dwan], Doyle [Brunson], all of those guys. I’m really looking forward to the show.”
If that lineup isn't worth the price of admission, Mori Eskandani, the President of PokerGO, has also been hyping up Season 9, describing it as the "best season yet."
Eskandani explained: “In addition to the star-studded lineups, fans will be pleased to see a revamped set that aims to capture the traditional authenticity of this legendary show and the return of $50,000 bricks of cash on the table. Starting February 21, every Monday isn’t just poker night, it’s High Stakes Poker night.”
The old-school players and old-school aesthetic doesn't guarantee that old-school magic, but it's certainly giving the show an excellent shot at a solid recapture.
Easing into it
Ivey has talked a little about struggling with balance in his life in previous interviews. Ivey was known for doing almost nothing but poker for decades frequently playing for several days straight, sleeping it off, then diving straight back into the game. More recently he says he has tried to avoid the monomania of those early years, trying to be more available to family and friends.
Even so, he sounds excited to get back to it on HSP.
“I still love to play poker,” Ivey explained. “I just still love to play, I don’t really have to be driven to it. They asked me to play, and I’m in town, so here I am.”
It certainly wasn't because of the time Brad Booth bluffed him off a huge pot on one classic episode of HSP. “Poker is poker," Ivey said, when asked about the hand. "You’re going to get bluffed in some big ones and you’re going to bluff some big ones, and that’s just the way it is. Sometimes you get the best of people and sometimes they get the best of you. That’s what makes poker such an amazing game.”
This evening, we'll get to see if he's the bluffer or the bluffee.
You can watch the current (and all past) seasons of High Stakes Poker on PokerGO.
Featured image source: PokerGO
