Season 14 of High Stakes Poker continued Monday evening with a new crop of players taking to the PokerGO Studio for more $200/$400 action. Alan Keating – a fan favorite known for his unpredictable and volatile style of play – headlined a table filled out with High Stakes Poker debutants, all of whom he covered with his $500,000 stack.
Ryan Feldman, producer and co-owner of Hustler Casino Live, brought several of his regular players to the High Stakes Poker felt for the first time, including Peter Wang, David Phan, Britney Wang, and Steve Swedlow. Following his unforgettable debut earlier in the season, Marc Kulick stuck around to continue his role as the harbinger of bad beats.
The latest episode of High Stakes Poker saw a crop of fresh faces take to the table. (From left to right: Marc Kulick, David Phan, Ryan Feldman, Steve Swedlow, Peter Wang, Alan Keating, Britney Wang)Feldman's nickels no match for Peter's cowboys
It didn't take long for the Hustler Casino Live newcomers to find their footing as the pre-flop action early in the episode saw multiple three-bet and four-bet pots reach six-figure territory. Peter, in particular, pushed the envelope with his aggressive style and showed no fear whatsoever – a tactic which may have led Feldman to misstep at the wrong time with a small pocket pair.
It all started with a $400 limp from Phan in the UTG position with 
, which in turn lead Peter to raise to $1,400 with 
. Britney, next to act, called the $1,400 with 
before Keating came in for a three-bet to $9,000 with 
on the button. Feldman looked down at 
in the small blind and decided to lay the hammer down with a four-bet to $24,000. The blow was ill-timed, however, as Peter had the goods and fired out a five-bet to $68,000, clearing out all the players behind him. With only $102,000 remaining after the four-bet, Feldman felt priced in to spin the wheel and moved all-in over the top.
Peter quickly called, which prompted Feldman to ask, "Twice?"
"One or three," came the reply from Peter.
Peter Wang gave Ryan Feldman the choice between one or three runouts. Before seeing Peter's cards, Feldman opted for a singular runout and, upon the reveal, stuck to his guns when offered a chance to change his mind. With $263,400 in the middle, Feldman was drawing at the lone remaining five in the deck, but the 
runout kept Peter's cowboys best and led the Hustler Casino Live boss to reach for reload chips.
Everyone loves a chopped pot!
After running into Peter's cowboy-buzzsaw, Feldman took his shot at redemption in the final hand of the episode. With Keating's $2,000 double straddle in play, Feldman opted to limp in from UTG with 
before Swedlow looked down at 
and raised to $17,000 from the small blind. Peter, in the big blind, found 
and, showing no fear, three-bet to $47,000. Britney relinquished her cards from the $800 straddle and Keating followed suit from the $2,000 straddle. With the action back on him, Feldman wasted little time in announcing his all-in.
As Feldman slid his $104,000 across the betting line, Swedlow moved all-in over the top to chase Peter out of the pot. With $258,600 in the middle, the two players debated the number of boards as Feldman pushed to run it twice. Swedlow, a one-time kind of guy, told the table, "I've never done it more than once." Despite that, he allowed Feldman to use his allotted one-time request for two full boards.
"I'm probably going to regret it, but it's okay," said Feldman.
Steve Swedlow usually goes once, but made an exception for Feldman this time. If there was any doubt about Feldman winning the first runout, it was all dispelled by the jinx he cast upon himself with that statement. When dealing with the poker gods, tempting fate isn't the best idea and Feldman learned that lesson the hard way as the first board came down 
to improve him to the nut flush. Swedlow, on the other hand, was ecstatic with his decision to break protocol and offer his opponent the option of two boards.
"God, one time!" cried Feldman as he rued his decision to run it twice.
"I'm so happy already," Swedlow said.
On the second board, Swedlow's pocket pair held up as the dealer spread the 
runout to confirm the chopped pot.
Images Courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO
