High Stakes Poker S8 E14: Award Winners, Dwan & Andress Active in Season Finale

On Wednesday, Season 8 of High Stakes Poker came to an end with the conclusion of Episode 14 on PokerGO.

The $200/$400 no-limit hold’em game was a continuation of last week’s episode and featured the likes of Rick Salomon, Tom Dwan, and Phil Hellmuth, just to name a few.

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During the course of the episode, commentators and Gabe Kaplan and AJ Benza decided to revive a tradition in which they gave their “High Stakes Poker Awards”. Here’s a look at the winners:

• Dario Minieri Award for Most Creative Costume – Rick Salomon w/ Gucci Sexy Sweatshirt + Camo Getup
• Claude Rains Inconspicuous Award – Phil Ivey
• Anti-Sklansky Award (the guy who plays against the book) – Tom Dwan
• Orson Welles Award (finding now bad wine) – Jean-Robert Bellande
• The Phil Hellmuth Award (to the guy who never does anything wrong) – Phil Hellmuth

Tom Dwan vs. Rick Salomon – Cranberries Come Out

In the first hand of the final episode, Jake Daniels raised to $2,100 holding the and Dwan called next to act with the . Salomon then three-bet to $14,000 from the cutoff with the , the button and blinds all folded, and Daniels got out of the way.

Dwan opted to call and the flop came down to give him middle pair with a flush draw. He checked and then called a bet of $20,000 from Salomon, who flopped to pair. Dwan then checked the turn and called when Salomon tossed out a single $25,000 cranberry chip.

When the paired the board on the river, Dwan checked for the third time and Salomon bet $55,000.

“Damn it, Rick,” an anguished Dwan said before hitting the tank. Eventually, he laid it down and Salomon claimed the $177,100 pot. He also got an extra $500 from Dwan, who paid him to peek at his cards.

James Bord vs. John Andress – Flipping for $231K

Dwan straddled to $1,600 under the gun and Salomon called next to act before John Andress raised to $3,200 with the next in line. When action reached James Bord in the small blind, he three-bet all in for $113K holding the and action folded back to Andress, who called.

With $230,800 in the pot, the duo opted to run it twice and the flop on the first made things interesting as Bord made top set but Andress picked up a Broadway draw. The turn made the latter’s draw a moot point as Bord filled up to secure half the pot even before the meaningless was run out on the river.

On the second run out, the flop brought the case jack to give Bord a hammerlock. The turn gave Andress the same Broadway draw, but once again he missed as the appeared on the river.

At that point, the stack sizes were shown for the first time in the episode:

Tom Dwan vs. John Andress – Flopped Set vs. Runner-Runner

Brandon Steven straddled to $1,600 with the and Dwan raised to $5,000 with the in the hijack. Salomon called with the in the cutoff and Andress did the same with the on the button. Both blinds folded and Steven called to make it four-way action to the flop.

Steven checked middle pair, Dwan continued for $5,000, and Salomon folded. Andress just called with his set, Steven came along, and the dealer burned and turned the . Steven checked again and Dwan, who picked up a heart flush draw, fired out a single $25,000 cranberry chip.

Andress once again just called, Steven folded, and the river gave Dwan the flush. Dwan slid out a bunch of chips and Andress, who had what looked like $90,000 or so back (the graphics mistakenly had him listed as having $49,100) thought for a bit before calling off.

On the show, it was listed as a $185,200 pot, but in reality, it was more like $225K give or take. Afterward, Andress rebought for $220,000.

Rick Salomon vs. John Andress – Flopped Full House

Dwan straddled to $1,600 with the and Salomon put on the double straddle with what turned out to be the . Andress then raised to $7,000 next to act with the and action folded back to Dwan, who got out of the way. Salomon opted to call and the flop came down to give Andress a full house.

Salomon check-called a bet of $5,000 with his two pair and then checked the turn. Andress bet $15,000 and Salomon snap-called to see the river. Salomon checked for the third time and Andress bet $50,000. That gave Salomon pause for about 20 seconds before he paid it off, sending a $157,600 pot to Andress.

Last Hand of Season 8

In what would be the final hand of Season 8, Bryn Kenney straddled and Steven called with the . Daniels did the same from the cutoff holding the , Dwan raised the button to $9,000 with the , and Salomon called from the small blind with the .

Kenney opted to call with his , both Steven and Daniels did the same, and there were five players in the hand and $46,600 in the pot headed to the flop, which gave Salomon top set.

Four checks put action on Dwan and he bet $15,000. Salomon smooth-called, Kenney called with his pair, and Steven got out of the way. Daniels called and it was four-way action to the turn. Action checked around and the completed the board on the river.

Salomon bet $45,000, Kenney folded, and Daniels thought for a bit before making the call. Dwan folded and Salomon said, “I’ve got it.”

Indeed he did, and it was good for a pot worth $196,600.

Here’s how the stacks sat at the end of the show:

“We’ll see you next time on High Stakes Poker,” AJ Benza said at the close of the episode, hinting that there will in fact be a Season 9 coming down the pipeline.

_{*Images courtesy of PokerGO.}