In a recent episode of the Poker in the Ears podcast, Belgian poker pro and PokerStars Ambassador Kenny Hallaert joined James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton for a chat about his new and innovative role for the Spadie brand.
Hallaert highlighted some of the key issues he's eager to address in his new role, where he looks to make live poker a safer ground for new and recreational poker players
Mike Watson opened to 3,500 from early position. Sam Greenwood called from the hijack before Sven Andersson reraised to 11,500 from the button. Jean-Noel Thorel called in the small blind, Watson folded and Greenwood called.
The flop of 7?A?3? flop was checked around to Andersson who fired a bet of 7,500. Thorel called and Greenwood folded.
The 9? turn was checked around before Thorel fired 10,000 on the 4? river. Andersson mucked and Thorel took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
175,000
-25,000
|
-25,000 |
|
||
|
110,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
|
||
|
75,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
30,000
-15,000
|
-15,000 |
Vladimir Korzinin opened from under the gun to 3,000. Harvey Jackson called in the hijack before Jeremie Zouari made it 11,500 from the big blind.
Both players made the call. Zouari led for 7,500 on the J?8?K? flop. Korzinin made the call before Jackson made it 20,000. Zouari deployed a time bank before making the call and Korzinin also flicked in calling chips.
Both Zouari and Korzinin checked to Jackson on the 6? turn, prompting him to wager 35,000. Zouari and Korzinin folded leaving Jackson with the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
125,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
95,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
|
75,000 |
Jeremie Zouari opened to 1,500 from under the gun. Sven Andersson called in early position before Tom Vogelsang made it 9,000 from the hijack. Zouari called and Andersson folded.
Zouari checked the 10?9?8? flop which prompted Vogelsang to bet 7,500. Zouari called. The 6? turn brought a four liner to a straight and an additional flush draw. Both players checked. Zouari checked again before Vogelsang reluctantly palmed the table to show down on the 5? river. Zouari tabled 2?2? which was good enough to take the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
120,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
|
110,000
-15,000
|
-15,000 |
|
|
45,000
-18,500
|
-18,500 |
Level: 3
Blinds: 1,000/1,500
Ante: 1,500
Action was picked up on the river of 8?4?8?K?3? where Vladimir Korzinin had bet 5,500. Niklas Astedt made it 25,000 from the big blind. Seth Davies deployed a time bank from the cutoff before finding the fold.
Korzinin took most of the allotted 30 seconds before relinquishing his hand to the muck, leaving Astedt with the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
120,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
|
100,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
|
|
75,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
Action folded around to Jules Dickerson who opened to 3,000 from the button. Dean Lyall called in the big blind.
The 8?A?9? flop was checked around, as was the Q? turn. Lyall led on the J? river for 2,500. Dickerson took a moment before making the call. Lyall tabled A?2? for top pair and took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
75,000
-15,000
|
-15,000 |
|
70,000
-25,000
|
-25,000 |
Tom Vogelsang opened from the cutoff to 2,500. Mike Watson called on the button and Sven Andersson defended the big blind.
The 5?6?4? flop was checked around, as was the 10? turn. Andersson checked once more which prompted Vogelsang to fire for 3,000 on the 10? river. Watson made the call and Andersson folded. Watson tabled K?5? for two pair and Vogelsang mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
125,000 | |
|
|
120,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
63,500
-586,500
|
-586,500 |
It's official. After its return in 2023 following a 12-year hiatus, PokerStars has confirmed that The Big Game on Tour is back again this year, with more episodes to be filmed at the NAPT Las Vegas festival.
Ten episodes of the show were filmed last year, with the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Maria Ho, Lex Veldhuis and Sam Grafton all taking part. The show features a lucky Loose Cannon who receives $50,000 and has to survive 150 hands playing $50/$100 with a table of poker pros, ambassadors, and celebrities.
PokerNews spoke with Big Game on Tour judge and commentator James Hartigan ahead of the show's return, and he says he's thrilled the show is back.
Level: 2
Blinds: 500/1,000
Ante: 1,000
