All you need to know about High Stakes Poker return

High Stakes Poker is making a return after 9 years with a brand new season. First episode will premiere on December 16 at 8pm ET (2am CET) on streaming platform PokerGO.

Details are still scarce, from short videos, teasers, cryptic posts, so here’s all the information about Season 8 so far and we’ll update this page along the way.

Lineup

From Tom Dwan’s video that he posted on Twitter and from Jean-Robert Bellande livestream we can confirm several players: Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Brandon Adams, Ben Lamb, Jason Koon, Jean-Robert Bellande, Bryn Kenney, Rick Solomon, John Andress and more.

The set

High Stakes Poker set looks a bit different (and better if we may say) from the usual shows they produce. It looks like a modern twist of the old HSP set, but we’re not sure if fully catches its spirit. You be the judge.

There’s one thing that it’s really missing and something we won’t be able to forgive. There are no cash bricks to be seen from the short durrrr’s videos.

It might sound a bit childish, but if true the absence of cash money at the tables is a big oversight from the team making the new episodes. Watching Dwan grabbing the whole brick, putting it in the middle of a table with a blank stare is what made High Stakes Poker feel special.

COVID-19 concerns

Players are seen playing without masks and there’s no plexiglass at the tables, which raised quite some eyebrows, and rightfully so, with the current state of COVID-19 in US (and all around the world for that matter).

But according to Brandon Adams’ tweets, players have actually been put in some sort of a bubble. The exact protocol is not known at the moment, however only the dealers are wearing a mask and a visor at the table.

Commentary

What we find interesting is that there were several mentions and tags of Gabe Kaplan on twitter, but no reply from either PokerGO, Poker Central or the man itself that Gabe is NOT part of the show.

And you need to understand that everything you don’t say on twitter, conveys information. Therefor we expect Kaplan to be back in the commentary booth! If nothing else, at least for a nostalgia factor. Probably alongside Nick Schulman and Ali Nejad.

History of High Stakes Poker

HSP TV show aired between 2006-2011 on Game Show Network. The first 6 seasons were hosted by Gabe Kaplan and A.J. Benza, while Norm Macdonald took over the Season 7.

Poker Central announced on February 4, 2020 that it acquired High Stakes Poker brand and assets and hinted on releasing new episodes in the near future.

Show produced some of the biggest cash game pots ever. Watch some of the best hands from Season 3 down below.

Photo credit: PokerGO