It’s back! After The Big Game on Tour returned to your screens earlier this year, the second installment of five episodes got underway this weekend and we’re here to tell you about everything you missed from the first episode.
The players in the second five-episode run of The Big Game on Tour are:
- Sam Grafton
- Maria Ho
- Phil Laak
- Michael Ian Black — Actor & Comedian
- Dave Krosky — Las Vegas Entrepreneur
- Lily Newhouse — Loose Cannon
1. Meet the NEW Loose Cannon
Move aside Nikki Limo, it’s Lily Newhouse’s turn as the Loose Cannon. After winning a single-table Sit & Go and impressing in the audition, Newhouse now receives $50,000 and has to survive 150 hands at the table with five other competitors.
She called her time as the Loose Cannon “probably the coolest thing that has happened to me” and told the judging panel, including former Loose Cannon Nadya Magnus, that she fell in love in 2008 thanks to its capacity for infinite learning opportunities.
“I’m here to trust myself, to play my game and to see how everything shakes out”
“I think Lily can talk anybody’s ear off,” said Magnus. “And I think she’s going to talk them into calling or folding, whatever it is she wants them to do. I think she’s just that kind of person.”
“I’m here to trust myself, to play my game and to see how everything shakes out,” said Newhouse. “I think I’m winning just from being here.”
But will she win at the tables? It’s time for the action to get underway!
2. Swingy Start for Ho
While last time Alan Keating bought in for $250,000 — five times the minimum — this time around everyone bought in for just $50,000. However, one player was quickly getting their hand in their pocket after getting felted in only the second hand of the game.
The player was Maria Ho who lost set over set against Michael Ian Black in a $100,000 pot. Four players saw a flop of 9♠5♣2♠ with Ho 5♥5♦ and Black 9♥9♣ flopping sets.
Dave Krosky bet $2,000 and Black called. Ho check-raised to $7,000 and when it got back to Black he re-raised to $20,000.
Ho called and the turn was the J♥. Ho check-called Black’s jam for $28,900 and was shown the bad news. The pair ran it twice with Black scooping on the K♥ and 4♣ runout.
“For the rest of my life I will be able to say I won a $100,000 pot against Maria Ho,” said Black.
Then, only a few hands later, Ho opened 10♦10♣ from under the gun and called a three-bet from Phil Laak with A♣Q♠. Ho check-called $1,200 on the K♠J♠10♥ flop which had given Laak a straight, with the turn J♣ improving her to a full house.
Ho check-called $2,300 and then bet $7,000 on the 8♣ river. Laak paid her off and she won some back to cap off a swingy start.
Michael Ian Black’s “Televised Freakout” as The Big Game on Tour Returns
3. Cannon Down Early
It was a crazy start for everyone, with Loose Cannon Newhouse also in action early in only the third hand of the game.
She opened A♠K♠ and Sam Grafton J♠J♣ called in the cutoff. On the A♣J♥6♦ flop, Newhouse continued for $800 and called a raise from Grafton to $3,000.
She check-called $9,000 on the 10♣ turn and $22,000 on the A♦ river after she improved to trips. However, Grafton had rivered a boat and took most of Newhouse’s chips to leave her with just $14,000.
“It was an intense situation,” Newhouse said afterwards. ” I think a different player it’s an easier fold, but in the moment I did the best I could and I have to live with the result.”
4. “Furniture Dave” an Interesting Character
Described as a Las Vegas Entrepreneur, Dave Krosky told the show he sells office chairs online.
“It’s been quite a journey from having boxes stacked up in my loft,” he said. “Now we’re in a fairly sizeable distribution facility. I don’t have a ton of experience sitting at a poker table.
“I’ve gotta be a little bit insane to play in this game. I am going against a bunch of pros, but regardless of their hours and hours of play I think I can handle 150 hands with them. I hope I’m not wrong!”
He was an entertaining addition to the show, opening widely and chasing draws. He tussled with Phil Laak on two separate occasions — first trying to bluff him off top pair and then contemplating calling an all in against Laak with just a pair of fours, prompting commentators to speculate that Laak was tilted by Krosky.
Will we see more of the same from the “second” Loose Cannon in future episodes?
5. Different Vibe to Previous Episodes
And it was the inclusion of Krosky that contributed to a very different vibe to this episode of the BIg Game on Tour to previous episodes involving the likes of Phil Hellmuth and Lex Veldhuis. The early stages are always about feeling each other out, but the banter was evident from the start, led by Michael Ian Black and Dave Krosky.
This was, obviously, helped that Black was the big winner in the opening episode, and ending the episode up almost $70,000.
After the clash with Ho, Black has more than doubled his starting stack with Grafton the only other player in profit. Laak, Grafton and Ho have also added on $50,000 from the original stack they started with.
Standings After Episode 1
| Rank | Player | Profit/Loss | Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Ian Black | $69,100 | $119,100 |
| 2 | Sam Grafton | $25,800 | $75,800 |
| 3 | Phil Laak | -$9,200 | $90,800 |
| 4 | Dave Krosky | -$23,200 | $26,800 |
| 5 | Lily Newhouse | -$29,000 | $21,000 |
| 6 | Maria Ho | -$33,500 | $66,500 |
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