March 07 2011, Rich Ryan

In the first episode of High Stakes Poker Season 7, the pro’s and the businessmen butted heads in some massive pots. Vanessa Selbst lost a massive pot when Phil Ruffin flopped a set of threes against her overpair and David Peat drew out on Bill Klein with a pair and a flush draw against Klein’s aces. The action did not slow down in the second episode of the season, especially on the last hand when there was a $600,000 pot played between two pros.

SPOILER ALERT: If you are waiting to watch the HSP episode, read no further.

Here’s how the players were seated and what their stacks looked like to start the episode.

Croak Folds a Flush: In the first hand of the episode, Peat limped in with from early position, Antonio Esfandiari limped behind on the button with and Robert Croak and Ruffin completed in the blinds with and respectively. The flop fell and Croak checked to Ruffin who bet $3,000. Peat, Esfandiari and Croak all called.

The turn was the and all four players checked. The on the river gave Croak a flush, yet Ruffin led for $50,000 into a pot of only $16,000. Action folded to Croak who tanked momentarily before mucking the best hand, and Ruffin triumphantly tabled his straight. Croak admitted he folded a flush and both Esfandiari and Vanessa Selbst were confused as to why.

Peat Trips up Klein: Selbst opened to $2,500 from early position with . Esfandiari called with from the hijack seat, Klein called with from the small blind and Peat protected his big blind with . Klein’s trap was foiled when the flop fell . He checked to Peat who fired $5,000 and the action folded back to Klein who check-raised to $15,000. Peat called.

The turn was the and Klein led for $20,000. Peat quickly called and the fell on the river. Klein led again – this time for $40,000. Peat was never folding but thought about raising for about half a minute before he finally called. Klein opened his kings but they were no good against trip fives and $160,800 was shipped to Peat.

“I didn’t want to take from charity.” Peat explained when his tablemates asked why he didn’t raise.

“It’s called being a nit,” Selbst needled.

Hero Call?: David Peat straddled for $1,600 and Barry Greenstein opened to $5,100 with . Ruffin called with from the small blind and Peat defended his straddle with . The dealer flopped and the action checked to Greenstein who continued for $8,000. Ruffin released and Peat made the call.

Both players checked the on the turn, and after the rivered Peat led for a measly $2,000. Greenstein promptly raised to $20,000 and Peat called even quicker. The Robin Hood of poker rolled over his hand to show he had trip kings and Peat mucked his hand looking utterly confused.

Klein Gets Tricky: Bill Klein started the action by limping with , and Peat raised to $3,500 right behind him with . Selbst called with , Ruffin defended his big blind with and Klein called, as well. The flop was and the action checked to Peat who continued for $8,000. Selbst folded, Ruffin called, and Klein surprisingly raised to $23,000. The action was on Peat and Ruffin tried to call, which led Peat to fold. Ruffin then called and the turn brought the . Both players checked. The river was the and Ruffin checked again. Klein bet $29,000 into $69,200, and Ruffin immediately folded.

High Stakes Legends: This week’s edition of High Stakes Legends profiled Benny Binion. Binion of course opened the famed Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, which hosted the World Series of Poker for over 30 years. The Horseshoe played host to huge cash games, as well, attracting the best players in the world to the property.

Oops: Ruffin limped in with and Peat tried to isolate him by raising to $3,500 with . The remaining players folded, Ruffin called and the flop fell . Ruffin led for $5,000 and Peat called.

“Obviously he has larceny in mind,” host Norm Macdonald commented.

The turn was the and Ruffin quickly bet $20,000 into a $19,000 pot. Peat stuck to his guns, however, raising to $50,000. Ruffin snap-called. The river was the and Ruffin slowed down, checking to Peat who fired one more bullet worth $100,000. Ruffin called and Peat sheepishly turned over the bluff.

Kara Scott asked Ruffin whether or not he thought Peat could’ve had him beat and Ruffin responded, “Nope, he could’ve had anything. I had $600,000 and it was about $100,000 so it was an easy call.”

Run It Once: Antonio Esfandiari opened to $2,500 with from under the gun, Ruffin called with , Peat called with , Selbst called with and Greenstein defended his big blind with .

The flop: – Whammy!

Selbst and Greenstein checked to Esfandiari who continued for $6,200. Peat called with just a pair of sixes and the action folded back to Greenstein who check-raised to $30,000. Esfandiari put in a third bet worth $106,000, Peat got out of the way and Greenstein moved all in.

“Once or twice?” Esfandiari asked, pushing his stack in the middle.

The $593,900 pot was the biggest of the season and Greenstein always runs it once, making this hand even more sick. The spiked on the turn to give Esfandiari a leading flush, but if the board paired then Greenstein would re-suck and take the pot. The bricked on the river however and Esfandiari scooped the monster pot.

The action has been fast and furious this season, and Andrew Robl will join the table on next week’s episode. If the teaser trailer is any indication, there is going to be ever more action and more all-ins than this past week.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

March 14 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

On Friday, an announcement of an upcoming announcement was released regarding a high-stakes poker tour from Full Tilt Poker. The poker community was on pins and needles waiting for the announcement which came on Monday, March 14 at 13:00 EST.

Full Tilt Poker announced the Onyx Cup. A tournament series with buy-ins from $100,000 to $300,000, with an estimated $30 million prize pool across the entire series. There will be five preliminary events, culminating in a $250,000 buy-in Grand Finale that will see $1 million added to the prize pool.

The top three finishers in each event will earn points toward the Onyx Cup leaderboard. At the end of the Grand Finale, the person with the most points at the top of the leaderboard will earn the title of Onyx Cup Champion, and will be presented with the Onyx Cup, get a luxury sports car, and be acknowledged as “the player that conquered poker’s elite.”

Onyx Cup events will take place in the United States, Europe, and Asia and will be broadcast in 20 different languages across 40 countries. Qualifiers will begin on March 15 on Full Tilt Poker.

The announcement of the Onyx Cup came in the form of a video, hosted by Ali Nejad. He was joined by Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, Erik Seidel, and Tom Dwan to discuss the new event.

“It’s not just about the money in this event,” Ivey said. “It’s more about playing with the caliber of players that we’re going to be up against. You know, playing against the best players, and a lot of these guys here at the table are my friends and we’re friendly but we’re also super competitive against each other. There’s going to be a lot of pride that comes along with winning this event.”

When asked whether the event was a surprise to them or only just a matter of time with the way buy-ins have been increasing, Seidel said, “I do think it’s a natural progression because there’s so much money around and people are playing for such high stakes that it was inevitable. I think Full Tilt Poker was the only online organization that could pull this off because they have all the best players in the world.”

The first Onyx Cup event will be held in Las Vegas on May 11 and will feature a bevy of poker’s elite, including Team Full Tilt members, Howard Lederer, Erik Seidel, Chris Ferguson, Erick Lindgren, John Juanda, and more.

For your chance to qualify, sign up for a Full Tilt Poker account. Also, remember to follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.