High Stakes Poker Reviewed: Sam Farha Joins Game, Time to 'Raisy-Daisy'

Copy link Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Dec 13, 2018 2 min read

The popular show High Stakes Poker debuted in early 2006, with the first season lasting 13 episodes. Throughout the show's run, episodes were culled from multi-day sessions, so often the same players would be sitting around the table from week to week, although new players were frequently rotated in to change the makeup of the game.

Years later the shows remain highly entertaining, and can even be educational. For new poker players they introduce the game while illustrating many strategic concepts, while those with experience can watch and recognize how certain strategies have evolved over the years since the shows aired.

The previous episode ended with Barry Greenstein losing a nearly $200K pot to Doyle Brunson, and this one begins with the pair getting involved in another big one right off the top. Then four new players join the game — Todd Brunson, Sean Sheikhan, Eli Elezra, and Sam Farha — with Farha immediately showing a lot of aggression with frequent raises and bluffs.

"There's a lot going on under the surface," Gabe Kaplan notes in the opening. "If you want to really enjoy the show, see if you can figure out what some of the players are doing and why they're doing it."

High Stakes Poker: Season 1, Episode 3

Strategic Concepts

• effective stack — Daniel Negreanu appears to bet $1 million into a $21K pot, but his lone opponent Greenstein only has about $86K behind, which is the "effective stack" in the situation — 9:00 mark
• suited-gappers — Negreanu stretches the definition by raising with 7♠3♠, a hand with flush and (barely) straight potential — 25:00 mark
• value bet — Jennifer Harman flops a set versus Farha's top pair, top kicker, and after Elezra bets and Farha raises, Harman reraise-shoves in an attempt to get value (but is the bet too big?) — 28:00 mark

Big Hand Alert

• Negreanu and Greenstein get all the latter's chips in the middle on the flop as they battle for a $203,800 pot — 9:00 mark

Follow on

• Tags cash game strategy no-limit hold’em effective stacks suited gappers value betting High Stakes Poker Daniel Negreanu Doyle Brunson Jerry Buss Barry Greenstein Jennifer Harman Sam Farha Eli Elezra Shawn Sheikhan Todd Brunson
• Related Players Daniel NegreanuBarry GreensteinDoyle BrunsonTodd BrunsonEli ElezraSam Farha