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High Stakes Poker Season 14’s opener featured a barrage of coolers and a gross river card that cost Jared Bleznick a $450,000 pot.
The sports card hobbyist and poker star was among seven players in the $200/$400 no-limit hold’em cash game, which aired Monday night on PokerGO. Things started off wonderfully for Bleznick, who earned an early double with pocket aces, but it ended with a brutal bad beat.
Seth Gottlieb, Brandon Steven, Andrew Robl, Justin Gavri, Marc Kulick, and Markus Gonsalves were also in the game, and every player at the table made their presence felt in some way during Episode 1. Stack sizes at the start of play were as follows:
| Player | Chip Stack |
|---|---|
| Seth Gottlieb | $250,000 |
| Andrew Robl | $150,000 |
| Brandon Steven | $150,000 |
| Jared Bleznick | $150,000 |
| Marc Kulick | $125,000 |
| Markus Gonsalves | $100,000 |
| Justin Gavri | $100,000 |
The Blez Gets Aces
The new season began with Steven, a high-stakes regular and car dealership owner from Kansas, three-betting preflop with ace-king and then continuing on the flop and turn without hitting a pair. Robl, who flopped a double-gutter folded seven-high on the turn and let his opponent take down the first pot of the game.
Bleznick, a 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, would then raise a straddled pot to $4,000 from the button with A♥A♦. Robl, from the straddle, picked the wrong time to jam all in with A♠Q♣ for $139,000 because the original raiser had the best possible preflop hand in no-limit hold’em. It took “Blez” no time to call it off with the pocket rockets.
“Nice hand, Jared,” Robl said as he turned over his inferior cards.
Robl would get a bit of help on the Q♦5♥10♥ flop. But the J♣ on the turn and 8♣ on the river were of no help, which meant Bleznick scooped the entire $279,200 pot early in the session.
Andrew Robl Gets a Generous River Card to Win Massive Pot on ‘High Stakes Poker’
Kulick Gets Robl
Robl’s timing was off a few times during Episode 1. The mistimed shove against Bleznick wasn’t the only time he found himself in a tough situation. He’d face a cooler shortly after against Kulick.
The hand began with Kulick raising from an early position to $2,000 with Q♣J♥. Robl came along for the ride in the straddle with the 8♥7♥ suited connector. Both players found some interest in the 8♣10♣2♠ flop.
Robl checked and then called a bet of $3,500 with the best hand. But the 9♦ on the turn gave his opponent the nuts. Kulick, following another check, bet $6,500 and again received a call. The 8♠ on the river was a bit of a cooler for Robl, who checked one last time and then faced a $16,500 wager. He couldn’t get away from trips but found out he was up against a straight after Kulick turned over his winning cards.
Bleznick would then win another moderate-sized pot with pocket queens after flopping a set. He would check the flop and turn to set the trap, which Kulick would oblige on the turn with a $22,000 bet chasing a two-way straight draw. The straight didn’t come through on the river and Bleznick couldn’t trick his opponent with a check into making one last bet, however.
Robl would get his chips back from Kulick, a real estate investor, in a $248,000 pot with trip queens against two pair, and it was the biggest pot of the day the high roller legend would win.
Two Coolers to Close it Out
Gottlieb found a sneaky way to play A♥A♣ in one of the biggest pots of the night. He raised to $2,200 and received a call from Kulick and his 7♠6♠. Steven, holding A♠K♠, then went for a three-bet to $10,700 and Gottlieb just called with the pocket aces, as did Kulick.
The flop came out K♣5♥7♦, something for everyone. Steven, who had no reason to believe his top pair and top kicker wasn’t good, bet out $14,000. But he’d face a raise to $32,000 from the under-repped Gottlieb. That forced Kulick out of the way, but Steven came back over the top to $77,000 only to hear his opponent declare “all in.”
Steven had to call off another $61,400 given the pot odds. He’d get no help from the turn or river in either of the two runouts and lost a $349,900 pot, the second largest of the episode.
The biggest pot of the season opener was the final hand, and it started with Kulick raising from late position to $2,200 with A♦Q♠. Bleznick, on the button, three-bet to $6,000 with K♣Q♣, and the original raiser made the call.
Kulick announced a $2,500 bet in the dark before any community cards were revealed. The flop would then come out and it showed 10♦9♣J♥, giving Bleznick the nuts. He’d raise to $10,000 and get snap-called from an open-ended straight draw.
The 7♦ on the turn made four-to-a-straight on the board but didn’t change either player’s hand. Kulick, still chasing a straight, checked and then called a $25,000 bet. He’d hit his straight when the K♠ appeared on the river, and his straight was superior to that of Bleznick’s.
Kulick decided to slowplay the nuts with a check, hoping to set the trap. Bleznick would come through for him, betting $50,000 with the weaker straight. That gave Kulick an opportunity to move all in for $183,000 total.
Bleznick didn’t snap-call and appeared to sense his hand was beat, but he couldn’t find a fold and called it off. Kulick ended Episode 1 by taking down a $450,400 pot on a bad beat.
To watch past episodes of High Stakes Poker, visit PokerGO.
*Images courtesy of PokerGO/Antonio Abrego