High Stakes Poker Season 13 Goes Out with a Bang

Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

Oct 28, 2024 5 min read

Elamawy Starts with Aces
Cooler Flop Between Wealthy Investors
Perfect River Card Helps Nik Airball Event When it Doesn't
Tilly Needs Some Help
Past High Stakes Poker Season 13 Episode Recaps

The Season 13 finale of High Stakes Poker — Episode 12 — aired on PokerGO Monday night, and it was packed with some big bluffs, a plethora of pocket aces, and a Hollywood actress in desperate need of some help on the river.

Phil Hellmuth, who made his season debut last week, was back in action competing in the $200/$400 no-limit hold'em cash game. But the "Poker Brat" was silenced by a lack of hitting any quality cards. Jennifer Tilly, however, played some monster pots, as did Sameh Elamawy, the star of Season 13. And Nik Airball pulled off a solid bluff at a table that also included high roller Andrew Robl and wealthy entrepreneurs Stanley Tang, Chamath Palihapitiya, and Jeff Housenbold.

Starting stack sizes when the second episode with this group of players began were as follows:

Player	Chip Stack
Sameh Elamawy	$523,100
Andrew Robl	$501,500
Stanley Tang	$202,000
Jennifer Tilly	$200,100
Nik Airball	$162,400
Phil Hellmuth	$101,900
Chamath Palihapitiya	$66,100
Jeff Housenbold	$56,900

Elamawy Starts with Aces

Sameh Elamawy Scratch CEO — Sameh Elamawy

It's always nice to pick up pocket aces right off the bat, and that is exactly what Elamawy did on the Season 13 finale. The opening hand of Episode 12 began with Housenbold limping with J?9? and Hellmuth doing the same with A?4?.

Elamawy, in the big blind, had A?A? and wasn't about to just call. The CEO of Scratch made it $3,500 to go and he got some action from Housenbold. The flop came out 8?9?6?, both players liked what they saw.

The preflop raiser led for $6,000 and received a call before the action-killing 10? on the turn brought about four cards to a straight. Both players checked and then the 10? paired the board on the river. They again checked the last card and pocket aces was good enough to take down a $46,300 pot to start off the show.

Cooler Flop Between Wealthy Investors

Elamawy opened the show by winning a decent pot with pocket aces. But he'd run into a tough situation shortly after against a fellow entrepreneur.

The hand we're talking about began with Nik Airball raising his Q?10? to $2,000 in a straddled pot from a late position. Elamawy called on the button with J?8? before Tang, who co-founded the DoorDash food delivery app, called from the small blind with A?6?. Tilly, in the big blind, had J?6? and called, as did Housenbold with 8?7? in the straddle.

The flop of 4?8?J? was quite juicy, and Tang checked his nut flush. Tilly, with top pair and a weak kicker, then bet $5,000 almost drawing dead. Airball sent his gutter ball into the muck, but Elamawy made it $15,000 with top two pair. Tang, who had everyone in the hand in a world of hurt, three-bet to $45,000. That forced Tilly to fold, but Elamawy called to catch a glimpse of the K? turn card.

Tang, whose opponent had him easily covered, bet $70,000, leaving $120,000 behind. Elamawy, who has made some brilliant plays throughout Season 13, was able to find the fold and save himself a ton of extra money (unless he would have hit a full house on the river).

Perfect River Card Helps Nik Airball Event When it Doesn't

Elamawy has brought the action all season long, and that didn't change during the finale. He's made some great folds, calls and bluffs, but also shown vulnerability to being bluffed. Take, for example, the following hand.

Action began with Airball making it $1,200 with 10?10? and then Elamawy popping it to $5,000 in position with J?J?. Only the original raiser called to see a flop of 8?2?3?, a bad flop for the inferior over pair. Airball checked and then check-raised a bet of $7,000 to $27,000, to which his opponent called.

The turn was the 9?, which didn't change anything. Airball led for $35,000 and received a call before the A? landed on the river. Although the card didn't hit either player, it gave Airball an opportunity to turn his pair into a bluff, which he did, going all in for $65,600. Elamawy, likely concerned his opponent spiked an ace on the river, laid down the best hand.

Tilly, soon after, would get some action with pocket aces, four-betting preflop and getting a call from Robl's J?10?. She wouldn't get another dime out of him, however, after 4?3?2? flopped. Speaking of pocket aces, Palihapitiya picked up the best hand in Texas hold'em and got it all in for $56,600 against Housenbold's pocket queens. Both players agreed to run it twice, and both times the aces held up.

Tilly Needs Some Help

Jennifer Tilly Poker — Sameh Elamawy (l), Stanley Tang (c), and Jennifer Tilly (r).

One of the last hands of the season began with multiple straddles on and Chamath raising to $10,000 on the button with 7?5?. Tilly called from one straddle with 9?9?, as did Robl in the $3,200 straddle with A?10?. The flop showed 7?6?5?, and Tilly would lead her over pair and gutshot straight draw for $15,000.

Robl folded but Chamath raised it to $45,000 with two pair. Tilly then put her opponent all in for $145,000 and received a snap-call, creating a pot of $322,700. Both players wanted to run the turn and river twice, the first to come out Q?3?, and the second being K?4?, both going Chamath's way.

The 13th season of the iconic poker show would wrap with Chamath betting $80,000 into a pot of $20,800 on the river of a 7?K?K?6?A? with K?7? for a full house. He didn't get any action and took down the final pot of the season.