All-In Breakdown

High-stakes poker

Topic

A form of poker involving very large sums of money, which was the foundation of Molly Bloom's business. Buy-ins for her games ranged from $10,000 to $250,000.

First Mentioned

11/27/2025, 7:42:43 AM

Last Updated

11/27/2025, 8:10:01 AM

Research Retrieved

11/27/2025, 8:10:01 AM

Summary

High-stakes poker refers both to a popular American television program and to the broader world of high-value poker games, often played in exclusive, private settings. The television show, "High Stakes Poker," features no-limit Texas hold 'em cash games and has aired across multiple runs on GSN, N3D, and PokerGO since its debut in January 2006, hosted by various personalities including A. J. Benza and Gabe Kaplan. Beyond the screen, the term also encapsulates underground poker enterprises, notably the one run by Molly Bloom. Her "Molly's Game" began at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, attracting celebrities like Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck, before expanding to New York City. Bloom's operation eventually faced legal repercussions due to illegal raking, leading to an FBI investigation, prosecution by the Southern District of New York, and asset forfeiture. Her experiences were later chronicled in her memoir and the film "Molly's Game," and she now applies the lessons learned to sales coaching.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Related Film

    Molly's Game (movie)

  • Poker Variant

    No-limit Texas hold 'em

  • Related Memoir

    Molly's Game (book)

  • 3D Broadcast Network

    N3D

  • Television Program Name

    High Stakes Poker

  • Minimum Buy-in (initial)

    $100,000

  • Maximum Buy-in (recorded)

    $1,000,000 (Daniel Negreanu, Brad Booth)

  • Minimum Buy-in (Season 4)

    $500,000

  • Revival Broadcast Network

    PokerGO

  • Original Broadcast Network

    GSN

  • Key Figure (Underground Games)

    Molly Bloom

  • Consequence (Molly Bloom's Game)

    FBI investigation, prosecution, asset forfeiture

  • Current Profession (Molly Bloom)

    Sales coaching

  • Illegal Activity (Molly Bloom's Game)

    Raking the game

  • Initial Location (Molly Bloom's Game)

    Viper Room, Los Angeles

  • Expansion Location (Molly Bloom's Game)

    New York City

Timeline
  • The television program 'High Stakes Poker' first aired on GSN. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2006-01-16

  • GSN announced the return of 'High Stakes Poker' for a fourth season. (Source: Web Search)

    2007-04-02

  • 'High Stakes Poker' Season 4 premiered. (Source: Web Search)

    2007-08-27

  • The first episode of 'High Stakes Poker' with a $500,000 minimum buy-in was broadcast. (Source: Web Search)

    2007-11-05

  • The original run of 'High Stakes Poker' on GSN concluded. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2007-12-17

  • The second run of 'High Stakes Poker' began, simulcast in 3DTV on N3D. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2009-03-01

  • The second run of 'High Stakes Poker' concluded. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2011-05-21

  • The television program 'High Stakes Poker' was revived on PokerGO. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia)

    2020-12-16

  • Molly Bloom began her infamous high-stakes poker enterprise, 'Molly's Game,' at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, attracting celebrities. (Source: Summary, Related Document)

    Undated

  • Molly Bloom expanded her high-stakes poker operation to New York City, aiming to build an even bigger game. (Source: Summary, Related Document)

    Undated

  • Molly Bloom's high-stakes poker game became involved with organized crime, including the Russian and Italian mobs. (Source: Related Document)

    Undated

  • Molly Bloom's illegal decision of raking the game led to an FBI investigation and raid, followed by prosecution by the Southern District of New York. (Source: Summary, Related Document)

    Undated

  • After asset forfeiture, Molly Bloom wrote her memoir, 'Molly's Game,' to rebuild her life. (Source: Summary, Related Document)

    Undated

  • Aaron Sorkin adapted Molly Bloom's memoir into the acclaimed film 'Molly's Game.' (Source: Summary, Related Document)

    Undated

  • Molly Bloom began applying lessons from her high-stakes poker dealings to sales coaching. (Source: Summary, Related Document)

    Undated

Wikipedia
View on Wikipedia
High Stakes Poker

High Stakes Poker is an American cash game poker television program. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. The first four seasons ran from January 16, 2006 to December 17, 2007 on GSN. The next three seasons ran from March 1, 2009 to May 21, 2011, and was simulcast in 3DTV on N3D. The show was revived on December 16, 2020 on PokerGO. The show was hosted by A. J. Benza in the first five seasons, alongside Gabe Kaplan. In the sixth season, Kara Scott replaced Benza as Kaplan's co-host, with Scott conducting interviews from the poker room floor. In the seventh season, Norm Macdonald replaced Kaplan as Scott's co-host. Beginning with the eighth season, Benza and Kaplan returned as hosts. After the first episode of the tenth season, Kaplan retired and was replaced by Nick Schulman.

Web Search Results
  • HighStakesDB - High Stakes Poker, News, Deals

    HighStakesDB is the world's largest high stakes poker website. With this service you can see your favorite players' online poker results, replay the big hands or even follow live coverage from ongoing high stakes poker games. The results database include a majority of all high stakes poker games played, all the way back to January 2007. Copyright © 2025 HighStakesDB. All rights reserved. [...] The Evolution of High-Stakes Play in the Digital Age High Stakes Reports 1 hour ago Kristijan Lekoski Lessons from High-Stakes Controversies of the Past Decade: How the Industry Turned Crisis into Unbreakable Progress Popular 1 hour ago Nenad Nikolic Online Casino Login Friction Gets a Makeover as High-Stakes Players Demand Seamless Access High Stakes Reports 3 days ago Nenad Nikolic MORE ARTICLES 2,204 #### Genius Sports vs LSports: Complete 2025 Sports Data Provider Comparison [...] November 12, 2025 Nenad Nikolic 2,024 #### When a High Stake Is a Mistake: How to Manage Your iGaming Budget Popular November 11, 2025 Kristijan Lekoski 2,052 #### UK Casino Bankroll Tactics Poker Players Actually Use Popular November 11, 2025 Nenad Nikolic 3,824 #### CoinPoker To Host High Stakes No Limit Hold'em Cash Game World Championship N... Online Poker News November 6, 2025 Nenad Nikolic 2,232 #### Video Poker's Pivotal Role In Modernizing The Game Popular

  • High Stakes Poker - Wikipedia

    When it first aired, High Stakes Poker was unique among televised poker series because it did not take place in a tournament setting. Instead, the program showed a high-stakes cash game. The minimum buy-in to the game is $100,000, but players have bought in for as much as $1,000,000, such as Daniel Negreanu in Season 1 and Brad Booth in Season 3. For part of the fourth season, the minimum buy-in was $500,000. The first episode with the minimum $500,000 buy-in was broadcast on November 5, 2007. [...] On April 2, 2007, GSN announced that High Stakes Poker would return for a fourth season, again taped at South Point. Taping was completed in May, with the season premiering on August 27, 2007 at 9:00 p.m. Returning players included Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, Sam Farha, Jamie Gold, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth Jr., Jennifer Harman, and Daniel Negreanu. Newcomers for the fourth season include Brandon Adams "Brandon Adams (poker player)"), Mike Baxter, Brian [...] Stakes Poker" Season 7 is devoid of such Full Tilt pros as Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Mike Matusow, and Eli Elezra. GSN later announced it would be scaling back its airings of High Stakes Poker after PokerStars pulled out of the U.S. market following the indictments in United States v. Scheinberg et al. crackdown on online gambling.

  • Play to Win: Meta-Skills in High-Stakes Poker - Forcing Function

    Most casual observers would assume that the higher the stakes, the tougher the game. Counterintuitively, as I worked my way up the ranks, I discovered that my win rate got larger as the stakes got larger. This effect is due to selection bias. Few pros would put that much money at risk unless they smelled blood in the water. Thus, when a high stakes game appears, you can assume that it’s worth playing. While these games attract the toughest players, they can also attract “whales”—wealthy [...] The air gets thinner at the top of the ladder. In high-stakes poker, you play against the same dozen professional players every day. This makes poker an “iterated game.” In iterated games, players must take into account the impact of their current actions on the future actions of other players. [...] your opponent is trying to get you to do (call or fold) and disappoint them by doing the opposite.

  • BIGGEST POTS from Doug Polk vs Keating $200/$400 ... - YouTube

    be a bit much. We got We got a great episode today. This is This is high stakes poker. 200,000 in the middle. Nine of spades on the river. And you know what? That is one of the only cards where I feel like Keem is not going to get paid here. You're bringing it. That is one of the worst cards on the river here. Just like that. Yeah, why not? For the six, I win. I have a set. That's all. It's all true. Yes, I do. I was being sneaky. Very nice. Well, they could have I could have waited for you to [...] # BIGGEST POTS from Doug Polk vs Keating $200/$400 Game on High Stakes Poker ## PokerGO 704000 subscribers 968 likes ### Description 83602 views Posted: 10 Nov 2025 Watch the BIGGEST pots and most INSANE hands from an epic High Stakes Poker session at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas! Doug Polk, Alan Keating, Andrew Robl, Cary Katz, Jennifer Tilly, Santhosh Suvarna, Sam Kiki, and Justin Gavri throw down at $200/$400/$400 stakes in this action-packed compilation. [...] This video features only the best hands from the session – massive bluffs, hero calls, and six-figure pots that will leave you on the edge of your seat. See poker legends and high-stakes crushers battle it out with serious money on the line. Whether you're here for Doug Polk's strategic brilliance, Alan Keating's fearless aggression, Jennifer Tilly's Hollywood charm, or the biggest pots of the night, this compilation delivers non-stop entertainment.

  • What Stakes Do Professional Poker Players Play? It Will Shock You

    If you are talking about high stakes poker pros, then they do actually contribute with entertainment, just like professional athletes, since people watch TV-transmissions from some of the games. And they also provide a service to rich recreational players, who can have the experience of sitting down and playing with the best. This is something quite unique to poker, since in for instance tennis a recreational player would lose 100% of the time, if he took on a world class pro. But in poker [...] this on TV or social media. They only show the guys who are currently winning big and they become everybody's hero. While last years big winners are quickly forgotten about. The other thing they always fail to mention is how much staking is involved in high stakes poker these days. Literally everyone sells action these days. And what this means is that the guy who just won that $5 million dollar tournament is only going to take a small portion of that in reality after he pays off all his [...] People often ask me what stakes do professional poker players play. They also ask me what stakes I personally was playing when I turned pro 10+ years ago. The truth is that is varies greatly depending on the person. Most professional poker players will play at stakes of at least NL25 online or $2/$5 live. And many poker pros will play at stakes much higher than this. However, there are many cases where a professional poker player can earn a living at stakes even lower than this such as NL5,