Julian Movsesian Poker
- Feb 07, 2011 Julian Movsesian/Bill Klein – The two true wild cards of this season, little is known about these two businessmen aside from the fact that they have at least six figures ready to go and gamble against some of the very best high stakes poker players in the world, meaning that the thrill of playing in a monster cash game isn’t about to phase their pocketbooks.
- Life insurance executive Julian Movsesian raised to $3,800 before the flop with A-7 of clubs and Mike Baxter called with Q-9 of diamonds. Mercier came along with K-10 and the flop was A-10-4, hitting both Movsesian and Mercier. Movsesian led out for $8,500, Baxter got out of the way, and Mercier called to bring a king on the turn.
- A Passive King: Jason Mercier opened to $2,300 from under the gun with, Julian Movsesian called with, Bill Perkins followed suit with, and Haralabos Voulgaris three-bet to $12,000 with on the.
No, this isn’t some sort of early April Fools Day joke. Season 7 of the popular GSN cash game series “High Stakes Poker” will feature former “Saturday Night Live” star Norm MacDonald as its host. The new cycle will premiere on Saturday, February 26th at 8:00pm ET and be shown in 3D. It will re-air each Sunday at 11:00pm ET in case you missed any of the action.
The seventh season of “High Stakes Poker” was filmed in December at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. A new location also means a brand new host, with Gabe Kaplan giving way to MacDonald. Kara Scott, a PartyPoker pro, will reprise her role as hostess. Last season, GSN officials axed longtime “High Stakes Poker” host A.J. Benza in favor of Scott.
MacDonald was a regular on “Saturday Night Live” between 1993 and 1997. He anchored the popular “Weekend Update” segment after Kevin Nealon left the show and has two live poker cashes to his name according to the Hendon Mob database. He’s a regular at the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP).
High Stakes Poker Episode 6: 2010 WSOP Champion Duhamel Joins the Table. A fresh batch of players join the table on the new episode of High Stakes Poker. Among them is last year's WSOP Main Event winner, Jonathan Duhamel. Watch the video below to see how he fared against the likes of Laak, Mercier, Greenstein and co.
This year’s cycle of “High Stakes Poker” will boast a $200,000 minimum buy-in and a maximum buy-in of $500,000. The blinds will stand at $400/$800 with an ante of $100 and, as confirmed by a press release sent by GSN on Monday, “Straddles were frequent and often multiple. Several players were felted, so rebuys and add-ons were prevalent.”
No Full Tilt Poker pros appear to be part of the cast of Season 7 of “High Stakes Poker,” as the PokerStars sponsors the show. Therefore, players like Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Eli Elezra, and Gus Hansen are noticeably absent from the roster of players. However, a high-profile lineup of poker hopefuls made its way to Las Vegas two months ago to film.
Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, and Barry Greenstein are all back for their seventh seasons. Negreanu and Greenstein serve as cornerstone PokerStars pros, while Brunson is the front man for DoylesRoom, which recently jumped ship from the Cake Poker Network to the Yatahay Poker Network. Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari will also grace the “High Stakes Poker” stage, as will good friend Phil Laak.
Brunson is one of three former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champs to try their hands at the “High Stakes Poker” cash games this year. Joining “Texas Dolly” are former back-to-back winner Johnny Chan and reigning champ Jonathan Duhamel. Chan will return for his second go-around at “High Stakes Poker,” while Duhamel will make his debut.
A male-dominated show, “High Stakes Poker” will see just its third female ever join the set. Vanessa Selbst, who won the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event last year, will participate for the first time in Season 7.
In addition to the pool of sharks, six amateurs will take part. They include Silly Bandz creator and Deepstacks investor Robert Croak, philanthropist Bill Klein, Treasure Island Las Vegas owner Phil Ruffin, life insurance executive Julian Movsesian, equity firm president Bill Perkins, and Rolex watch dealer Erik Boneta.
Without further delay, here’s the official cast list for “High Stakes Poker” Season 7 on GSN:
Julian Movsesian Poker
Mike Baxter
Eric Boneta
Doyle Brunson
Johnny Chan
Robert Croak
Jonathan Duhamel
Antonio Esfandiari
Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond
Bill Klein
Phil Laak
Jason Mercier
Julian Movsesian
Daniel Negreanu
David “Viffer” Peat
Bill Perkins
Andrew “good2cu” Robl
Phil Ruffin
Vanessa Selbst
Bob Voulgaris
Catch the show starting on Saturday, February 26th at 8:00pm ET on GSN.
Last week on High Stakes Poker, 'Silent' Mike Baxter stole the show by making big hands and timely bluffs. He's been the big winner thus far during the second session, but Haralabos Voulgaris and Jason Mercier are both well in the black and are both capable of making moves. Amateur Bill Perkins hasn't had a winning episode yet, and entered the last one of the session down over $250,000.
SPOILER ALERT: If you are waiting to watch the HSP episode, read no further.
| Seat | Player | Stack Size | Win/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 1 | Haralabos Voulgaris | $375,500 | +$175,500 |
| Seat 2 | Phil Laak | $161,300 | -$39,700 |
| Seat 3 | “Silent” Mike Baxter | $471,100 | +$271,100 |
| Seat 4 | Jonathan Duhamel | $142,200 | -$57,800 |
| Seat 5 | Jason Mercier | $252,300 | +$52,300 |
| Seat 6 | Julian Movsesian | $205,700 | +$5,700 |
| Seat 7 | Bill Perkins | $49,300 | -$255,700 |
| Seat 8 | Barry Greenstein | $49,300 | -$150,700 |
Eff It, I Call: Bill Perkins opened to $2,300 with , and Barry Greenstein called with on the button. The blinds released, and the flop fell . Both players checked. The turn was the , giving Greenstein a flush, and Perkins led for $3,600 with just ace-high. Greenstein called.
The river was the , and Perkins quickly checked. Greenstein tossed in $15,000 – more than a pot-sized bet – and Perkins said, “F*** it, I call.” Greenstein showed him the winner, and Perkins angrily mucked his hand.
On Your Horses: Bill Perkins straddled for $1,600, and Barry Greenstein opened to $5,100 from under the gun with . The action folded all the way to Julian Movsesian in the big blind, and he reraised to $25,400. Perkins got out of the way, Greenstein shoved for $72,200, and Movsesian called.
The flop was dry – – but the spiked on the turn, giving Greenstein the lead. The river was a meaningless , and Greenstein doubled his stack to $146,400.
Picking off Bluffs: Jason Mercier opened to $2,300 with on the button, and both Julian Movsesian () and Bill Perkins () defended their blinds. The dealer fanned , and everybody checked. The turn was the , Movsesian checked again, and Perkins fired $4,000. Mercier called, Movsesian didn't.
The river was the , and Perkins led for $13,000. Mercier quickly called.
“You win,” Perkins announced, and Mercier tabled his hand.
“The only thing nicer than hearing ‘f*** it’ is ‘you win,’” Mercier joked.
The Car Crash: Bill Perkins straddled for $1,600, and Barry Greenstein opened to $5,100 from under the gun with . “Silent” Mike Baxter called from the cutoff with , Jason Mercier called from the small blind with , and Bill Perkins told a weird, anti-climatic and unfunny story about car crashes in movies before folding.
The flop was a fun one – . Greenstein led for $10,000, Baxter raised to $30,000, and Mercier smooth-called. Greenstein called as well. All three players checked after the turned, and again after the fell on the river. Mercier tabled his set of sevens, and the $108,500 pot was shipped his way.
“Car crash!” Perkins yelped.
The Setup: Haralabos Voulgaris opened to $2,300 with two red sixes, Julian Movsesian called with on the button, and Barry Greenstein defended his big blind with . The flop came down , Greenstein checked, and Voulgaris continued for $4,200. Only Movsesian called. The turn was the , and Voulgaris led for $7,200. Movsesian made a play at the pot, raising to $27,800, but Voulgaris was going no where with his set of sixes and called.
The river was the , and Voulgaris checked. Movsesian immediately fired $30,000, and Voulgaris tank-called. The two opened their hands, and Voulgaris took down the six-figure pot.
A Passive King: Jason Mercier opened to $2,300 from under the gun with , Julian Movsesian called with , Bill Perkins followed suit with , and Haralabos Voulgaris three-bet to $12,000 with on the button. Mike Baxter cold four-bet to $30,000 with from the small blind, and the action folded back to Voulgaris who just called.
The flop fell , and Baxter led for $50,000. Voulgaris called. Baxter quit when the turned, checking to Voulgaris who surprisingly checked behind. The river was the , both players checked again, and Voulgaris won another big pot.
“I wanted to fold on the flop,” Voulgaris admitted, shaking his head.
Chop Suey: Bill Perkins straddled for $1,600, and Phil Laak opened to $5,100 from middle position with . Perkins defended his straddle with , and the flop was all hearts – . Perkins checked, Laak continued for $9,000, Perkins check-raised to $30,000, and Laak immediately moved all in. Perkins called, and the two agreed to run it twice.
The first board ran , , giving Laak half of the pot, and the second board ran , , giving Perkins the other half.
“Why are you so excited about chopping?” Haralabos Voulgaris asked Laak after the hand.
“Because it’s so tough to win anything,” Laak responded. “At least we chopped the blinds and antes.”
High Stakes Legends:Fred “Sarge” Ferris was an American grinder of Lebanese decent, and he escaped poverty by grinding on the felt. He defeated Doyle Brunson heads-up in a WSOP event in 1980, and in the same year he backed Stu Ungar in the Main Event and he defeated Brunson heads-up as well. Ferris passed in 1989 and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame later that year.
Let’s take a look at the stack sizes.
| Seat | Player | Stack Size | Win/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 1 | Haralabos Voulgaris | $519,800 | +$319,800 |
| Seat 2 | Phil Laak | $216,500 | +$16,500 |
| Seat 3 | “Silent” Mike Baxter | $348,900 | +$148,900 |
| Seat 4 | Jonathan Duhamel | $248,500 | -$51,500 |
| Seat 5 | Jason Mercier | $408,600 | +$108,600 |
| Seat 6 | |||
| Seat 7 | Bill Perkins | $84,600 | -$319,400 |
| Seat 8 | Barry Greenstein | $100,600 | -$99,400 |
Hollywood: “Silent” Mike Baxter wanted to straddle, but had already received his cards so he min-raised to $1,600 with . Jason Mercier three-bet to $4,400 with , Bill Perkins called with , and Baxter called as well.
The flop was a nightmare for Mercier – . Baxter checked, Mercier continued for $8,600, and Perkins called. Baxter mucked, and the turn was the . Mercier led for $20,100, and Perkins began cursing angrily. He finally moved all in after a horrible acting job, and Mercier made the crying call.
“Run it twice guys,” Phil Laak offered. “I’m telling you, it’s 3D.”
Mercier and Perkins obliged. The first river was the , the second was the , and Perkins doubled to $175,600.
“That’s what I get for getting excited on the flop,” Mercier murmured
The next episode of HSP marks the start of a new session. Bill Klein, Robert Croak, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak and Doyle Brunson will return for their second session of the season, while Phil Galfond headlines the newcomers.
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Barry GreensteinHigh Stakes PokerJason MercierJonathan DuhamelPhil LaakRelated Players
Barry GreensteinPhil LaakJason MercierJonathan Duhamel