The tenth episode of Hellmuth’s Home Game, filmed at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno and airing nationally on CBS Sports, produced the biggest hand in the show’s history. Dan “Jungleman” Cates correctly read Xuan Liu’s hand before winning a $78,875 pot, cementing his place in the spotlight of Phil Hellmuth’s high-stakes cash game.
Jungleman Calls Xuan’s Hand
In the very first hand, Cates straddled and Liu opened to $400 with J♥J♣. Action folded back to Cates, who three-bet to $800 holding 10♦8♦. Liu then four-bet to $1,400, and Cates called.
The flop came J♠2♥9♣, giving Liu top set and Cates an open-ended straight draw. After a $1,500 continuation bet from Liu, Cates called. The 7♠ hit the turn, completing Cates’ straight. He checked, and Liu considered her options.
“What the f*** do you have here, honestly? You can only have a set of jacks,” Cates said during the hand.
Liu bet $8,000, and Cates responded: “You’re over-betting? That’s very interesting. I didn’t expect that, by the way.” After tanking, he shoved for $36,475, and Liu snap-called.
“I have the nuts,” Cates declared, revealing his hand. They agreed to run it twice, but neither the 4♣ nor the K♠ paired the board. Cates scooped the record-breaking $78,875 pot, the largest in Hellmuth’s Home Game history.
Hellmuth Limp-Raises with Aces
With the straddle on, Phil Hellmuth limped holding A♠A♥. Randy “3Coin” Sadler raised to $300 with Q♣10♣, and both Phillip Hellmuth III and Alex called. Hellmuth then limp-raised to $2,100.
“And the legend learns to bluff,” joked 3Coin before folding. No one else called, and Hellmuth dragged a small pot. Curious, he asked to see the flop, which came J♦4♥4♦. Jungleman quipped, “It’d be a good spot to have the Robbi.”
Nevada Hooks a Triple
3Coin opened to $300 with A♥Q♦, and Nevada three-bet to $900 with J♠J♥. Cates called from the small blind with 10♦10♣ before 3Coin four-bet to $2,300. Nevada shoved for $2,425, and Cates called.
The board ran K♥K♣2♠4♠6♠. While Cates and 3Coin built a $6,000 side pot with postflop action, Nevada’s jacks held for the main pot, allowing him to triple up to $7,475.
“Give a Thug a Hug”
Alex blind-raised to $200, Cates re-raised to $400, and Liu four-bet to $1,500 with A♦4♣. 3Coin called with A♣6♠, leading to a heads-up pot.
The flop came 3♠4♥A♥, giving both top pair and Liu a better kicker. 3Coin led for $3,000, Liu raised to $7,000, and she then announced: “Alright, I guess I’m all-in in the dark.”
The turn paired the board with the 3♥, and 3Coin called the shove, creating a $37,300 pot. The river 3♦ gave both players the same full house.
“Can you believe that?” 3Coin said. “Give a thug a hug.”
Nevada’s Broadway Straight
In the final hand, Nevada raised to $1,200 with A♣K♣ after 3Coin straddled. The flop came 10♦Q♦J♣, giving Nevada the nut straight and 3Coin two pair.
Both checked, and after the 5♦ turn and 10♥ river, 3Coin check-raised all in following Nevada’s $1,200 bet. Nevada called off his $3,050 and doubled to win an $11,025 pot.
Hellmuth’s Son May Join the Action
During filming for Season 2, Phil Hellmuth shared that his youngest son Nick could soon appear in a future game.
“My youngest son Nick has decided to become a professional poker player,” Hellmuth tweeted. “He loves the game, he loves learning the game, and he loves connecting w his older brother Phillip around game strategies. He is improving rapidly! Nick is in Reno w me ready to film ‘Hellmuth’s Home Game’ (although he is a substitute and may not play too much).”
New episodes of Hellmuth’s Home Game air Mondays at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT on CBS Sports, with the September 18 broadcast scheduled one hour earlier at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.
