Tom Bostic

High Stakes Poker Season 3 premiered tonight on GSN. Tonight’s new cast of characters included 2006 WSOP Main Event winner Jamie Gold, and the new owner of two WSOP bracelets, William Chen.

If you haven’t watched any High Stakes Poker, check your local listings to see if you have GSN and clear your schedule for next Monday night. It is a No Limit Hold’em cash game with blinds of $300-$600 and a minimum buy in of $100,000. The caliber of play and the commentating is better than any other poker show in my opinion, and is well worth your time to watch.

Anyway, Season 3 is shaping up to look pretty entertaining. After seeing the first installment things aren’t looking so hot for Jamie Gold. He doesn’t seem to have the respect of his peers at the table and has not been showing the fearless approach to playing that he did when he dominated the main event.

In contrast Doyle Brunson was looking as solid as ever, and Bill Chen took down a few nice pots with aggression. From all reports Chen is a mathematical genius and I can tell you from personal experience he is as nice as he is smart. I am interested to see how his mathematical approach translates from his tournament strategy to the felt at this cash table. It is also worth mentioning that Mike Matusow appeared to be playing very well, but one never knows when the blow up could come.

I am also looking forward to seeing some new players in the upcoming weeks. Chris Ferguson, John D’Agostino, Phil Ivey and even Gabe Kaplan will be appearing this season and I am interested to see the dynamic they bring to the table. Make sure you check it out and take this free lesson on cash games that GSN and the players are generous enough to share with us.

Thanks for listening. Keep reading. Keep playing smart.