JRB Needs to Fade Flush vs. Tilly or Lose Big on High Stakes Poker Season 12 Opener

February 19, 2024

Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

”No Bluff Monday"
Tilly Makes a Move
Can JRB Dodge a Heart?
Relive High Stakes Poker Season 11

High Stakes Poker returned to PokerGO for the first episode of Season 12 on Monday, and a pair of regulars on the show — Jennifer Tilly and Jean-Robert Bellande — fought for the biggest pot of the night.

Tilly and Bellande have played on the iconic poker show about as many times as anyone since the show first launched on the Game Show Network in 2006. During Episode 1, both players were active and had to battle for some pots against high-stakes crusher Andrew Robl, along with some new faces on the show such as Vivian Yang and Andrew Pacheco.

As per usual, Robl started the session with the largest stack ($500,000). Initial stack sizes were as follows.

Player	Chip Stack
Andrew Robl	$500,000
Jean-Robert Bellande	$150,000
Vivian Yang	$150,000
Justin Gavri	$100,000
Andrew Pacheco	$100,000
Jennifer Tilly	$100,000

Andrew Sasson would also join the action shortly after it began.

”No Bluff Monday"

Andrew Robl High Stakes Poker — Andrew Robl

The 12th season of High Stakes Poker began almost predictably, with Robl, one of the best high-stakes cash game pros ever, raising preflop and taking down the pot.

Robl then announced it’s a “no bluff Monday” and that he would only be betting with a made hand. That lasted all of two seconds when he moved all in with an open-ended straight draw for $90,000 and received a call from Sasson, who only had middle pair.

The poker players decided to run the turn and river twice, and they ended up chopping it up. Moments later, after having semi-bluffed the flop and turn, on a board of 10♥9♠10♦8♠6♥, Robl gave up and checked king-high to Sasson, who took down the $80,000 pot with 9♣8♣.

Tilly Makes a Move

After Sasson was finished pushing Robl around, it was Tilly’s turn to make a play. With an $800 straddle on, Gavri opened the action to $2,000 with 6♥5♥ from an early position and then called a raise to $7,000 from Tilly, who had A♥Q♠ on the button.

The flop came 7♠4♣7♥, and action checked over to Tilly, who bet $7,000 again. Gavri, on an open-ended straight draw, then check-raised to $21,000 before the talented actress three-bet it to $60,000 on ace-high, and she was none too thrilled to see her opponent call.

When the J♦ appeared on the turn, both players checked to the Q♥ river. Gavri, who missed his draw, moved all in for $60,000 effective with six-high. Tilly took her time to think before making the call and taking down a $256,000 pot. But she gave back a chunk of that win on the following hand bluffing with ace-high into Robl’s flopped trips.

Robl would take even more the next hand against Gavri, winning both run-outs in a race situation for a $108,000 pot. Gavri decided to rebuy for another six figures, and doing so was wise as he’d flop a king-high flush against the seven-high flush Pacheco held, but the board pairing on the river saved his opponent money.

Can JRB Dodge a Heart?

Jean-Robert Bellande Poker — Jean-Robert Bellande

For anyone who has watched High Stakes Poker since the early days, you know JRB’s luck has been awful on the show, although it has improved in recent seasons. In the final hand of the newest episode, he faced a familiar foe in a big pot, and needed to fade a heart on the river to take it down.

With a double straddle on, Tilly min-raised to $3,200 with K♥3♥, but Bellande, in position, three-bet to $12,000 with A♣9♦. Those two players would then go to a flop, which showed 5♥3♣9♥, hitting both hands. Tilly led for $15,000 and received a call before the 9♣ appeared on the turn.

Still with a flush draw and a small pair, Tilly continued her aggression with a $25,000 wager. Bellande, who picked up trips on the turn, raised it up to $70,000, not enough to convince the Bride of Chucky star to fold. The Q♣ on the river was a blank, and Tilly missed her flush draw.

She checked, and then went into the tank after JRB moved all in for $109,000. With flush blockers in the hole, making the call would be difficult as the two cards she held made it less likely that she was up against a flush draw, meaning there was a strong possibility Bellande had a made hand.

Bellande allowed Tilly to look at one card in his hand, and when she turned over the 9♦, that made her decision to fold easy. And that brought about the end of the first episode of High Stakes Poker Season 12.

You can catch the full episode on PokerGO, along with future episodes, which air each Monday at 5 p.m. PT.