Alan Keating's Value Bet Gets Paid Off on High Stakes Poker Season 14 Finale

Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

Apr 29, 2025 5 min read

Will Nik Airball Pay it Off?
"We Could Legitimately Have a Huge One Brewing Here"
Two Epic Hands to Conclude High Stakes Poker Season 14
Past High Stakes Poker Season 14 Episode Recaps

That's a wrap for one of the most thrilling seasons of High Stakes Poker on PokerGO. Season 14 concluded Monday with numerous six-figure pots, many of which involved Alan Keating.

Keating, who will be competing in the Million Dollar Game on Hustler Casino Live this week, ended his roller coaster High Stakes Poker season by running into a bit of a cooler against his rival, Rick Salomon. But he made a bet on the prior hand that even impressed future Poker Hall of Famer Nick Schulman, a commentator on the show.

Salomon and Keating, for the second straight week, were joined in the $500/$1,000 no-limit hold'em cash game by Sam Kiki, Nikhil "Nik Airball" Arcot, Peter Wang, and Justin Gavri. Here's a look at the chip counts prior to the first hand:

Player	Chip Stack
Sam Kiki	$1,027,000
Nik Airball	$889,500
Alan Keating	$651,000
Peter Wang	$549,000
Rick Salomon	$400,500
Just Gavri	$207,500

Will Nik Airball Pay it Off?

The first hand of Episode 14 ended with an all in bet and Nik Airball being put in a tough spot. Action began in the triple-straddled pot with Gavri raising to $24,000 from the big blind with A♠10♥. Kiki called with K♣Q♥ from a straddle position, as did Airball, the big straddler, with 9♠7♣.

The flop came out 10♦6♦4♥, which was of interest to two players. Gavri, who flopped top pair, continued for $32,000, only receiving a call from Nik Airball who paired up on the 7♥ turn.

Gavri, this time around, moved all in for $151,000. Nik Airball thought for a moment before deciding to call off the bet with middle pair and a gut-shot straight draw. Both players agreed to run the river twice, the first one going to Gavri when the K♥ appeared. But Airball would chop the $440,500 pot by hitting trips on the second river.

"We Could Legitimately Have a Huge One Brewing Here"

Salomon, who is currently attempting to sell his $8.25 million Dallas condo, has been one of the most entertaining players throughout Season 14. He's played more monster pots, including the second largest pot in High Stakes Poker history during Episode 12, a $1 million hand he lost to Kiki.

Despite some losses, he often gets paid off when he has a real hand due to his loose, aggressive nature. He'd attempt to do just that in a hand against Kiki during the newest episode.

Kiki limped for $2,000 on the button with 5♠4♥. Nik Airball called from the small blind with A♦8♦, and so did Keating, who looked down at 7♥4♦ in the big blind. Salomon, whose hole cards showed K♠Q♥, made it $22,000 to go from the straddle, getting a call only from Kiki.

The juicy flop came out 3♣2♦Q♣, which led Schulman to say, "we could legitimately have a huge one brewing here." Salomon bet $25,000 with top pair, which was followed by a raise to $75,000 from the player chasing an open-ended straight draw. That raise didn't do the trick as Salomon came back over the top for all in for $463,000 total.

Kiki thought for a moment before deciding it wasn't worth risking nearly $400,000 more on a draw. So, he folded his cards and moved on to the next hand.

That next hand, however, cost Kiki over $100,000 when he tried to bluff with a missed straight draw on a board of J♥4♠7♣7♠6♠. His problem in getting it through was that Peter held A♠J♠ and Nik Airball had K♠9♠, so when he bet $100,000, Peter raised to $325,000, which forced Kiki off the hand. Nik Airball, however, called with the king-high flush, which was no good against the ace-high flush. Peter took down the $842,500 pot, the fifth largest in Season 14.

Two Epic Hands to Conclude High Stakes Poker Season 14

High Stakes Poker Season 14 ended with Keating involved in two large pots. The first hand started with Keating opening to $8,000 with Q♥3♥. Peter three-bet to $24,000 with 4♥2♥ from the big blind.

Keating called the raise and saw a flop of 5♥8♠2♣. Both players checked before the Q♠ appeared on the turn. Peter decided to bet his bottom pair this time — $45,000. The only problem for him was the flop check gave Keating an opportunity to hit top pair. That bet didn't get through as a call was made prior to the K♥ on the turn. Keating, with second pair, decided to go for maximum value with a $130,000 wager, nearly the size of the pot.

Peter took no time in calling with the worst hand and lost the $403,000 pot. But the final hand of Season 14 didn't go Keating's way. Salomon began the action by raising the triple straddled pot to $35,000 with A♥A♦. Keating called from the big straddle with A♣J♠.

The cooler flop came out 10♣J♥3♥. Keating check-called a bet of $30,000 before the 5♥ landed on the turn. He again checked, and then faced a $45,000 bet, to which he called.

The 2♠ turned over on the river. Keating checked one last time, while Salomon went for value with a $125,000 bet. That was the right size as it enticed Keating, who had top pair with top kicker, to make the call, giving Salomon a $477,000 pot to close out the season.

High Stakes Poker will return in the fall on PokerGO with Season 15.