The poker world has been buzzing with action these last few weeks and few could resist the temptation to hit the tables and get in the mix.
To the great satisfaction of thousands of poker fans around the world, this included Garrett Adelstein, the high-stakes poker crusher we have not been seeing too much of lately.
Garrett joined a Bally Live Poker stream along the likes of Phil Laak and Masato Yokosawa, appearing on a TV poker game for the first time since this time last year.
Gman brought his recognizable aggressive and dominating style of poker to the tables, and once again showed why he is one of the best live poker players around, despite barely playing any cards since the infamous J4 incident that occurred on a Hustler Casino Live stream in late 2022.
Gman Gets Back in the Ring
A few days ago, Garrett Adelstein took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce he would be appearing in a high-stakes Bally Live Poker game on Friday.
The initial post by Garrett clearly showed he was excited to be back in the game after a year away from the tables, and he brought all the excitement with him to the tables.
Watching the stream, Garrett’s fans could see the “old” Garrett with a big smile on his face and a lot of stories to share with his tablemates.
Adelstein joined his old friend Phil “Unabomber” Laak and a number of other talented poker players for a game of $100/200 No Limit Hold’em with a $200 ante, which ended up playing quite big.
Among the other players was also Masato Yokosawa, a famous poker vlogger who has made a following for himself among the Japanese poker community, but also gained plenty of popularity with international poker fans.
The high-stakes poker legend joined the game with $200,000 in chips, enough to cover the table, and after adding on for another $100k through the game, ended up dominating the field and coming away as the big winner.
Dominating Performance Takes Adelstein to the Top
It was a big night for Garrett Adelstein, who made a return to poker following a full year away from the tables, and two years since he stopped playing the game on a regular basis.
He went from playing no cards at all to playing a massive high-stakes game with the likes of Phil Laak and Eric Hicks, only a couple of the formidable opponents who made an appearance on Friday’s game.
Yet, despite the break and not actively studying the game, Garrett showed what he was made of and came out swinging.
One hand in particular demonstrated that he lost none of his instincts or competitive edge while taking a break, as he was able to call a massive bet from David with a single pair of fives.
The hand started with Garrett opening A♦5♦ to $3k from the dealer button and David calling the raise with 7♣3♣ from the small blind, a play few would have expected.
The flop brought 5♣4♣3♠, allowing Adelstein to connect with the board, but giving his opponent a massive draw to both a straight and a flush, along with bottom pair.
Garrett continued for $6k and was quickly raised to $19k by his opponent. Adelstein called and the turn brought a fairly innocuous 8♥.
David moved all in for over $52k into a $44k pot, which put Garrett in quite a bad situation, as he was now forced to call an overbet with nothing but one pair in a spot where he could be drawing dead.
Yet, Adelstein was able to read the hand correctly and put his opponent on a draw, making the call and winning a massive $150k pot, the biggest of the entire session.
This pot was a great demonstration of why Gman is one of the best to ever play live poker, and it reminded us all why we miss having him appear on live streams more often.
When the dust settled, Adelstein walked away with $186,000 of profit, which made him the biggest winner in the game, while JD and Tan also recorded significant 5-figure wins.
What’s Next for Garrett Adelstein?
Following his incredible performance on Friday’s Bally Live Poker stream, Garrett once again took to X in a humbler fashion we have grown accustomed to.
He insinuated his win was mostly due to a good run, which could certainly be debated, and showed admiration for his fellow players.
Garrett’s post also went into the main reason he was not playing on a regular basis anymore, as he reiterated he can only play poker if he is all-in, which he was not able to do lately.
Looking at the things ahead, we may be seeing more of Garrett in some capacity pretty soon, as he brought up two passion projects he has been working on, which will become more public over the next few months.
Adelstein also finished his post saying he will be back on a live stream “soon enough,” which is certain to be good news for his extensive fan-base.
If you haven’t had a chance to watch Friday’s stream, we highly recommend you take some time off and watch it in full, as it was packed with huge pots, fun table banter, and exciting moments involving living legends of the game.
