The final episode of the first half of the latest Big Game on Tour season aired on Saturday, and it brought all the excitement we could possibly ask for, even without magic happening for the loose cannon.
The latest episode was marked by several huge pots, including the one containing $400,000. We also saw Nikki Limo somehow survive in a spot where it seemed like there was no way out, giving her an unexpected second life to try and turn things around with only a few hands left to play.
Despite it all, Limo wasn’t able to end with a profit when the final hand was done and dusted, which wasn’t necessarily the conclusion we were hoping for, but she had her shots, and if she made a couple of different decisions, she would have walked away a winner.
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Nikki Limo’s Quest for Profit Comes to an End
The last episode of the Big Game on Tour saw players return to play out the final two dozen of hands. The lineup was pretty much unchanged, except for Alan Keating leaving and being replaced by Griffin Benger.
Nikki started the session up about $3,000, so she had her full $50,000 buy-in plus a bit extra to work with. It was all down to this session though, as once 150 hands were dealt, the game would be over for her.
It was only a few hands into the session that Limo got into what would usually be a perfect spot to double up. She turned the second nut flush in a bloated pot. Unfortunately, Jen Tilly was sitting across from her with the stone-cold nuts, and it seemed like Limo’s adventure was about to be cut short.
But in a strange turn of events, Jen decided to spare the loose cannon, advising her to fold and save the remaining $20,000. It was a rare show of compassion at a poker table, as Limo was getting great odds on a call. She decided to go with her gut though, and to trust Tilly.
The loose cannon was left with a shorter but still workable stack after that hand. However, things didn’t get better for Nikki.
She got in a couple of all-in spots, but despite the fact her time on the show was running out, she decided to run the board twice both times. As it turned out, she won the first and lost the second run on both occasions and instead of ending up with a decent profit, Limo was forced to gamble on one of the last hands and ended up in a bad spot, with her KT losing to Tilly’s AK.
While there is nothing wrong with running it twice to lower variance, this was one of the rare situations where Limo was better off embracing that variance and hoping for a good outcome.
With only a few hands to play, this would give her a better shot at ending up in black, but it felt like she was enjoying the experience too much and wanted to hang around for as long as possible.
The Clash of Actresses
Even though all focus was on the loose cannon, two actresses turned poker players, Jen Tilly and Arden Cho, managed to steal the spotlight for a few minutes.
This had nothing to do with their acting skills, though, and everything to do with what we can only term an ice-cold deck of cards.
Tilly and Cho got involved in a pot where they both ended up flopping sets. Tilly’s set of 6s was miles ahead of Cho’s set of 5s, though, and it seemed like Arden was about to get stuck once again.
However, poker gods showed their cruel sense of humor in this hand, as 5 on the river improved Tilly to a full house and gave Cho quad 5s. The way the hand played out, it was impossible to put Arden on a bigger full house, so Tilly couldn’t get away.
The final result? A massive $400,000 pot going Arden Cho’s direction and Jen Tilly being a great sport about it, congratulating and high-fiving her opponent. We have to give props where they’re due, as not many players can do this.
The Big Game Returns With a New Lineup
The first half of the season is now in the books, but The Big Game on Tour will return soon with a brand new lineup and the second loose cannon ready to try her luck.
When The Big Game returns, Lily Newhouse will take the loose cannon spot, and it’ll be interesting to see who’ll join her at the tables. From the trailers, we know that Phil ‘Unabomber’ Laak will be in the mix, together with Maria Ho.
Will Newhouse be able to turn her $50,000 buy-in into profit? Will there be another huge pot? What does Phil Laak have in store for us? Find out all this and more when The Big Game on Tour returns later this summer!