For some poker players, appearing on High Stakes Poker may be just another day at the office, but for others, being selected to play on the show represents far more than that. Besides having the opportunity to win enormous amounts of money, HSP provides a venue that can potentially establish a player’s reputation within the poker community, catapult him to stardom, and generate more publicity for him than a successful year on the poker tournament circuit ever could. More players than ever wanted to participate in the hit GSN show’s fourth season because of this, making the selection process all the more difficult.

Ultimately, 22 players were chosen to participate in the three days of tapings from May 12-14 at the South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, seven fewer than in Season Three, giving the competitors more playing time and a greater opportunity to increase their bankrolls or to recover their losses if they got stuck. This also means that viewers will have more time to become familiar with the styles and personalities of the players, and to see what leads up to potentially interesting confrontations between them.

This season also has a couple of different “twists.” For example, all of the players & women poker pros who played during one of the three sessions had an interesting prop bet going for the entire day, as they agreed that anyone who won a pot holding the dreaded 7-2 would receive an extra $500 from everyone else at the table upon showing the hand. This special incentive to play the worst starting hand in Hold ’Em added another element of drama to the game that fans are sure to enjoy.

Another example is that on the final day of action, the minimum buy-in was raised from the normal $100,000 to a staggering $500,000, putting more than $4-million on the table in what surely will go down as one of the biggest cash games in history. An additional blind was also established, meaning the blinds were $300/$600/$1,200 with a $100 ante on every hand, and $2,400 live straddles were often in play as well.

Some of poker’s most recognizable names played at this exclusive table, including Doyle Brunson, Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Antonio Esfandiari, Sam Farha, Jamie Gold, Barry Greenstein, and Daniel Negreanu. Also playing with this group was Guy Laliberte, the co-founder and CEO of Cirque du Soleil and a man for whom a half-million-dollar buy-in is mere pocket change. Suffice it to say that several pots in this game surpassed previous HSP records.

ALL IN is again pleased to provide brief profiles on all of the players appearing in the upcoming season (which will contain 17 episodes, four more than last year). When the show begins to air in late-August, fans will recognize many of their favorites, and should know this about the newcomers they don’t recognize: None are strangers to high-stakes cash games. Download poker wallpapers.

Brandon Adams
Previous HSP Appearances: None
• Born in 1978, teaches Behavioral Finance at Harvard
• Semi-professional cash-game player, playing NLHE as high as $200/$400
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $168,000, including a final table at the 2005 Tournament of Champions
• Has written two books, one entitled Broke: A Poker Novel

Patrik Antonius
Previous HSP Appearances: Season Three
• Native of Finland is considered one of the best short-handed cash-game players in the world
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $2.19-million
• Former male model and tennis player drives an Aston Martin automobile
• Impressed viewers on HSP3 with his aggressiveness, despite limited playing time

Mike Baxter
Previous HSP Appearances: None
• Works as a hedge fund manager in California
• Born in 1963, has played poker since he was a kid, No-Limit Hold ’Em for about 10 years
• Strictly a recreational high-stakes cash-game player
• Loves to give action, and feels he is considered fearless by his opponents

David Benyamine
Previous HSP Appearances: Season Three
• Originally from France, but spends a great deal of time in Las Vegas
• Owns one WPT open title and one WPT invitational title, with lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $1.06-million
• Recent addition to Team Full Tilt, along with his fiancée, Erica Schoenberg
• Frequent player in the “Big Game” at Bellagio

Brian Brandon
Previous HSP Appearances: None
• Born in 1970 and lives in downtown Chicago, where he’s a Eurodollar options trader
• Career tournament winnings just under $64,000, including a cash in the 2006 WSOP Main Event
• Spends an equal amount of time between tournaments and high-stakes cash games
• Not shy about engaging in verbal confrontations at the table

Doyle Brunson
Previous HSP Appearances: Seasons One, Two, and Three
• At the age of 73, regarded as perhaps the greatest poker player of all-time
• Back-to-back World Series of Poker Champion in 1976 and 1977, and owns a record-tying 10 bracelets in all
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $4.9-million
• Has played well in previous seasons of HSP to the delight of his many fans

Todd Brunson
Previous HSP Appearances: Seasons One, Two, and Three
• Highly feared high-stakes cash-game player
• Owns one WSOP bracelet, for $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo in ’05
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $2.88-million
• Wrote the Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo section in his father’s book Super/System II

Eli Elezra
Previous HSP Appearances: Seasons One, Two, and Three
• Israeli-born Las Vegas businessman who regards poker as a hobby
• Winner of one WPT title and one WSOP title
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $1.64-million
• Has shown a propensity to gamble in previous seasons of HSP

Antonio Esfandiari
Previous HSP Appearances: Seasons One, Two, and Three
• Nicknamed “The Magician,” has impressed players and viewers over the last three seasons with almost magical reads
• Winner of one WSOP bracelet and one WPT event
• Career tourney winnings exceed $2.7-million
• Shares the screen with Phil Laak on the reality show I Bet You

Sam Farha
Previous HSP Appearances: Seasons One, Two, and Three
• Houston-based pro known as a player who loves to give action to get action
• Owns two WSOP bracelets and finished second in the 2003 Main Event
• Lifetime tournament winnings just under $2.1-million
• A classic high roller and one of the game’s best dressed players

Phil Galfond
Previous HSP Appearances: None
• Born in 1985 and resides in Madison, Wisconsin
• Full-time poker professional who primarily plays online poker, where he engages in No-Limit games as high as $300/$600
• Specializes in heads-up play
• Recently started doing poker writing on the side

Jamie Gold
Previous HSP Appearances: Season Three
• Former Hollywood talent agent turned television producer
• 2006 World Series of Poker Champion
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $12-million, earning him the number-one all-time ranking
• Known for his loose-aggressive style of play and for his frequent bluffs

Barry Greenstein
Previous HSP Appearances: Seasons One, Two, and Three
• “The Robin Hood Of Poker” excels in both tournaments and cash games
• Winner of two WSOP bracelets and two WPT titles
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $4.93-million
• Lost a memorable aces vs. kings encounter with Sam Farha on Season One of HSP

Jennifer Harman
Previous HSP Appearances: Seasons One, Two, and Three
• Only woman to regularly compete in the “Big Game” at Bellagio
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $1.76-million, including two WSOP bracelets
• Wrote the section on Limit Hold ’Em in Doyle Brunson’s book Super/System II
• New parent to twin boys along with poker-playing husband Marco Traniello

Phil Hellmuth
Previous HSP Appearances: Season One
• Known as “The Poker Brat,” his verbal tirades have made him a star of televised poker
• Has won a record 11 WSOP bracelets, including the 1989 Main Event
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $9-million
• Trying to rebound from a disappointing showing on HSP1

Phil Laak
Previous HSP Appearances: Seasons Two and Three
• Nicknamed “The Unabomber,” which spawned the nickname “Unabombshell” for his girlfriend, Jennifer Tilly
• Won the 2004 WPT Invitational
• Career tournament winnings over $1.23-million, plus he won big on HSP2
• Known for his manic mannerisms and spirited chatter at the table

Guy Laliberte
Previous HSP Appearances: None
• Born in 1959 and is a resident of Montreal, Quebec
• Co-founded the Cirque du Soleil in 1984, and now serves as its CEO
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $747,000, thanks to a fourth-place finish at the 2007 WPT Championship
• A relative newcomer to poker, but loves playing against the game’s best. Play $500 match poker bonus.

Mike Matusow
Previous HSP Appearances: Seasons Two and Three
• Known as “The Mouth” for his constant chatter and trash talking at the tables
• Owns two WSOP bracelets, and also won the 2005 WSOP Tournament of Champions and finished third in 2006
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $4.86-million
• Proclaims himself to be one of the unluckiest players in the world

Daniel Negreanu
Previous HSP Appearances: Seasons One, Two, and Three
• Outgoing “Kid Poker” has become one of the game’s biggest stars
• Owns three WSOP bracelets and two WPT titles
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $9.6-million
• Was involved in a $575,700 pot during HSP2, which he lost when his full house was topped by quads

Bob Safai
Previous HSP Appearances: None
• Born in 1962 and owns a successful real estate company in Los Angeles
• Considers poker a hobby, and is strictly a recreational player
• Has played high-stakes cash games for 10 years, competing in No-Limit Hold ’Em as high as $500/$1000
• Describes himself as the loosest guy at the table. Play route 66 poker.

Tony Salorio
Previous HSP Appearances: None
• Born in 1970 and resides in Coral Springs, Florida, where he owns a general contracting business
• Follows the tour one week a month to play in high-stakes side action
• Has been playing poker for only three years
• Strictly an amateur player who is perceived as loose-aggressive at the table

Haralabos Voulgaris
Previous HSP Appearances: None
• Born in 1975 in Canada, he now lives in the Hollywood Hills
• Professional sports bettor since age 21
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $1.2-million, mostly from a second-place finish at the 2005 L.A. Poker Classic
• Likes to talk at the tables, and prides himself on having a dry sense of humor

Poker News Source: All in Mag