Aria Super High Roller Cash Game Has Players Not Seeing Double

July 1st, 2015 | by Jason Reynolds

The Super High Roller Cash Game at the Aria saw two queen of clubs land on the flop, although players appeared to be oblivious (Image: screenshot of Twitch game feed)

The Aria Super High Roller Series has been stealing a tiny bit of thunder from the World Series of Poker this summer, and a recent incident during one of the event’s cash games has gotten some real buzz.

After kicking off at the end of June with a celebrity event, the high stakes series then put on a show for the masses with the aptly titled name of Super High Roller Cash Game: poor people need not apply.

Getting underway on Monday, the game pitted some of the best players in the world against each other in a match with $400/$800 blinds. Sitting at the table were poker luminaries such as Scott Seiver, Patrik Antonius, and the laconic Dan Coleman. Then, to ensure the well-funded game was seen by as many fans as possible, its organizer Poker Central opted to broadcast it live via Twitch.

Anything Can Happen Live

While this proved to be a sound business move, mainly because the stream attracted more than 1.5 million views over a three-day period, it caused an unforeseen problem on Tuesday after an issue with the deck was spotted by thousands of spectators.

Despite spending a lot of time ensuring both the game and the stream flowed as smoothly as possible, the organizers ran into trouble after the queen of clubs decided to make an appearance not once, but twice, on the flop.

Following a pre-flop battle between Doug Polk and Dan Coleman, the dealer burn and turn of the first three community cards was brought to an abrupt halt after two cards of the same value hit the felt.

Clubbing It

While some may have initially thought they were seeing double, the dealer had actually laid out As Qc Qc on the flop. Although the mistake was quickly spotted by a number of people and flagged up in the stream’s chatbox, it took both the players and the dealer a few moments before they realized the problem.

In fact, it wasn’t until Polk’s continuation bet had forced a fold from Coleman and he’d started raking in his chips that the dealer paused the action and addressed the situation.

Aside from the comments by those watching, the players at the table were not only quick to question how two cards of the same value could end up in the same deck, but how they could all miss such as thing.

Thankfully the incident was resolved before viewers had time to post the word “rigged” online, and the players were told that the rules dictate that each active player is to have their money returned as if the hand never happened.

This was later clarified by the game’s commentator Jamie Staples, who explained on 2+2 that everyone was eventually happy with the decision and play was able to resume as normal.

“This was confirmed terrifying ha ha. Thankfully everything worked out and the people in production and the Aria staff made it clear what happened, and what was to happen,” wrote Staples.

Although the glitch may have interrupted the high stakes cash game for a few minutes, it was far from disastrous and many fans have praised the action and quality of the video stream.

The cash game action is now over, but fans of big money events still have something to look forward to later this week courtesy of the Super High Roller Bowl. Featuring the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Phil Galfond, the $500,000 buy-in event will be one of the main attractions this summer and a definite match for anything taking place at the WSOP.

To watch the now infamous hand in question unfold, click here.