The Big Game on Tour is back with a new set of five episodes, the first of which aired this Sunday, November 8. The popular show brings the old, well-known concept, with the Loose Cannon at the center of the action, and a fresh lineup of players to spice things up.

The first episode of the new series saw Scott Gaughan take his seat at the Loose Cannon, with the rest of the seats filled by poker pros Doug Polk, Antonio Esfandiari, and Esther Taylor, popular comedian Tony Hinchcliffe (of the ‘Kill Tony’ show), and reality star and entrepreneur Princess Love.

As is often the case with the Big Game, the first session featured fewer hands as the table played only 20 of the total 150. Even so, those 20 hands were enough to create some fireworks, with Doug Polk setting the tone on the very first hand.

Polk Puts Princess to the Test

The very first hand of the new series saw Doug Polk post a $400 straddle, clearly determined to defend that straddle all the way.

It looked like the first hand wouldn’t amount to much, as the first four players mucked their cards. However, Princess Love in the big blind picked up a pair of deuces and decided to call.

Polk looked down at 8d7d, a hand that he certainly doesn’t have to raise with, but anyone who knows anything about Doug’s play knew that some extra chips would go into the pot before the flop was dealt. Sure enough, Polk bumped it up to $1,600, an amount his opponent found adequate, so she made the call.

The flop came 6-4-4 rainbow, which is a pretty decent board for a small pocket pair. So it came as no surprise that Princess Love proceeded to check-call Doug’s small $1,200 continuation bet.

The turn brought another four, improving Princess to a full house. This card did not influence Polk too much, though, as he proceeded to bet $5,000. His opponent called once more.

The river brought a queen, and once Princess Love checked, Doug decided it was time to go for it, moving all-in for $42,000. It was a really tough spot, and Princess ended up folding her cards (which no one could blame her for), but Polk proceeded to show the bluff, and the game was on.

Loose Cannon Bounces Back

One thing that seems to be a theme of recent Big Game on Tour shows is that Loose Cannons can’t catch a break early on.

We saw this once more as Scott Gaughan picked up pocket kings a few hands into the session. After Tony limped for $200 from UTG, Scott, who was next to act, made it $1,100. Polk made the call in the big blind with pocket nines, as did Tony with his J-7 suited.

The flop came a good one for Scott, as the dealer spread 7-4-2 rainbow. Tony decided not to play in flow and donk bet $500 instead after Polk checked to him. The Loose Cannon did the right thing here, bumping it up to $2,500. However, Polk, with his overpair, decided to stick around, and then Tony, holding the top pair, called the extra $2,000 as well.

The turn was the three of clubs, completing some straights and bringing a flush draw. Once more, Tony decided to lead out into the field, making it $3,000. Both players called, bringing the pot to $20,100.

The river was a five, putting a four-liner on the board, and it was now Polk’s turn to take over the betting lead. He fired $15,000, which got rid of Tony and put the Loose Cannon into a blender.

At this point, any ace or a six would give Polk a straight, and the way the hand played out, it was really hard to figure out what was going on. In the end, Scott decided to play it safe and mucked the winner.

It was a bit of a shaky start for the Loose Cannon, but he was able to win back almost all of his money later on, primarily thanks to a pot he won off of Esther Taylor. After the first 20 hands, he ended up pretty much where he started, down just one small blind.

Tony’s Doing the Killing Thus Far

Tony Hinchcliffe is actually the biggest winner after the first session, up almost $60,000. The bulk of his winnings came from a hand he played against Antonio Esfandiari where he flopped two pair against Antonio’s overpair and an open-ended straight draw.

All the money got into the middle on the flop, and Esfandiari had a bunch of outs. However, those outs were severely reduced when Tony filled up on the turn, leaving The Magician drawing to just two sevens on the river.

The river bricked, and Tony pulled in a six-figure pot, much to Antonio’s dismay.

Princess Love was the only other player to turn a profit after the first session. Despite a rough start, she made her stand against Polk at the right time and her hand held up on both runouts. She’ll be coming back to a profit of $15,800.

The Big Game is on, and from what we’ve seen so far, everyone’s come to play. For Scott Gaughan, this means he’ll likely face some tough decisions along the way, but he should have a fair few opportunities to stack up some profit and walk away the winner.

The next episode of The Big Game on Tour will be available on Sunday, November 15, on the PokerStars YouTube channel.