With its mix of high-stakes poker and personal stories, the popular series The Big Game on Tour from PokerStars never fails to enthrall viewers. Lily Newhouse, a Loose Cannon whose path is beyond the poker table, takes the stage in Episode 8. Newhouse is telling a personal tale of resiliency and optimism and vying for a paycheck to change her life.
In this episode, Newhouse revealed her battle with breast cancer—a fight that fundamentally changed her perspective on life. Diagnosed in 2018 at thirty-two, Newhouse had twelve rounds of chemotherapy over five demanding months while living with a small son at home. When she thought back on her experience, she remarked, “Your only goal in undergoing cancer therapy is survival. Everything else is off the agenda.
Notwithstanding the difficulties, Newhouse views her early cancer diagnosis as an odd sort of gift. “I truly felt and still feel that I was lucky to get cancer so young,” she said. “I discovered that anything can happen to anyone at any moment and that life is now. You have no idea how long you have. That helped me to pursue my hobbies and dreams unreservedly.
Loose Cannon Heads Towards The Right Direction
Newhouse proved her poker skills in a noteworthy hand in the third session of the episode. Dave Krosky with K♥ J♣ had a limp; Newhouse, carrying A♥ 9♦, raised to $800 from the cutoff. With A♣ 7♣, Phil Laak defended his large blind, producing a flop of A♦ 10♠ 8♠. Newhouse bet $1,300, called by Laak and Krosky.
Krosky bet $3,000 after Laak checked since the five-star turn delivered a third spade. Newhouse called with the better hand, pushing Laak to fold. The river was a J♥ that Newhouse checked through; she secured a $12,600 pot to help her balance her stack.
Krosky’s Sun Run Over?
Dave Krosky started well but had a problematic break in this episode. Krosky’s luck started to fade even with an initial profit of almost $40,000. Following several aggressive hero calls and speculative bluffs, he lost significant pots to Laak, Maria Ho, and Sam Grafton.
Laak had the stone-cold nuts with J♦ 10♥ one hand, with $3,700 in the center on the board 9♣ 7♦ 4♥ 5♠ 8♠. Having J♠ 8♠, Krosky was taken aback by Laak’s overbet of $12,000 and paid off, so extending his losing run.
On the J♣ 5♣ 3♥ 8♥ Q♥ board, Krosky also tried a bluff against Ho with 4 ♣ 2♦. Ho’s check on the flop and turn was called; therefore, Krosky’s $6,000 bet pushed another pot in the incorrect direction.
His poor streak carried on against Grafton, who successfully played with Q♥ 9♦ against Krosky’s K♦ 8♠. Krosky’s attempts at recovery from his losses resulted in more failures.
Did Grafton Nitroll Newhouse?
Lily Newhouse was in a difficult position against Sam Grafton in what might be considered as a chiller. Newhouse raised to $700 with A♣ Q♣ in early position, then called Grafton’s three-bet to $2,100 with A♠ A♦. With a flop K♦ Q♠ 2♠, Newhouse top pair and Grafton had a set of aces.
The A♥ turn boosted Newhouse to two pairs following a check-call of $1,700 on the flop, but she was still drawing dead to Grafton’s top set. She paid another $2,500 and placed $5,500 on the 8♠ river. Before phoning, Grafton slowly revealed his set of cards and left Newhouse shocked.
Newhouse stayed calm despite the setback and recovered part of it with a good hero call against Laak and a lucrative hand against Krosky.
Big Slick Hold: Newhouse’s
Newhouse was dealt A♣ K♠ and opened to $700 from the cutoff as the show finished. From the button and the large blind, respectively, Grafton and Laak called. With the flop K♣ Q♦ 3♦, Newhouse had a top pair. She wagered $1,300 and had both opponent’s calls.
She raised her stake to $4,500, and the 2♠ turn kept Newhouse ahead. Following callers from Grafton and Laak, the 7♣ river saw Newhouse’s third barrel of $8,800 cause her opponent to fold. Newhouse concluded the session with excellent marks and raised her stack to $49,300.
Views Following Episode 8
Maria Ho stays the tour’s top winner after Episode 8, adding $6,000 to her stack. Black had a little defeat in the session but has ascended to second place following Krosky’s fall from grace.
Lily Newhouse has had her best performance yet; she has closed her deficit and almost broke even. Krosky lost over $50,000 and currently finds himself in the hole for $4,900. Sadly, Phil Laak still struggling and ranks lowest among the leaders. As the season draws to a finish, players make last pushes for supremacy, and the rivalry gets hotter. The previous episodes promise more thrills as the Loose Cannon and other candidates fight for the top places.
