Fifteen months after his clash with Robbie Jade Lew in one of the most infamous hands in poker history, cash game phenom Garrett Adelstein ended his self-imposed exile and returned to the high-stakes streets.
Adelstein made his official return on Bally Live Poker playing against a lineup that consisted of Patrik Antonius, Hustler Casino Live star Prince Charles, and Eric Persson among others. The $100,000 minimum buy-in and $200/$400 stakes promised fireworks but undoubtedly it was the reemergence of Adelstein that brought eyeballs to the stream, with more than 16,500 viewers at one point.
Adelstein kicked things off with a subtle nod to his absence, buying in for $135,000 – the amount returned to him by Lew in the Jack-Four hand. And after winning his first hand back, a relatively negligible hand, Adelstein quickly did what he was known for: added on $500,000 in order to cover the table.
Here’s Adelstein, once again, paying some homage to Jack-Four:
Any perceived rust Adelstein might have had was shaken off just hours into the stream when he executed a three-street bluff against Antonius. A statement hand that declared that Adelstein was, in fact, back.
The first big-time move made by Adelstein went down like this:
Patrik Antonius made it $1,200 to go UTG+1 with the 
, Eric Persson called with the 
, as did Curtis with his 
. When it reached Adelstein on the button he made it $6,000 with his 
. Only Antonius and Curtis made the call and the three players saw a flop of 
, giving Antonius top pair on the board.
Action checked to Adelstein who fired his first shell of $10,000. After a few moments, both players made the call. The 
hit the turn, Antonius still best checked, as did Curtis who picked up a gutshot straight draw to go with his pair. With just two overs, Adelstein fired again. This time $35,000. Antonius stuck around. Curtis used a time chip but ultimately let it go.
The river was the 
(Curtis would have made the straight) and Antonius was officially best. But when it was checked to him a third time, Adelstein made the big move and went all-in for $111,700 effective. Antonius tanked for nearly two minutes before folding and with that, Gman was back dragging six-figure pots.
Watch the hand on Bally Live Poker.
In the end, Adelstein ended up the big winner. According to high stakes tracking site Highroll Poker, Adelstein booked a $132,600 win, making him the biggest winner of the night. He also had a 46% VPIP, third active of the eight players at the table.
Prior to his return Adelstein also returned to doing a fair amount of media including jumping on a podcast with poker personality, and commentator for the Bally Live Poker, Joey Ingram. Hesitant to talk about the scandal in depth, Adelstein did address his reaction on that September evening and the reaction of the fans.
“In the end, I just did the best I could. I was doing what I thought was right throughout,” Adelstein said to Ingram. “And I know many people are going to be listening to that and they go ‘right on! I’ve been riding with you the whole way.’ I know some people are going to feel the opposite and be like ‘hey, I like watching you play but like I don’t agree with how you handled that.’ And to them, I just want them to know I respect your opinion, it’s all good. In life, we have big moments, we have to make tough decisions and those are the ones I made. For those who don’t think I handled that right…basically, no hard feelings.”
Adelstein’s conversation with Ingram centered on his return but he reiterated that he hadn’t been watching poker streams, had not been playing, and promised himself that he would only return when it seemed fun again and he could bring his best to the table.
He also understands that, being forever linked to such an iconic hand and this being the world of poker he may have to endure some jokes, slowrolls, and trolling. He’s accepted that, especially when the trade-off is the chance to play in front of his fans again.
“Entering that arena again, you’ve got to have super tough skin. Whether I actually do or not, you’ve got to have really tough skin,” he said.
“For me, this is very little about earning some additional income…but I do miss the game and I do miss the fans. Right or wrong, the positive feedback I used to get playing poker, my identity will always be tied to that to some extent. Which is a very vulnerable thing I think to admit. That hasn’t gone away.”
“I’m looking forward to the hands that go right, the hands that go wrong, and everything in between.”
Adelstein is slated to appear next on the WPT $300/$600 cash game livestream this Friday.