Alan Keating Sets New High Stakes Poker Record

Setting the Stage: Big Stacks and Bigger Straddles

Before we get into the details, let’s set the scene first.

The game was $500/$1,000 No-Limit Hold’em, but with regular straddles pushing effective stakes much higher. Rick Salomon led the table with $1.3 million in front, followed by Keating with $723,000 and Peter Wang with $660,000.

Earlier in the episode, Keating had taken a hit — dropping nearly half a million to Salomon — then walked away from the table to reload. He came back with an extra $500K, bringing his stack to match Wang’s. That top-up would prove very well timed.

Here’s a look at the chip stacks entering Episode 10 and notable winnings from the biggest pots of the night:

Preflop: Kings Versus Ace-High

The game was $500/$1,000 No-Limit Hold’em, with a $4,000 double straddle on courtesy of Rick Salomon, who had over $1.3 million in front. Action folded to Alan Keating on the button. Instead of raising into the straddle-heavy pot, Keating chose to flat-call — a rare slow play from one of the game’s most aggressive players.

In the big blind, Peter Wang looked down at A 3 , a hand that doesn’t mind playing deep against a button limp. He raised to $14,000, pushing out the rest of the field.

Keating, without fanfare, slid out a chunky three-bet to $69,000. With stacks already deep and momentum building, Wang made the call — setting up a massive pot of $145,500 before the flop even landed.

Flop: Keating Hits Top Set

The flop came 2 J K , and you could practically hear the tension tighten across the felt.

Keating had flopped top set — the dream scenario for any pocket kings slow-player. Wang, however, had connected in the most dangerous way possible: the nut flush draw and an overcard.

Wang checked. Keating bet $70,000, a sizing that looked value-heavy but still left room for interpretation. Wang then sprung a huge check-raise to $200,000, turning his draw into a pressure tool.

In the commentary booth, Nick Schulman was already enjoying the theater:

“I’ll tell you who else is feeling good — the guy with top set getting check-raised to 200 dimes.”

Keating flat-called once again, inviting Wang deeper into the trap. The pot now stood at $545,000, and every spectator knew something big was coming.

Turn: Top Pair for Wang, Shove and a Snap

The A landed on the turn, giving Wang top pair to go with his flush draw. This was his moment — and he didn’t hesitate.

“All in,” Wang announced, jamming his remaining $434,000 into the middle.

Keating barely needed time to think. He snap-called, setting up a final pot of $1,412,500 — the largest in High Stakes Poker history, surpassing the previous $992K record held by Santhosh Suvarna in Season 12.

As Keating wordlessly lifted two fingers to indicate a runout twice, Wang simply nodded. But when the cards were revealed, Wang’s mood shifted.

“Wow,” he muttered, visibly surprised to see he was drawing against top set.

“Peter, I mean… he called off 600 dimes — it’s not that surprising,” Schulman added.

River One, River Two, and a Record Falls

The first river was the A , giving Wang trips but ultimately improving Keating to a full house. The second was the J , pairing the board again and locking it up for Keating with kings full of jacks.

No flush. No miracle.

Wang took it in stride, laughing it off, while Keating quietly stacked over 1.4 million in chips without saying a word. The biggest pot in show history had come and gone — and it all happened in under three minutes.

“That happened fast,” said AJ Benza from the booth, echoing what everyone watching was thinking.

A Rivalry That Keeps Delivering

Keating and Wang had already played the second-biggest pot of the season — a $911,000 hand back in Episode 6, where Keating made a gutsy hero call to win. That made this hand feel personal, or at least part of a longer storyline building week after week.

The previous High Stakes Poker record — $992,000 — stood for two seasons. Keating just shattered it with a top set, a cool head, and a perfect storm of timing.

And the season still isn’t over.

Photo Credits: PokerGO