Instagram Insiders: Hellmuth, Bond, Brains and Hart

While a tweet or two may let fans into their favorite poker player’s heads, it’s usually just for a brief moment thanks to a 140-character limit. Instagram has no such boundaries and this week brought some pictures across our timeline that were all worth more than a thousand words.

 

Floor seats for @Warriors @cavs game tonight w David Sacks, and Warriors Owners Nicole Curran and Joe Lacob

A photo posted by Phil Hellmuth (@beingthegreatest) on Jan 16, 2017 at 11:08pm PST

I don’t usually watch January basketball but I made an exception this week for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors NBA Finals rematch. While I watched from my couch, Phil Hellmuth had front row seats, literally. As a 14-time WSOP bracelet winner, Hellmuth knows about ‘strength in numbers’ and a packed Oracle Arena made the Warriors even stronger, as the ‘Splash Brothers’ combine for nearly 50, Draymond Green mock LeBron and the home team blewout the defending champs. 

 

Can’t escape this guy at the Aussie Millions. #PartyPoker #defendingchamp #aussiemillions #poker #global #rivalry #headtohead #escapeplan #melb #nomads #backtoback #felt

A photo posted by Tony Dunst (@tonydunst18) on Jan 12, 2017 at 7:10pm PST

A year after finishing one-two in the Aussie Millions Main Event, Tony Dunst and Ari Engel found themselves side by side again. This time, the stakes were a little lower, as it was just a prelim and there wasn’t seven-figures up for grabs. Unfortunately, for Dunst, who is no stranger to Australia, as he lived in Melbourne for a few years while cutting his chops in the poker world, he had to settle for silver in 2016. ‘Bond18’ got gold a few months later though, winning his first WSOP bracelet in a $1,000 NLH event this past summer. 

 

I try to be productive all day but then I end up watching the Brains vs AI challenge. Day 7, down 100k, let’s go Humans!

A photo posted by Douglas K Polk (@dougpolkpoker) on Jan 17, 2017 at 5:34pm PST

Doug Polk might not be involved in the second installment of the ‘Brains vs. AI’ challenge but he was the first time around. That’s when the humans defeated ‘Claudico’ in 2015 but this year, mankind isn’t having the same success. Through the first week of heads up matches, Carnegie Mellon’s new computer program, Libratus, is up over six-figure on his living, breathing competitors and that’s not only bad for mankind, it’s bad for Doug Polk’s productivity. I’m rooting for #TeamHuman but only so that it gets Polk back in the lab making more videos like this. 

 

My biggest problem in poker is not being able to disguise my big hands ??????????…..I had A’s here…Can u tell ???????? #GottaGetaBetterPokerFace

A photo posted by Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real) on Jan 17, 2017 at 7:04pm PST

Kevin Hart was the toast of the PokerStars Championship Bahamas series, which isn’t surprising because it’s not every day that one of the world’s most recognizable actors and comedians competes with the best poker players in the world. That’s exactly what Hart did, as he battled in multiple big buy-in events, including the $100,000 Super High Roller. After the series, Hart went back to the tape and found his one leak, that he needs to work on his poker face. Aren’t actors supposed to be able to, well, act!?