Daniel “Jungleman” Cates had a rough night at the felt on the latest episode of Hellmuth’s Home Game, dropping $18,000 across a session where Shaun Deeb and Erick Lindgren were the biggest winners and host Phil Hellmuth himself busted his entire starting stack. Episode 28, filmed at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada and aired July 30, played out at $25/$50 blinds with a $50 big blind ante, a spicy structure that produced several big confrontations over the course of the session.
How the Stacks Moved
Deeb turned a $25,000 starting stack into $46,950, good for a $21,950 profit on the night. Lindgren had an even steeper climb, building a modest $5,000 buy-in into $26,700, a gain of $21,700. Jennifer Tilly also finished comfortably in the black, converting her own $5,000 stake into $15,550. On the losing side, Cates finished with $22,000 in front of him, but after accounting for the money he rebought over the course of the session, as high-stakes cash game regulars often do when a table gets deep, he closed the night down $18,000 net. Xuan Liu had a far quieter session, dipping just $1,650. Hellmuth had the worst night of anyone at the table, going from $5,000 to zero, and his son Nick Hellmuth also finished stuck, down $4,750 on a $5,000 buy-in.
Nick Hellmuth Folds a Big One to Deeb
One of the more discussed hands of the night came when Shaun Deeb fired a bluff into Nick Hellmuth. After missing a straight draw, Deeb moved all in on a river that brought a queen, representing a hand he did not have with 10♠9♠. Nick, holding top pair with A♥K♦, ultimately folded, then turned to his father for a second opinion. “I’m curious what your opinion is?” Nick asked. Phil did not hesitate with his read, telling his son, “I would not have folded that.” Whether or not Phil was right, Deeb’s bluff held up and he pocketed the pot without a showdown, one of several moments that padded his healthy night.
Lindgren Doubles Through Liu Running It Twice
Erick Lindgren’s big night got a major boost in a hand against Xuan Liu, who moved all in on a draw holding Q♥J♥. Lindgren made the call with A♣J♣, a strong holding against Liu’s combo draw. The two agreed to run the board twice, a common practice in high-stakes cash games designed to reduce variance on big all-in confrontations, and Lindgren won both runouts to scoop a $13,200 pot. The double-up was a turning point that helped set up his eventual $21,700 winning session.
Tilly Runs Into a Big Hand From Deeb
Jennifer Tilly, who still finished the night well ahead overall, lost a meaningful pot to Deeb when she shoved all in with top pair, Q♠J♣. Deeb woke up with A♠J♥, another top pair but with the superior kicker, and it held to win a $9,675 pot. Deeb could not resist a needle afterward, telling Tilly, “I have held over you for many, many years,” a reference to a long-running rivalry between the two at the table. Even with the loss, Tilly’s overall session stayed comfortably positive thanks to earlier success elsewhere in the game.
Jungleman Gets One Back, But Not Enough
Cates was not without his moments. In a cooler-heavy confrontation against Nick Hellmuth, Cates found pocket queens against Nick’s pocket nines, and with the two agreeing to run the board twice, Cates won both boards to scoop the pot. It was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise difficult session for the high-stakes specialist, who has developed a reputation over multiple episodes of the show for taking hard nights almost as often as he delivers big ones, a pattern familiar to those who have followed his appearances on the series over the past several months.
Why These Sessions Matter Beyond the Headlines
Shows like Hellmuth’s Home Game offer a rare public look at the kind of hands and decisions that usually only happen behind closed doors in true high-stakes cash games. Watching professionals debate calls in real time, including moments like Nick Hellmuth soliciting his father’s opinion mid-hand, gives newer players a sense of how experienced players think through marginal spots. For readers looking to build a foundation before analyzing hands at this level, Poker Pro Academy’s poker hand rankings guide is a good place to start.
Looking Ahead
With Deeb and Lindgren both walking away well ahead and Hellmuth eating a full buy-in loss on his own show, Episode 28 continued a pattern that has made Hellmuth’s Home Game appointment viewing for high-stakes poker fans, unpredictable outcomes, big personalities, and hands that swing tens of thousands of dollars on a single river card. Cates will look to bounce back in future episodes, but for now the $18,000 dent adds another chapter to what has been a rollercoaster run on the show for the former online high-stakes phenom.
