Kevin Hart described his play style as “crazy”, but he thought he had a strong hand at the time.
Videos of a poker hand involving Kevin Hart went viral recently, because it involved a well-executed bluff that had no effect on the celebrity poker player, because he mistook the strength of his hand. Daniel Negreanu, who sat at the table where the hand occurred, described the moment as the “greatest televised hand in the history of poker“.
Kevin Hart is an avid poker player, who has played with many of the top players in the world and lately. The world-famous comedian and actor has been appearing in high-roller poker events since the Super High Roller Bowl in Las Vegas in May 2017, after he signed an endorsement and sponsorship deal with PokerStars.
Whether Kevin Hart is a skilled card player is up for debate, especially after his insane poker hand at a cash game PokerStars Championship in Monte Carlo last year spread around the Internet.
In the clip, Hart was up against Daniel Negreanu, Faraz Jaka, Liv Boeree, Charlie Carrel, and qualifier Mila Monroe. The hand between Hart and Monroe is being deemed one of the craziest hands ever.
Kevin Hart’s Insane Poker Hand
In the hand, Kevin Hart called with a King-3 of spades, while Mila Monroe bluffed. Monroe raised with a 6 of spades and 2 of clubs then Hart decides to call.
The flop gave both players no help with a 10 of hearts, Queen of spades and 5 of clubs. Monroe then bet 400 and Hart called. The next turn revealed an Ace of hearts, which gave Hart a straight draw. Now that the bluffer had a chance at a straight, Mila Monroe continued to fire and bets 700, though both bluffs were perhaps too small to chase off players. Hart calls, possibly holding out for a King.
The river card was a 10, which helped neither player. In a gutsy but textbook move, Mila Monroe continued to show strength, as she threw another 1,200 in the part. Kevin Hart raised while holding King-high. Hart held the best hand with King-high, but any sane player would fold when holding that hand against three straight bluffs.
Bluffs Don’t Work on Certain Players
Based on that logic, Mila Monroe decided to go all in. After asking for a chip count, Kevin Hart then decided to call, which stunned the broadcasters. At this point, the craziest hand gets revealed and confusion comes over the faces at the table.
Hart flipped over his hand, stating that he has a straight — except he did not hold a straight. Thus, the bluffs had no effect, because Kevin Hart though he was holding a really strong hand – or at least the chance to fill a strong hand. With his king-high hand, Hart takes the win even after he completely misread his cards.
The televised event left everyone stunned and confused, including veteran poker players. Hart commented on his opponent’s reactions, stating, “The funniest thing is Daniel Negreanu’s face when it happened. He keeps looking at the board to see what else is out there, because he didn’t understand what had gone down. She was the last person we expected a bluff like that from.”
After the game poker legend Negreanu mentioned that it was potentially “the greatest televised hand in the history of poker.”
Bleeding Hart
The perfectly played bluff that should have worked had gone wrong for Monroe. Had Hart taken another peak at his cards the outcome would have been completely different. Being a good sport about it Monroe says, “That’s poker, right?”
After the hand, Kevin Hart decided to have mercy on his opponent – another sign he’s a card playing novice. Hart said, “I feel bad, I feel very bad and I don’t want you to leave….Because it’s you, anybody else I don’t do this…I am going to give you, here let’s give you 15k”.
Then Kevin Hart handed over 15,000 in chips, Monroe is in true disbelief.
Initially she thought it was to borrow but Hart assured her that it was hers to keep, saying, “There’s no borrow (sic). I am just giving it to you.”
Monroe was more than appreciative and let him know she would repay him, stating, “When I get money, you will get it back.”
Hart replied, “When you get money you will get it back, no, I am giving it back to you, so I can take it one more time.”
When Hart discussed the move after the game, saying, “She was such a sweet, sweet woman and we had so much fun at the table. So, I bought her back in and let her play some more. You got to see the heart in Kevin Hart!”
PokerStars Partnership
Back in May of 2017 Hart announced his partnership with PokerStars, an Amaya Inc. brand in order to promote the game of poker and introduce new audiences to the world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars. Hart joined up with Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu to announce his plan to change the face of poker.
Hart said, “I am going to make poker fun, and working with PokerStars will give me the poker platform I need to do this. I’m glad there are all these poker pros here who I can compete with and take their money. But the best thing about poker is that anyone can play it, whether you’re making millions like Daniel Negreanu or just sitting around the kitchen table playing for coins,” adding that he has, “great ideas for bringing poker to the people, while having fun.”
Hart’s goal at the time was to leverage PokerStars marketing, live events and his own social media channels to promote the fun and social aspects of poker. And It seems like has done held up his plans pretty well.
Amaya Vice President of Corporate Communications, Eric Hollreiser, seemed very pleased with the team up with Hart. “We take poker seriously, because that’s our business. Kevin Hart makes everything he does fun because that’s his business. Kevin is a maverick and we’re thrilled to work with him to take poker to new audiences around the world and have a great time doing it.”
Kevin Hart’s Poker Background
Hart has been playing poker for quite some time now and seems to be falling right into place behind many of the poker professionals. His busy schedule doesn’t keep him too far from the tables. He has participated in several high buy-in events, such as the Super High Roller Bowl at the Aria and Super High Rollers in Monte Carlo as well as at the PCA.
Hart says he is improving and is constantly learning from the professionals that he plays with. “I’m progressing, I’m making baby steps. I’m getting closer to the ultimate goal of winning,”
“The more you play with these guys, the more you start to understand them. You see what people tend to have in certain spots. It’s allowing me to play better, to pick my spots better. Ultimately, they still don’t know where to put me or where to gauge my level of hands, because I don’t show down too many.”
Kevin Hart’s Poker Skill
Hart takes his poker seriously and hasn’t only invested large amounts of money but commits more time than more celebrities do when it comes to lengthy tournaments. A lot of celebs lose interest after a few hours of play, but Hart has the concentration needed for a successful competitor. He has often made it well into the tournaments he plays. He placed 14th in the $100,000 Super High Roller at the PCA, after playing for a day and a half, which was just a couple spots short of the money.
About his stamina at the poker table, Hart said, “I love the game. For me, the patience comes with the competitive side. When you are competitive at that level, it makes you go above and beyond to find ways to compete.
“For me, sitting, grinding, understanding, are all part of my passion for poker — me having a mental love for the game. I can sit at the table and be patient, because I know, that’s the last thing you expect. I can also entertain myself, talking and not getting responses from people that never talk. I do things with my time to look like I’m involved, while I’m actually not too involved.”
