Athlete Nitrolls Jennifer Tilly on PokerStars Big Game on Tour

Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

Jun 14, 2025 3 min read

Pique with the Nitroll
Can Loose Cannon Hang On?
PokerStars Big Game on Tour Cumulative Results
Big Game on Tour Season 2 Recaps

Episode 4 of the current PokerStars Big Game on Tour season saw a world champion enter the game, the "Loose Cannon" fighting to avoid getting felted, and a world-class athlete nitrolling a world-class actress.

Time is running out for Jordan Handrich, the Loose Cannon staked to play in the game, to get above her $50,000 starting stack after 150 hands. But the action was intense in the newest episode, providing some opportunity to rebuild her stack that had dwindled below $30,000 in a recent episode.

Pique with the Nitroll

Jennifer Tilly dominated the first two episodes of Season 2. But she's been met with some resistance in the past two shows. The Hollywood actress played a pot against soccer star Gerard Pique that wasn't particularly large. It was, however, a bit on the strange side.

The hand in the $100/$200 no-limit hold'em game (pot-limit preflop) began with Tilly raising to $600 from the cutoff with Q♥9♥. Griffin Benger, on the button with 10♥9♣, called. Pique, holding 6♦2♦ in the big blind, came along for the ride to hit trips on the 6♥6♠5♠ flop.

Action checked to Benger, who bet $1,000 with 10-high and no draw. The big blind called, as did Tilly. The turn was the 3♦, locking up the hand for Pique. He checked again, but Tilly went for an unconventional bet of $3,000 given her position and lack of equity.

Pique just called with trips again, while Benger folded. The river was the Q♣, a bad card for Tilly. Her opponent checked one last time, perhaps waiting to set the trap for a check-raise. Tilly obliged with a $6,000 bet. But the celebrity athlete went into the tank for a minute before grabbing some calling chips, shaking those chips around with his right hand, and then begrudgingly making the call to win the $23,100 pot.

"I know who's winning this week's Nitroll Award," commentator Joe Stapleton said.

Pique has made some questionable plays during Season 2. He finds himself down $23,100 through four episodes, which has spanned 118 of the 150 hands to be played.

Can Loose Cannon Hang On?

Jordan Handrich PokerStars — Jordan Handrich

The cards didn't go Handrich's way through the first three episodes of the PokerStars Big Game on Tour. She didn't look down at many premium hole cards — not "hold cards," Stapes. But midway through Episode 4, the Loose Cannon had J♥J♦, and she knew it was time to make a move.

Andre Akkari, a longtime PokerStars pro, however, had Q♥Q♣ on the button. He raised it up to $700. Handrich, in the small blind, three-bet to $2,600. The original raiser then re-raised to $8,000.

Handrich called "pot," a five-bet to $24,400. Akkari then put her all in for $33,600, and she made the call to see the bad news. But both players agreed to run the board four times, so she still had a decent chance to stay alive.

Neither player hit a set on any of the four runouts, all of which went to Akkari. That meant Handrich was out of the game and went home empty-handed. But she received a standing ovation from the players she battled against, and she had the opportunity to play high-stakes poker with some top-notch competition.

"I feel like this show has made me more confident, not just as a player, but as a person," Handrich said in her exit interview.

The elimination of the Loose Cannon left a seat open at the table, and it went to Jonathan Tamayo, the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion. The $10 million winning world champ was dealt a handful of hands before the episode concluded, and lost a small amount.

PokerStars Big Game on Tour Cumulative Results

Player	Chip Stack	Profit/Loss
Jennifer Tilly	$98,900	$48,900
Sam Grafton	$110,800	$35,800
Andre Akkari	$99,300	($700)
Jonathan Tamayo	$47,900	($2,100)
Griffin Benger	$90,200	($9,800)
Gerard Pique	$102,900	($23,100)
Jordan Handrich	$0	($50,000)