GG Poker’s Game of Gold - Everything you Need to Know

GGPoker launched Game of Gold in late 2023 to much fanfare, but what is Game of Gold, who competed in the first season, and who was the biggest winner?

What is Game of Gold?

Game of Gold is a televised poker program that is seen as a continuation of the ever-popular Poker After Dark brand. Where the original Poker After Dark was a straightforward poker show where six players fought it out in a winner-takes-all sit & go, Game of Gold takes elements of Survivor, including various poker-related challenges, and a metagame in which gold coins are earned, and players and teams face elimination.

The combination of poker with a reality show has proven exceptionally popular. Viewers not only get t see some of the world's best poker players go into battle with one another, but also get a glimpse behind the curtain as players sweat their team mates' performances in the green room.

How Does Game of Gold Work?

The inaugural Game of Gold season saw 16 poker players split into teams, who then competed over the course of four rounds. Those players were rewarded for their individual performances through the accumulation of gold coins, with each gold coin translating to one big blind's worth of chips in the final round.

Although the 16 players were split into teams, only one player could win the $456,000 first-place prize. Why was the $456,000 prize so specific? Because the producers are Squid Game fans, and the main protagonist, Seong Gi-hun, wears the number 456 throughout that show.

The players came from a variety of backgrounds and showcased their skills across several poker formats, including sit & Gos, heads-up, and Indian poker. The final round was a regular poker tournament among the surviving players, each starting with a different amount of chips based on the gold coins they'd accumulated before this point.

What is the Prize for Game of Gold

The original Game of Gold prize was $456,000 for the last player standing. Only one person walked away with any prize money for their efforts.

Game of Gold Season 1

Game of Gold Season 1 saw 16 top-tier poker players from all walks of life enter the fray in front of the prying eyes of the television cameras.

When Did Game of Gold Season 1 Air?

The first episodes of Game of Gold Season 1 aired on YouTube in November 2023, with the 12th and final episode broadcast in early December 2023.

Game of Gold Cast – Which Poker Payers Took Part in Game of Gold Season 1?

Sixteen poker players locked horns and butted heads during the inaugural Game of Gold Season 1.

Game of Gold Season 1 Review

The first-ever season of Game of Gold was deemed a massive success, taking place for four weeks over the winter of 2023. The inaugural episode attracted 485,000 viewers in its first six weeks on the GGPoker YouTube channel, and it retained that viewership, with approximately 320,000 views for the 12th and final episode.

Viewers particularly liked the candid insight into how poker's top poker players think. The behind-the-scenes footage, filmed in the green room, seemed natural without the players having cameras thrust into their faces. Others noted that it was cool to have some background information about the players, giving them a personality away from their playing careers.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 1 Review

Episode 1 of Game of Gold Season 1 kicked off by introducing viewers to the 16 contestants before Ali Najad introduced the Game of Gold concept, and split the players into four teams of four. Najad then revealed the first challenge, a series of four-handed sit & go tournaments, paying homage to Poker After Dark.

Olga Iermolcheva was the star of the show, showcasing an aggressive style during her battle with Kyna England, Nikita Luther, and Michael Soyza. The episode ends on a cliffhanger moment involving Iermolcheva and England.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 2 Review

Episode 2 opened with the conclusion of the previous episode's cliffhanger before seeing Andy Stacks, Kevin Martin, Josh Arieh, and an open-shirted Charlie Carrel sit down for their four-handed SNG. Arieh brought his A-Game to the table and put on a poker masterclass that none of his opponents could counter.

Arieh staged an incredible comeback when he was heads-up against Carrel, with the one-on-one battle seeing Carrel sit down with 75% of the chips in play.

The curtain came down on Episode 2 with Maria Ho, Daniel Negreanu, PokerNews' Lukas Robinson, and Johan Guilbert taking their seats.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 3 Review

Episode 3 saw the final two SNG take place. The first featured Maria Ho, Daniel Negreanu, Lukas Robinson, and Johan Guilbert, who fought out some much-discussed hands. The team element of Game of Gold began shining through, with some players making what those in the green room considered questionable moves as they attempted to maximize their chances of bagging some precious gold coins.

Once the first SNG was over, Fedor Holz, Jason Koon, David Williams, and Daniel Cates took to the felt. As you would imagine with such a star-studded cast, the final SNG got off to an explosive start, but play only lasted a few hands before the curtain came down.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 4 Review

The fourth episode of Game of Gold Season 1 wrapped up the fantastic final battle between Fedor Holz, Jason Koon, David Williams, and Daniel Cates. Some of the hands have to be seen to be believed; think huge fold, hero calls, and cooler situations.

With all four SNG now completed, four players were eliminated from the show. Daniel Negreanu, Michael Soyza, Kevin Martin, and Jason Koon fell by the wayside, with John Guilbert and Fedor Holz within touching distance of one another at the top of the gold coins leaderboard.

Episode 4 wrapped up the first Game of Gold week, and teased what was to come on Week 2.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 5 Review

Episode 5 of Game of Gold saw the remaining 12 players shuffled into four teams of three, with Johan Guilbert, Charlie Carrel, Fedor Holz, and Nikita Luther announced as team captains. The format switched to a complicated heads-up contest, with Guilbert versus Luther making up the first one-on-one clash.

Guilbert showed his heads-up prowess against Luther, Lukas Robinson, and Olga Iermolcheva, with the fifth episode ending as the flamboyant Frenchman jammed into his Ukrainian opponent on a semi-bluff.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 6 Review

The sixth episode began by wrapping up Johan Guilbert's semi-bluff against Olga Iermolcheva, then concluding their battle before the other teams locked horns and butted heads with one another.

There was some drama as Daniel Cates kicked off in the green room because he never got to play due to Guilbert excelling at the table. Cates' moaning prompted Kyna England to call him a big baby.

With Cates' toys back in the pram, Fedor Holz and Charlie Carrel played their heads-up match. Maria Ho replaced Holz and battled with Carrel, before Andy Stacks took his place at the table. However, Stacks only played a few hands before the credits rolled.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 7 Review

Maria Ho and Andy Stacks' battle opened Episode 7, with Stacks coming out on top and leaving only Josh Arieh on Team Holz. Arieh was on the ropes after a brutal cooler put him on tilt, but the six-time WSOP bracelet winner regained his composure and come out on top, setting up a final battle with David Williams.

Williams' time in front of the cameras was quite limited, with Arieh coming out on top. Williams described the match as "quick and easy for Arieh.

The episode ended with an explanation of what was to come on Episode 8; the winner's bracket, and with Johan Guilbert having forged a commanding lead in the gold coins standings.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 8 Review

More drama unfolded on Episode 8 of Game of Gold, with one team securing the title of round winners, and two other fighting it out for survival. Episode 8 should be renamed the Maria Ho episode because she was phenomenal at the table.

Ho brushed aside Daniel Cates, Kyna England, and Johan Guilbert in quick succession. Ho's incredible hat-trick locked in Team Fedor's spots at the final table, in addition to earning herself and her teammates a substantial gold coin bonus.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 9 Review

Tensions rose during Episode 9 with everything being on the line. Charlie Carrel and David Williams engaged in an escalating confrontation over who would play their team's first game. Ultimately Carrel took the first bite at the cherry.

Carrel faced Olga Iermolcheva and then Lukas Robinson. Carrel prides himself on his ability to gather information from live reads and table talk, but the usually chatty Robinson was not giving anything away. A huge pot near the end of the show went Robinson's way, resulting in Davis Williams replacing Carrel in the hot seat.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 10 Review

David Williams came out on top against Lukas Robinson at the start of Episode 10, and Nikita Luther took Robinson's place. Luther was relentless and employed a bluff-heavy style that Williams could not overcome. Check out the royal flush bluff for the perfect example.

Luther defeated Williams setting up a crucial clash versus Andy Stacks that had everything riding on it. Luther had played excellent poker and a bluff-heavy style in her match with David Williams, but Andy Stacks had got to watch card-up coverage in the green room, so came well-prepared for their encounter. Of course, the episode ended on its usual cliffhanger.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 11 Review

Episode 11 started with the crucial battle between Nikita Luther and Andy Stacks, with the loser and their team eliminated from Game of Gold. Sadly, for Team Nikita, Andy Stack emerged victoriously, sending Luther, Olga Iermolcheva, and Lukas Robinson home.

As Team Maria won the heads-up rounds, Maria Ho, Fedor Holz, and Josh Arieh automatically progressed to the final round. Charlie Carrel, Andy Stacks, David Williams, Johan Guilbert, Kyna England, and Daniel Cates split into pairs to compete in a one-on-one games of Indian Poker. Additional rules, such as only reshuffling the deck when ten cards remained, and losing half your stack if you folded an ace, spiced things up.

In a further twist, the pairs were told to play against each other, with the winner from each match taking a seat in the final. England, Cates, and Guilbert progressed, eliminating Williams, Carrel, and Stacks.

Game of Gold Season 1 – Episode 12 Review

Episode 12 was the final episode of Game of Gold Season 1, and was the six-handed grand finale. Mario Ho (261 big blinds) started as the chip leader with Johan Guilbert (239), Josh Arieh (220), Fedor Holz (195), Daniel Cates (109), and Kyna England (81) completing the final table.

There are no spoilers here because you simply have to watch the final table for yourself, the culmination of four weeks of intense poker action by 16 of the world's best poker minds.

Game of Gold Series 1 – Final Tournament

The final six players sat down and played a traditional No-Limit Hold'em tournament with a winner-takes-all payout structure. Only the last player standing would bank some prize money, a cool $456,000.

Kyna England started as the shortest stack but it was Josh Arieh who busted first after losing a key hand to Daniel Cates. Fedor Holz soared into the lead and looked set to become the Game of Gold champion, but his stack dwindled and he found himself fourth from four after the elimination of England. Holz then lost a coinflip against Cates to finish in fourth.

Johan Guilbert finished third after losing two significant hands against Cates. Guilbert overplayed his pair of queen against Cates' two pait, then lost a 60-40 against "Jungleman" to bust.

Maria Ho had 15 million chips to Cates 5.8 million going into the heads-up battle, with blinds of 40,000/80,000/80,000a starting to seriously bite. Ho emerged victoriously after her king-eight hit a flush on the river to best Cates' pair of seven, made with queen-seven.

Who Won Game of Gold Series 1?

Maria Ho will forever be known as the champion of the first series of Game of Gold. Ho played incredible poker throughout the four-week show, and was deserving of the $456,000 top prize.

The $456,000 Ho collected is the second-largest live poker tournament score of her career, second only to the $540,020 she banked for a second-place finish in a $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2011 World Series of Poker.

Ho was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2018 and competed in the 15th season of The Amazing Race alongside fellow female poker players Tiffany Michelle.

Aside from playing poker professionally, Ho regular provides commentary on poker events both live and online, and is one of the most respected members of the poker community.

Game of Gold Series 2 – Will Game of Gold Have Another Season?

Although a second series of Game of Gold is yet to be confirmed, the first series' success makes a follow-up likely. GGPoker's Creative Director and the Producer & Director of Game of Gold, Spunky Hwang, has confirmed discussions about a second series are ongoing.

Hwang is keeping his cards close to his chest regarding the possibilities of Game of Gold Series 2, but he has hinted in interviews about there being more challenges, additional unknown elements, and making the experience less intense.

Game of Gold Series 2 – Which Players Will Return?

A second series of Game of Gold is yet to be confirmed, but we can speculate on which players may return and some of the possible fresh faces. As GGPoker is behind Game of Gold, it makes sense to have member of the Team GG stable, so expect the likes of Fedor Holz, Jason Koon, Daniel Negreanu, and Kevin Martin to return.

Also, having the reigning champion, Maria Ho, in the mix is all but guaranteed.

Polarizing figures, such as Phil Hellmuth, Martin Kabrhel and William Kassouf could add some controversy to proceedings, while adding an online qualifier aspect, like PokerStars' Big Game, would allow GGPoker to run a Game of Gold promotion on its online poker platform.

Game of Gold Series 2 – When Will It Air

PokerNews can only speculate when Game of Gold Series 2 will air because a second season remains unconfirmed. However, if a second season gets the go ahead, one would imagine it would be filmed after the 2024 World Series of Poker, which ends in July.

Game of Gold Series 2 – How to Watch Game of Gold Season 2

If a second season of Game of Gold is commissioned, GGPoker will likely stream and broadcast it on YouTube channel. Having achieved over 300,000 viewers on the social media platform, it would not be surprising if GGPoker tried pushing Game of Gold Series 2 onto mainstream television.

Game of Gold vs. Poker After Dark

Game of Gold drew comparisons to Poker After Dark, something that is not surprising considering the Game of Gold concept was an addition to the long-running poker show.

Game of Gold vs. Poker After Dark – What's The Difference?

The main difference between Game of Gold and Poker After Dark is the team format and challenges the player compete in. Although Poker After Dark sometimes ran with different poker variants, it mostly focused on a six-handed No-Limit Hold'em sit & go tournament. Game of Gold have four-handed SNG, a heads-up format, and even the lesser-played Indian Poker.

Both shows feature a fast blind structure required for the time constraints of TV, and are heavily edited to show the action and drama. However, Game of Gold's behind the scene footage from the green room was a superb addition that went down a storm with viewers.

Game of Gold vs. Poker After Dark – Which is Better?

Both Game of Gold and Poker After Dark are excellent poker shows, but Game of Gold edges it for us. Having cameras in the green room allowed Game of Gold viewers to get an insight into how high-level poker players think without having a camera shoved in their face.

Game of Gold drew inspiration from the reality show Survivor, and the candid interviews gave more personality to the contestants, something that Poker After Dark lacked.

Game of Gold vs. High Stakes Poker

Some poker show viewers have compared Game of Gold to High Stakes Poker due to the big names involved in both production. However, comparing the two is like comparing apples to oranges.

Game of Gold vs. High Stakes Poker – What's the Difference?

Game of Gold and High Stakes Poker are both well-received televised poker games but that is where the similarities end. Game of Gold focuses more on tournament poker, while High Stakes Poker is only about cash games.

The two formats are worlds apart; polar opposites if you will. Another major difference is High Stakes Poker tends to only feature high stakes cash game players, while Game of Gold draws its contestants from a wider player pool, not only focusing on elite-level pros who play for the highest stakes. This leads to Game of Gold fans having more of a connection with the show's players because they are more relatable.

Game of Gold vs. High Stakes Poker – Which is Better?

It is not fair to call Game of Gold or High Stakes Poker the better show when comparing them to each other because they are completely different. Game of Gold focuses on tournament poker and a reality show element, while High Stakes Poker is laser-focused on high stakes cash game action.

If you prefer cash games and seeing life-changing sums won and lost on the turn of a card, High Stakes Poker is for you. If you prefer tournament-based poker where you get to know more about the poker players on show, Game of Gold ticks those boxes.

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Although Series 2 of Game of Gold is not yet confirmed, it would be a shock if there wasn't a seat reserved for an online qualifier in that series. Become a GGPoker customer today, and you never know, you could be competing in the next series of Game of Gold.

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