PokerStars Mystery Cash Challenge Airs on YouTube – Alexandra Botez Steals the Show

Mystery bounty tournament format has been capturing all the headlines lately, and PokerStars has decided to build on that popularity by creating a brand new show, mixing together the appeal of cash game poker and the mystery bounty format.

PokerStars Mystery Cash Challenge, which made its debut on operator’s YouTube channel, has all the makings of an iconic poker show with a cast of entertaining characters, plenty of heated poker action, and mystery prizes we have all learned to love.

The premier episode for Mystery Cash Challenge aired just hours ago and offered plenty of laughs along with the poker, as a cast that included the likes of Maria Ho, Alexandra Botez, and Parker “Tonkaaaa” Talbot put on quite the show.

Further episodes of the new PokerStars show will be airing in the weeks to come, and if you haven’t seen the first episode just yet, keep on reading to find out how the show works and what you can expect from it.

How PokerStars Mystery Cash Challenge Works

PokerStars Mystery Cash Challenge was built from a variety of pieces, some brought back from the old PokerStars shows, and others invented specifically for this one.

Each game starts with six players at the table, all buying in for €10,000 and playing €25/50 cash game to start with.

Each round of the show is made up of nine poker hands, with preflop action played in a pot-limit format, reminiscent of the good old days of “The Big Game.”

Once the flop is dealt, action switches to no-limit, and players get to play regular cash game poker, but with a slight twist.

Winning hands in Mystery Cash Challenge is more valuable than winning hands in a regular cash game, as players who win one out of the nine hands of each round get to play a special 10^th hand, a bomb pot where each player pays €100 to participate.

Poker with a twist! 🙃

Mystery Cash Challenge debuts today, featuring a brand new concept and plenty of laughs with chess star @alexandrabotez joining a cast of @SquidPoker, @tonkaaaap, @GriffinBenger, @MariaHo, and @fkovalski. 🙌🎥

Watch the fun now 👀 https://t.co/pmeqJvwNlj pic.twitter.com/MQHQ3h22zT

— PokerStars (@PokerStars) September 9, 2023

The winner of most hands during the qualification hands is given the button for the bomb pot, while players who have not won any pots don’t get to participate in the bomb pot at all.

At the end of the bomb pot hand, the winner is given a chance to select a mystery prize, as well as a bonus prize, with the former having cash value and the latter focused on comedic value.

Each group of players will play a number of rounds during the Mystery Cash Challenge, with players given plenty of chances to win one or multiple mystery prizes.

Alexandra Botez Comes Out On Top in Episode One

Episode one of the PokerStars Mystery Cash Challenge was quite an exciting one, with the first cast of characters presented and the game format introduced.

PokerStars pros Sam Grafton and Parker Talbot were joined by Griffin Banger, Maria Ho, and Brazilian pro Fabiano Kovalski, with Alex Botez representing the world of casual poker players.

The young chess prodigy was vocal about her newfound love for poker, and despite being the theoretical underdog in the group, ended up stealing the show and winning two out of the initial nine hands.

As the action went around, each player won at least one hand, but Alex was one of the three who won two hands each, and having won the last pot, she was awarded the button.

In a dramatic hand, which you can see in full by watching the first episode, Alex made the right decision and ended up winning the first bomb pot of the night, earning her the right to draw the first two envelopes.

On top of winning a valuable prize from the first envelope, Botez also got a special perk from envelope number two, allowing her to silence one of the other players at the table for episode 2 of the show.

Find out who she picked and whether they will be able to keep silent, or pay €100 to each player at the table, when you watch the next episode of the hilarious new PokerStars show on YouTube.

PokerStras Aiming to Make Poker Fun Again

Over the years, we have seen a lot of different poker shows on TV and online, but not all of them have been equally as fun for the average viewer.

While some of the old-school poker shows used to be extremely fun to watch, many of the newer once have been all business and very little entertainment.

With Mystery Cash Challenge, PokerStars is looking to bring the passion back to poker and make TV poker fun for the audience at home to watch and enjoy.

mystery cash challenge by pokerstars

In each episode of Mystery Cash Challenge, we will hear a lot of banter back and forth between players who have known each other for years, and see some exciting tactics as players attempt to make it into the bomb pot and win some mystery prizes.

The added value of mystery prizes should make for much looser play and more exciting poker than we have seen in some other shows, while the entertaining characters PokerStars is bringing into the ring should be able to keep us glued to the screen for the duration of an episode.

With characters like Alex Botez in the mix, Mystery Cash Challenge has the potential to become one of the all-time fan favorites and bring in new players with different interests into the game of poker.