Galfond Challenge: €92,803 Win for Phil Galfond
Monday, March 9, brought another winning session in the ‘Galfond Challenge’ for Phil Galfond. He dueled with ‘VeniVidi1993’ on Monday in 566 hands of €100-200 PLO on Run It Once Poker and came out €92,803.89 ahead.
With the latest win, Galfond has now cut his deficit down to €592,309.06. Galfond has won four of the five most recent sessions and the 25,000-hand match is now 12,842 hands complete.
Monday’s session saw Galfond winning the entire time and he was around as much as €140,000, but ‘VeniVidi1993’ did well in the later stages of the session to win some back.
Galfond got out to an early lead on Monday, but the following pot worth €43,926.02 actually went the way of ‘VeniVidi1993,’ who made quads.
With €2,421.98 in the middle on the 
board, Galfond checked and ‘VeniVidi1993’ fired €1,235.21. Galfond kicked it up to €4,800 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ then made it €16,821.98 with €3,930.04 behind. Galfond shoved to put ‘VeniVidi1993’ all in and ‘VeniVidi1993’ made the call.
‘VeniVidi1993’ had the 
for a heart flush draw and a turned set of deuces. Galfond was holding the 
for a Broadway straight. The river was the 
to give ‘VeniVidi1993’ quads and win him the pot.
Later on, it was Galfond’s chance to win a big pot after he flopped a set and turned a full house.
On the 
board, ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked and Galfond bet €4,798.67 into a pot of €7,198. ‘VeniVidi1993’ made it €21,594.01 to go with €355.97 left. Galfond shoved and ‘VeniVidi1993’ called.
‘VeniVidi1993’ showed the 
and Galfond had the 
. The river was the 
and Galfond’s full house, sevens over nines, won him the €51,097.96 pot.
Galfond’s good fortune continued when he made another full house against the straight of ‘VeniVidi1993.’ This time, it allowed Galfond to win a €47,745.20 pot.
The pot was €25,178.94 on the river of a board reading 
and ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked to Galfond. Galfond bet €11,283.13 and was all in. ‘VeniVidi1993’ made the call.
‘VeniVidi1993’ showed the 
for a six-high straight. Galfond had the 
for a full house, fives over nines, and he won the pot.
As if the pots couldn’t get any bigger, the following €60,577 pot went down between Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ on Monday, too.
With €7,269.98 in the middle on the board, Galfond checked, ‘VeniVidi1993’ bet €3,707.69, and Galfond raised to €18,393.05. ‘VeniVidi1993’ moved all in for €26,653.51 total and Galfond called to create the huge pot.
Galfond revealed the 
and ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the 
. The river was the 
, which allowed Galfond’s straight to remain as the best hand and win him the pot.
One of the pots that helped ‘VeniVidi1993’ win some chips back was the following one, and it was worth €43,492.58.
There was €2,797.66 in the middle on the 
board. ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked, Galfond fired a pot-sized bet of €2,797.66, and ‘VeniVidi1993’ made it €11,190.64 to go. Galfond moved all in and that was met with a call from ‘VeniVidi1993,’ who called off his last €9,156.82.
Going to the river, ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the and Galfond had the 
. The river was the to give both players a full house, only the tens over aces for ‘VeniVidi1993’ was better and he scooped the €43,492.58 pot.
‘VeniVidi1993’ fought back to be down only around €60,000, but then Galfond hauled in an all-in pot near the very end of the session.
After four-bet action preflop that saw ‘VeniVidi1993’ open to €600 on the button, Galfond three-bet to €1,800 from the big blind, ‘VeniVidi1993’ four-bet to €5,400, and Galfond called. The flop was 
and both players checked to see the land on the turn. Galfond led with a pot-sized bet of €10,799 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ raised to put Galfond all in. Galfond, who had €4,400 behind, called.
Galfond had the 
and ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the . The hit the river and allowed Galfond’s trip tens to win him the €41,197 pot.
Challenge Results To Date
| Hands Played | Daily Winner | Amount Won | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 (Jan. 22) | 655 | VeniVidi1993 | €72,572.68 |
| Day 2 (Jan. 23) | 715 | Phil Galfond | €2,615.26 |
| Day 3 (Jan. 24) | 557 | VeniVidi1993 | €84,437.52 |
| Day 4 (Jan. 25) | 581 | VeniVidi1993 | €17,544.87 |
| Day 5 (Jan. 27) | 726 | VeniVidi1993 | €155,063.52 |
| Day 6 (Jan. 28) | 703 | VeniVidi1993 | €13.31 |
| Day 7 (Jan. 30) | 823 | VeniVidi1993 | €52,057.13 |
| Day 8 (Jan. 31) | 940 | VeniVidi1993 | €60,743.37 |
| Day 9 (Feb. 1) | 446 | VeniVidi1993 | €12,706.51 |
| Day 10 (Feb. 3) | 696 | VeniVidi1993 | €100,993.30 |
| Day 11 (Feb. 4) | 741 | VeniVidi1993 | €15,647.36 |
| Day 12 (Feb. 6) | 622 | Phil Galfond | €87,940.91 |
| Day 13 (Feb. 7) | 470 | VeniVidi1993 | €267,949.70 |
| Day 14 (Feb. 8) | 593 | VeniVidi1993 | €48,473.73 |
| Day 15 (Feb. 9) | 659 | VeniVidi1993 | €102,593.34 |
| Day 16 (Mar. 4) | 574 | Phil Galfond | €183,481.38 |
| Day 17 (Mar. 5) | 582 | VeniVidi1993 | €21,571.51 |
| Day 18 (Mar. 6) | 555 | Phil Galfond | €27,198.94 |
| Day 19 (Mar. 7) | 638 | Phil Galfond | €26,018.41 |
| Day 20 (Mar. 9) | 566 | Phil Galfond | €92,803.89 |
| – | – | – | – |
| Total | 12,842 | VeniVidi1993 | €592,309.06 |
What’s Next for the Galfond Challenge?
Next up fo the Galfond Challenge between Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ is a session on Tuesday, March 10, starting at 11 a.m. ET.
The match is currently 12,842 hands complete. The two are scheduled to play 25,000 hands, with Galfond putting up €200,000 in side action to the €100,000 of ‘VeniVidi1993.’
Be sure to stay tuned to PocketFives for more on the Galfond Challenge.
