Galfond Challenge: Galfond Books €23,821 Win
On Thursday, Phil Galfond took more than €23,000 off ‘VeniVidi1993’ in the 23rd session of their ‘Galfond Challenge’ match. The two played 598 hands of €100-200 Pot Limit Omaha on Run It Once Poker, and Galfond finished in the black by €23,821.05. That puts the overall match tally at €653,186.67 in favor of ‘VeniVidi1993.’
Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ have no completed 14,572 hands of their 25,000-hand match. At more than 58% complete, Galfond is down more than 32 buy-ins and 3,265.9 big blinds. Those numbers may sound bad, and it is a big hole that Galfond is in, but it wasn’t too long ago that Galfond was down more than 45 buy-ins and 4,500 big blinds.
The fireworks started early on Thursday, with the two getting all in for a €39,999 pot just a few dozen hands into the session.
On the 
flop, there was €3,599 in the middle and ‘VeniVidi1993’ bet €1,835.49. Galfond raised to €4,800 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ fired back with a reraise to €17,999. Galfond went all in for €18,200 total and ‘VeniVidi1993’ quickly called.
‘VeniVidi1993’ had the 
for top set and Galfond had the 
for straight and flush draws. The 
hit the turn and then the 
landed on the river. With the river, Galfond made a winning flush and scooped the pot.
Later on, another €39,999 pot was played. Again, it went to Galfond.
With €7,269.98 in the middle on the 
board, ‘VeniVidi1993’ bet €3,707.69 and Galfond called. The 
landed on the river and ‘VeniVidi1993’ bet all in for €12,656.82. Galfond made the call.
Galfond had the 
for a set of threes. ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the 
for a pair of tens and was caught bluffing.
A third big pot that went Galfond’s way came near the end of the session and it was a pot worth €61,690.28. ‘VeniVidi1993’ had a flush, but Galfond made a bigger flush.
On the 
board, Galfond checked and ‘VeniVidi1993’ fired a pot-sized bet of €7,269.98. Galfond went for the check-raise and made it €29,079.92 to go, covering ‘VeniVidi1993,’ who had €19,940.17 behind. ‘VeniVidi1993’ tank-called.
‘VeniVidi1993’ made the call with the 
for a queen-high flush in hearts. Galfond also had a flush and his was of the ace-high variety with the .
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 |
| Day 21 (Mar. 10) | 576 | Phil Galfond | €3,766.94 |
| Day 22 (Mar. 11) | 556 | VeniVidi1993 | €88,465.60 |
| Day 23 (Mar. 12) | 598 | Phil Galfond | €23,821.05 |
| – | – | – | – |
| Total | 14,572 | VeniVidi1993 | €653,186.67 |
What’s Next for the Galfond Challenge?
The Galfond Challenge between Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ will continue on Friday, March 13 starting at 12 p.m. ET.
The match is currently 14,572 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.
