Day 1 of the ‘Galfond Challenge‘ is in the books. On Wednesday, Phil Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993‘ played the first 655 hands of their 25,000-hand challenge, with ‘VeniVidi1993’ jumping out to the early lead having won €72,527.68.

“It was fun,” Galfond said on the live stream after the match was over. “Obviously I didn’t win Day 1, but it felt great to be back in the action. I enjoyed it.”

Viewers from around the world got to watch Galfond take on ‘VeniVidi1993’ on the Twitch channel of Run It Once Poker and the stream kicked off shortly after 11 a.m. ET. Play lasted about four hours, which was enough time for Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ to complete 655 hands across two tables o €100-€200 heads-up PLO on Run It Once Poker.

In addition to the money at stake on the virtual felt, Galfond has put up €200,000 to the €100,000 of ‘VeniVidi1993’ in side action. The player who comes out on top over the course of the 25,000 hands will win the side bet.

“I think he played kind of similarly to what I expected, but I didn’t have very clear expectations,” Galfond said of his opponent, ‘VeniVidi1993.’ “He played very well. What I was looking forward to today, honestly, coming back from not doing this for awhile, I was looking to not feel lost, essentially. That was kind of the scary outcome. That I get in there and it’s too fast and furious and I just feel like I’m lost. I didn’t feel lost, so I’m optimistic. Going forward, I think that the way that I play I can get stronger as we go.”

The first big pot came fairly early in the match, and it involved the two sides getting all the money in on the flop to create a €47,791.32 pot.

‘VeniVidi1993’ opened up the action with a raise to €600 on the button. Galfond kicked it up to €1,800 and then ‘VeniVidi1993’ came back with a four-bet to €5,400. Galfond called and the flop came down . Galfond checked and ‘VeniVidi1993’ fired a pot-sized bet of €10,799. ‘VeniVidi1993’ had €7,697.16 behind and Galfond had him covered. Galfond moved all in and ‘VeniVidi1993’ called with the . Galfond had the . The turn was the and river the to give Galfond the winning hand with two pair, kings and tens. This pot was worth €47,791.32 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ was forced to reload.

There was plenty of action back and forth, including another big hand that involved ‘VeniVidi1993’ flopping quads and a €39,793.50 pot.

With a board reading and the pot sitting at €10,797, ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked to Galfond, who bet €5,398.50. ‘VeniVidi1993’ called the the river brought the . Action was checked to Galfond again, and he fired all in, covering the €9,099.75 stack of ‘VeniVidi1993.’ ‘VeniVidi1993’ quickly called with the , having flopped quads jacks. Galfond had flopped a big one himself, holding the for a flopped full house. ‘VeniVidi1993’ would win this one, though, and the €39,793.50 pot was shipped his way.

This next hand we’ll recap involved ‘VeniVidi1993’ getting the best of Galfond in a pot worth €54,381. This time, it was the full house, sixes full of fives, for ‘VeniVidi1993’ beating Galfond’s full house with fives full of aces.

Preflop, Galfond raised to €600 on the button and ‘VeniVidi1993’ called. The flop came out and ‘VeniVidi1993’ check-called a bet of €799.33 from Galfond. The turn was the and ‘VeniVidi1993’ check-called another bet from Galfond, this time for €2,797.66. After the river completed the board with the , ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked, Galfond fired €8,392.98, and ‘VeniVidi1993’ check-raised the full pot to €33,571.92, which was enough to put Galfond all in. Galfond had €14,600.53 behind and called with the , but his hand was no good against the for ‘VeniVidi1993.’

Another pot that helped ‘VeniVidi1993’ to finish the first day with the lead in the match came in the form of a cooler when both players made full houses.

On the board, the pot sat at €13,993. Galfond was first to act and fired a full pot-size bet from his stack of €18,492.75. ‘VeniVidi1993,’ who was sitting on a stack of €20,398.83 behind, raised all in. Galfond called off his remaining €4,499.75 with the for a full house. Galfond also had a six which meant he had a blocker to ‘VeniVidi1993’ having quads. ‘VeniVidi1993’ didn’t have quads, but he still had Galfond beat, showing the for a better full house – queens full of sevens. The pot was worth more than €50,000 and went over the ‘VeniVidi1993.’

Challenge Results To Date

If Galfond Wins, Everyone Wins

During the Galfond Challenge, Run It Once Poker players have a chance to added rewards. Through Run It Once Poker’s ‘Splash the Winnings’ promotion, every player on Run It Once Poker has the chance to win on any day that Galfond wins in the challenge.

During the first two weeks of the Galfond Challenge, on any day when Galfond is profitable in a match, Run It Once Poker’s ‘Splash the Pot’ promotion will be doubled. For more information, including how you can sign up for Run It Once Poker, check out PocketFives’ dedicated page for the site.

What’s Next for the Galfond Challenge?

The battle between Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ is far from over. With 655 hands complete, this match is just 2.6% done. We got to witness a lot of big pots on the first day and can only imagine the action picks up as Galfond gets more of his comfortability back.

Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ plan to resume play on Thursday, January 23, at 11 a.m. ET. The play will once again be streamed on the Run It Once Poker Twitch channel.

Be sure to stay tuned to PocketFives for more on the Galfond Challenge.