Galfond Challenge: Galfond Now Down More Than €450,000
Day 9 of the ‘Galfond Challenge‘ played out on Saturday, with ‘VeniVidi1993‘ extending his lead with a €12,706.51 win. The latest session puts ‘VeniVidi1993’ up €452,523.65 against Phil Galfond overall.
On Saturday, Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ played 446 hands of €100-€200 PLO on Run It Once Poker. The duo is now 6,146 hands through their 25,000-hand match that has seen ‘VeniVidi1993’ come out ahead in eight of nine sessions played. To date, Galfond is losing -€50,280.41 per session, -€7,362.90 per 100 hands, and -36.81 big blinds per 100 hands on average.
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Galfond spent a good portion of Saturday’s play in the green, but things turned towards the end of the session to have him finish down. Let’s take a look at some of the big hands to play out in the latest session.
The first all-in pot of the day was one of nearly €46,000 and involved a full house over full house going the way of Galfond.
With €5,398.50 in the middle on the 
board, Galfond fired €1,349.63 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ raised to €9,447.39 with €10,849.86 behind. Galfond reraised all in and ‘VeniVidi1993’ called.
‘VeniVidi1993’ showed the 
and Galfond had the 
. The river paired the board with the 
, giving both players a full house but Galfond’s aces over sixes was the winner of the €45,993 pot.
Another hand that Galfond won early was a pot of more than €32,000 with a nine-high straight.
On a 
board, the pot was €3,599 and Galfond checked. ‘VeniVidi1993’ bet €3,599. Galfond called and the river was the 7c. Galfond checked, ‘VeniVidi1993’ fired a full pot-sized bet of €10,797, and Galfond called.
Galfond had a nine-high straight with the 
. ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the 
and was caught bluffing. This gave the €32,391 pot to Galfond.
Galfond was up around €50,000 or so on the session before things started to go the other way. One of the hands that started the comeback for ‘VeniVidi1993’ was the following €39,999 pot when he got paid off with a jack-high flush.
On the 
board, ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked, Galfond bet €2,797.66, and ‘VeniVidi1993’ check-raised to €11,190.64. Galfond called to see the 
come on the river. The pot was a little more than €25,000 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ had less than €7,500 behind. He fired all in for €7,410.03 and Galfond made the call.
Galfond had the 
for a six-high straight. ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the 
for a jack-high spade flush and scooped the pot.
After that, the following hand went down that saw ‘VeniVidi1993’ pull in a €52,676.08 pot.
‘VeniVidi1993’ led with a bet of €1,835.49 on the 
flop and Galfond called to see the 
land on the turn. ‘VeniVidi1993’ fired €7,269.98 for a pot-sized wager and Galfond raised to €29,079.92. ‘VeniVidi1993’ called all in for €22,703.05 total.
‘VeniVidi1993’ revealed the 
for a set of kings, and Galfond had the 
for two pair and a flush draw. The river was the 
, keeping ‘VeniVidi1993’ in front and giving him the €52,676.08 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 |
| – | – | – | – |
| Total | 6,146 | VeniVidi1993 | €452,523.65 |
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 two have now passed the 6,000-hand mark and are nearly 25% of the way through this match in the Galfond Challenge. Galfond remains in the hole by quite a bit, but he’s got 18,854 hands to turn the tables. Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ will take the day off on Sunday before resuming their match on Monday, February 3, starting at 11 a.m. ET for the 10th day.
Be sure to stay tuned to PocketFives for more on the Galfond Challenge.