Galfond Challenge: ‘VeniVidi1993’ Rage Quits, Galfond Wins €140K
The ‘Galfond Challenge’ continued on Saturday, March 21, and the latest session ended with something we haven’t yet witnessed in the battle between Phil Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993.’ Galfond had been cruising along in the session and up around €100,000 when he stacked ‘VeniVidi1993’ in two pots in quick succession. The result was an abrupt ending of the session by ‘VeniVidi1993,’ or as the saying goes, ‘VeniVidi1993’ “rage quit” Galfond. Galfond finished up €140,979.28 on the day.
Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ played another 503 hands of their 25,000-hand match. They’re battling at €100-200 PLO on Run It Once Poker and buy-ins are €20,000. That means Galfond finished up more than seven buy-ins on Saturday.
After Saturday’s batch of hands, the two are now 17,551 hands through their challenge, or just over 70% complete. They have another 7,449 hands to go and Galfond has cut his deficit down to €318,895.43.
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At the time of the break from the challenge that Galfond took, Galfond was down more than €900,000. This was a deficit of more than 45 buy-ins, and Galfond was losing at a rate of €5,129.28 and 25.65 big blinds per 100 hands. Since returning from the break, Galfond has own back €581,344.74. In just the sessions since returning from the break, Galfond is up 29.07 buy-ins and winning at a rate of €3,312.32 and 16.56 big blinds per 100 hands.
If the current post-break pace continues over the final 7,449 hands of this Galfond Challenge, Galfond would win back nearly €250,000 more and be just about even when it’s all said and done. Now, let’s not forget that there is big side-action bets on both sides, with Galfond risking €200,000 to the €100,000 of ‘VeniVidi1993.’
The latest session was one that saw Galfond in the lead for virtually the entire time, and the first hand we’ll look at involved Galfond’s aces holding up in a €39,999 pot.
Preflop, Galfond started the action with a raise to €600. ‘VeniVidi1993’ fired back with a three-bet to €1,800, but Galfond wasn’t done there and he four-bet to €5,400. ‘VeniVidi1993’ called and the 
came out on the flop. ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked and Galfond bet €10,799, which was the full pot. ‘VeniVidi1993’ went all in for €14,600 and Galfond called.
Galfond had the 
and ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the 
. The turn was the 
and the river was the 
, giving Galfond the victory on this hand.
This next pot was worth €50,386.02 and it was also shipped to Galfond.
On the final board of 
, there was €16,795.34 in the middle and ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked to Galfond. Galfond fired a pot-sized bet and ‘VeniVidi1993’ made the call.
Although Galfond had bet nearly his entire stack on the river, it wasn’t an all-in pot, so we only got to see Galfond’s holding. He had the 
for a ten-high straight and ‘VeniVidi1993’ mucked his hand.
It’s worth mentioning that on the other table, ‘VeniVidi1993’ did win a decent pot of his own, so the loss from the other table wasn’t that bad. On the other table, ‘VeniVidi1993’ fired a pot-sized bet of €14,997.50 on the 
board and Galfond folded.
The third clip we’ll highlight is the following €39,999 one that went Galfond’s way.
‘VeniVidi1993’ led with a €1,200 bet on the 
flop into a pot of €3,599. Galfond raised to €3,600 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ came back with a reraise to €14,399. Galfond went all in for €18,200 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ made the call.
Galfond had the 
for a flopped straight. ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the 
for top pair and a draw. The turn was the 
to give ‘VeniVidi1993’ outs to a full house, but the on the river secured the pot for Galfond.
Lastly, the following €49,078.24 pot was one of the hands that prompted ‘VeniVidi1993’ to end the session earlier than planned.
With €10,797 in the middle on the 
board, ‘VeniVidi1993’ bet €3,200 and Galfond called to see the 
hit the river. ‘VeniVidi1993’ shoved all in for €15,940.62 and Galfond quickly made the call.
‘VeniVidi1993’ had the 
for two pair, but his hand was no good against the 
for Galfond, who had rivered a full house.
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 |
| Day 24 (Mar. 13) | 628 | Phil Galfond | €19,099.65 |
| Day 25 (Mar. 14) | 664 | Phil Galfond | €139,485.78 |
| Day 26 (Mar. 19) | 539 | Phil Galfond | €110,752.58 |
| Day 27 (Mar. 20) | 645 | VeniVidi1993 | €76,026.05 |
| Day 28 (Mar. 21) | 503 | Phil Galfond | €140,979.28 |
| – | – | – | – |
| Total | 17,551 | VeniVidi1993 | €318,895.43 |
What’s Next for the Galfond Challenge?
Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ had a scheduled day off on Sunday, March 22, and there were plans to return to action on Monday, March 23, but ‘VeniVidi1993’ opted for a few days off, per a tweet from Galfond.
#GalfondChallenge Update:
VeniVidi1993 has decided to take a couple of days off to mentally reset.
We’ll resume the match on Thursday.
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) March 22, 2020
As Galfond’s tweet says, the two will be back for more €100-200 PLO action on Run It Once Poker on Thursday, March 26, at 12 p.m. ET.
As things stand, the match is currently 17,551 hands complete, which is just more than 70%. 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.