Galfond Challenge: ‘VeniVidi1993’ Retakes the Lead
With Thursday’s ‘Galfond Challenge’ session complete, another 883 hands are in the books for the battle between Phil Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993.’ Thursday saw ‘VeniVidi1993’ finish on top by a figure of €78,237.54. That puts ‘VeniVidi1993’ back in the lead overall by €31,753.17 with 1,428 hands to go.
Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ are playing €100-200 PLO on Run It Once Poker for 25,000 hands. Galfond put up a €200,000 side bet and ‘VeniVidi1993’ put up €100,000, in addition to anything that’s won or lost on the table. The challenge is only a couple of sessions away from being done and it’s going to be an incredible sprint to the finish to see who finishes on top.
Thursday’s session started with ‘VeniVidi1993’ working to build a lead over the first portion of the day, but then Galfond quickly fought his way into the session’s lead around the 200-hand mark. Galfond maintained the lead for most of the next 500 hands, but then it was ‘VeniVidi1993’ who turned things around in his favor and began to stretch out another lead.
In the end, ‘VeniVidi1993’ was the winner and there were plenty of big pots along the way.
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One pot that helped Galfond turn the match in his favor early on was the following one when he flopped the nut flush and got paid off on the river.
There was €1,990.34 in the middle on the 
board and ‘VeniVidi1993’ bet the pot. Galfond raised to €7,961.36 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ made the call.
Galfond showed the 
for the nut flush and ‘VeniVidi1993’ mucked his hand to give Galfond the €17,913.06 pot.
Shortly thereafter, Galfond won a €57,511.06 pot with another ace-high flush, this time beating the lower flush of ‘VeniVidi1993.’
In preflop action, Galfond made it €600 on the button, ‘VeniVidi1993’ reraised to €1,800 from the big blind, Galfond four-bet to €5,400, and ‘VeniVidi1993’ called. The flop was 
and ‘VeniVidi1993’ led with a pot-sized bet of €10,799. Galfond shoved for €23,356.03 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ made the call, having Galfond covered in chips.
Galfond had the 
and ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the 
. The turn was the 
and the river was the 
. Galfond had an ace-high flush to beat the flush ‘VeniVidi1993’ made and he won the pot.
Another big one that Galfond won was the following one worth €47,994.
With a pot of €15,998 in the middle on a board of 
, ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked and Galfond fired €15,998. ‘VeniVidi1993’ tanked and then called.
Galfond showed the 
for the nut straight and ‘VeniVidi1993’ mucked his hand.
A pot of €63,385.90 also went down on Thursday, with Galfond making a full house against the flush of ‘VeniVidi1993.’
With €7,999 in the middle on the 
board, ‘VeniVidi1993’ fired a pot-sized bet before Galfond raised to €31,996. ‘VeniVidi1993’ had €19,694.45 behind and made the call.
‘VeniVidi1993’ revealed the 
for an ace-high flush in clubs. Galfond had made a full house with the 
, though, and he won the pot.
‘VeniVidi1993’ did his fair share of winning big pots on Thursday, too. One of the ones he scooped was this €39,999 one.
‘VeniVidi1993’ checked the 
flop and Galfond bet €1,799.50 into a pot of €3,599. ‘VeniVidi1993’ raised to €5,398.50 and Galfond called. The turn was the and ‘VeniVidi1993’ checked. Galfond moved all in for €12,801.50 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ called.
‘VeniVidi1993’ had turned a full house with the 
. At the same time, Galfond turned a straight with the 
. The river was the and the pot was sent to ‘VeniVidi1993.’
Another one that ‘VeniVidi1993’ won was a flush-over-flush pot worth more than €42,000.
Galfond bet €1,799.50 on the flop and ‘VeniVidi1993’ raised to €5,398.50. Galfond shoved for €19,502.33 and ‘VeniVidi1993’ made the call to create a pot worth €42,603.66.
Galfond had the 
and ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the . The turn was the and the river was the 
. ‘VeniVidi1993’ had an ace-high flush to beat Galfond’s queen-high flush and win the pot.
Just before the session ended, ‘VeniVidi1993’ won a pot worth €57,784 with an ace-high flush against Galfond’s king-high flush.
The final board was and there was €16,833.96 in the middle. Galfond bet the pot and ‘VeniVidi1993’ shoved. Galfond had only €3,641.06 behind and made the call.
Galfond had the 
and a king-high flush after turning a set of sevens. ‘VeniVidi1993’ had the for an ace-high flush and he won the 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 |
| 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 |
| Day 29 (Mar. 26) | 642 | Phil Galfond | €85,271.31 |
| Day 30 (Mar. 27) | 777 | VeniVidi1993 | €26,992.32 |
| Day 31 (Mar. 28) | 393 | Phil Galfond | €106,328.51 |
| Day 32 (Apr. 2) | 664 | Phil Galfond | €113,680.87 |
| Day 33 (Apr. 3) | 632 | VeniVidi1993 | €28,538.21 |
| Day 34 (Apr. 4) | 680 | Phil Galfond | €28,722.88 |
| Day 35 (Apr. 6) | 758 | Phil Galfond | €121,486.95 |
| Day 36 (Apr. 7) | 592 | VeniVidi1993 | €34,580.19 |
| Day 37 (Apr. 9) | 883 | VeniVidi1993 | €78,237.54 |
| – | – | – | – |
| Total | 23,572 | VeniVidi1993 | €31,753.17 |
What’s Next for the Galfond Challenge?
The Galfond Challenge between Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ has 1,428 hands to go and Galfond and ‘VeniVidi1993’ will be back in action on Friday, April 10, for another session of €100-200 Pot Limit Omaha on Run It Once Poker.
Although ‘VeniVidi1993’ has retaken the overall lead, it’s not by much and this one is going to absolutely come down to the wire. In addition to the money won on the virtual felt, Galfond is risking €200,000 in side action to the €100,000 of ‘VeniVidi1993.’ Buckle up.
Be sure to stay tuned to PocketFives for more on the Galfond Challenge.