Antonio Esfandiari made his triumphant return to High Stakes Pokerand he was going to win one of the biggest pots of his life in one of the craziest coolers on the show.
“The Magician,” a fan favorite from the poker boom era, hasn’t played much poker in recent years. He spent most of his time with his family, leading a retired life. But he has appeared here and there in live broadcasts and TV shows, like Hustler Casino Liveand he showed that he has not lost a step.
Poker legend beats aces
Esfandiari, a three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, has joined the High Stakes Poker game for episode 6 of season 15, released last week on PokerGO. We won’t reveal too much about the season in this article, but there was a legendary hand in episode 7.
This hand, in a $500/$1,000 no-limit hold’em game, started with Scratch CEO Sameh Elamaway, one of the stars of Season 13, raising to $5,000 with A♠A♥. Esfandiari, at the end of position, follows with 8♠8♣just like Justin Gavri, who looked down at J.♣7♣ in the big blind. The flop came out 6♠8♦8♥giving quads to Esfandiari.
“Oh my God,” announced Nick Schulman, one of the commentators, in shock.
Action verified around A♦ trick, the roughest card in the game. Gavri checked, but Elamaway, who hit a full ace, bet $10,000, looking for the value of his monstrous hand. Esfandiari, who is licking his lips with the biggest stack in hand (nearly $600,000), raises to $37,000. Gavri had nothing, so he went to bed. But Elamaway, who couldn’t have known he was hitting a one-out, 3-bet to $85,000.
Esfandiari called to see what doesn’t make sense 3♦ on the river. Elamaway bet $225,000, leaving behind about $93,000. An instant raise and instant call then followed, creating an $824,500 pot, which benefited Esfandiari in one of the biggest coolers ever. High Stakes Poker.
The hand was somewhat reminiscent of that of a High Stakes Poker pot played between Gus Hansen And Daniel Negreanu nearly 20 years ago during the Gane Show Network days. Both players flopped sets, but Hansen drew on the turn with a one-out for quads, and he took home a $575,500 pot.
Poker fans can watch all 17 episodes of High Stakes Poker exclusively on PokerGO.
Can actor Kevin Hart’s set hold a $900,000 pot against the poker legend’s drawing hand?
*Image courtesy of PokerGO.
