Antonio Esfandiari is back playing poker again after an extended break from the game, making his return on PokerGO’s No Gamble, No Future with a spectacular hand.
The American has long been a prominent figure in the community and has had a storied career marked by significant achievements, including his $18,346,673 prize from the 2012 Big One for One Drop.
Esfandiari has captivated audiences for many years and we expect fans will be pushing hard to convince him to make his return a full-time move.
Antonio Esfandiari Pulls Off Some Magic on PokerGO’s No Gamble No Future
What better place to make a return to high-stakes poker than in the PokerGO studio and on Hustler Casino Live.
It’s tough to think of a more popular return to the game than when Antonio Esfandiari walked into the studio to take his seat for No Gamble, No Future.
And it didn’t take long before Esfandiari was making waves, just like in the old days.
The hand began with Andrew Sasson opening to $2,000. Jennifer Tilly, Brandon Steven and Esfandiari all called.
The flop came down A♣ 6♥ 8♦ and Esfandiari checked his 8♠ 6♠ in the small blind. Steven checked with J♣ 4♣ and so did Tilly with 10♣ 9♥.
In a show of incredible sportsmanship, Sasson declares that he had seen one of Steven’s cards and opts to kill his hand, even when the other players in the pot tell him it’s unnecessary.
The turn is the 8♣, making it a lock for Esfandiari with a full house. The question is: how much value can he extract from his two opponents?
He opts to start with a check and Steven bets out $4,000 with his flush draw. Tilly folds.
So now it’s a choice between continuing the slowplay or going for the maximum with a check raise. Ever the showman, Esfandiari raises it up to $13,000 and gets a quick call.
The pot was now $35,200 and the 3♣ river is a nightmare card for Steven, giving him a jack-high flush.
Can he get away from his hand on a paired board?
Esfandiari goes for another check and Steven bets $27,000 with $133,000 left behind.
After showboating for a couple of minutes, Esfandiari raised to $79,000, leaving Steven perplexed. He even calls out what hand the Magician has and turns to him to tell him he has a flush.
Being a player who has been there and done it all in the past, Esfandiari turns to Steven and casually says “you’re gonna be a real big star.”
After a couple more minutes, Steven can’t find a reason to fold against such a player and he makes the losing call.
Can Antonio Esfandiari reclaim his spot among poker’s elite? We wouldn’t bet against him.
Antonio Esfandiari – From Aspiring Player to Poker Legend
Antonio Esfandiari was born on December 8, 1978, in Tehran, Iran. His family moved to the United States when he was just a young boy, settling in California.
His journey into poker began in his teenage years when he started playing games with friends, just like many from that era. His passion for the game quickly grew, and before long he wanted to pursue the game professionally.
Esfandiari gained recognition in the early 2000s as one of the biggest characters in the early boom years.
WPT Championship event wins solidified his status as a top player, along with many appearances on the TV poker shows we had at the time.
Over the years, he has accumulated numerous tournament wins and $27,810,802 in live tournament earnings, making him one of the most successful players in poker history, currently sitting at 32nd place on the all-time list.
Despite his success, Esfandiari took a step back from competitive poker for several years.
His absence from high-stakes tournaments left many fans wondering if they would see him return to the felt. After 2016, there are very few cashes registered on his record, so hopefully one of the biggest characters in the game will be sticking around for a while. The game could certainly benefit from this.
The Famous Lunging Prop Bet
One of the most memorable moments in Esfandiari’s career involves a notorious prop bet with fellow poker player Bill Perkins.
In 2016, Perkins challenged Esfandiari to lunge everywhere he went for 48 hours straight for a chance to win $50,000. The rules were simple: he had to keep one foot on the ground at all times while lunging from place to place.
As absurd as it sounds, Esfandiari accepted the challenge with determination. He lunged through various activities — whether walking to get food or even using the restroom — which soon became too physically taxing.
The intensity of the bet escalated when he found himself unable to make it to the bathroom during a break in the PCA Main Event tournament due to extreme fatigue in his legs.
In an attempt to avoid losing time and embarrassment, Esfandiari resorted to urinating in a bottle under the table — a decision that ultimately led to his disqualification from the tournament.
Despite this setback, he completed the lunging challenge and claimed victory over Perkins, winning $50,000.
Afterward, Esfandiari expressed regret over his actions during the bet and decided to donate the entire amount to charity.
He later said:
“I am embarrassed of the actions I took to win that bet. On paper I won, but in life I lost. No matter how much one loves a prop bet there is a limit to how far you should go, and in this case I failed.”
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