Did I miss the thread or is no one interested in Phil Galfond (arguably one of the Best Poker players ever). He is running heads up challenges in PLO against some great players and giving odds. I think it is great for poker, before black friday, we could watch high stakes online heads up play with the best online players battling for big money.

Unless I missed the thread, he is having the action streamed on Twitch, Joey Ingram is recapping some of the hands. The bad thing is there is no hole cards shown, he started a new Poker site. Run it once Poker and they do not have the ability right now to show hole cards. I hope this starts up some other action, but I have a feeling that most high stakes on-line is over, for many reasons. I am an old guy, so I really enjoy seeing Phil battling with the young stars of high stakes poker, I hope I am not the only one.

I'm not sure if this is what you mean or not, but we have had a few 'News' threads started updating who the challengers would or might be. Two of the threads are below-

(Edit- found 2 more)

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...thirst-445133/
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...facing-445794/
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...llenge-447061/
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...alfond-445361/

Originally Posted by Shells

I'm not sure if this is what you mean or not, but we have had a few 'News' threads started updating who the challengers would or might be. Two of the threads are below-

(Edit- found 2 more)

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...thirst-445133/
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...facing-445794/
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...llenge-447061/
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...alfond-445361/

I knew this had to make the "news" on CC, Thank you, I was in a hurry and missed them. THANKs you are always taking care of the latest in Poker "Stuff" Edit: The 1st challenge has started !!! Go Phil, he is down after about 10% of the 25000 hands, but he can come back

He seems to be getting beat pretty badly thus far. Hope he can turn it around.

Originally Posted by Slacker

He seems to be getting beat pretty badly thus far. Hope he can turn it around.

Phil is a very humble guy. He has had an amazing career. Win, Lose, or Draw. He has all my respect. VeniVedi is an online beast so I knew Phil had a tough match. i wish he would have started with someone else to get him back in the groove. He has not played seriously in a few years. He will never make excuses and will accept defeat if he must but don't count him out. Phil was always great at figuring out his opponents. Might be more difficult against a GTO type player though !! Good Luck Phil

Originally Posted by jsnake716

I knew this had to make the "news" on CC, Thank you, I was in a hurry and missed them. THANKs you are always taking care of the latest in Poker "Stuff" Edit: The 1st challenge has started !!! Go Phil, he is down after about 10% of the 25000 hands, but he can come back

Not sure if you are up to it, but it would big nice if this thread consolidated "All Things Galfond". Things that would be nice to see here would be 1) Current challenger list (people are in and out so much on this), schedule for when the matches will happen, and links to where you can watch when it is available. Let us know if that is possible or too much work.

I've been watching and cheering him on Twitter. He's just running bad. He is still a great player.

Originally Posted by ekgbeat

Not sure if you are up to it, but it would big nice if this thread consolidated "All Things Galfond". Things that would be nice to see here would be 1) Current challenger list (people are in and out so much on this), schedule for when the matches will happen, and links to where you can watch when it is available. Let us know if that is possible or too much work.

I can for sure post updates. This first challenge is 25000 hands, playing 5 days /week for 4 hours /day. Maybe I will post weekly updates his money and amount of hands. I don't want to commit to daily, that is a bit much.

Definitely not an easy first match for Phil. I agree that this match shouldn’t have been his first. Running bad against an extremely talented player is not a recipe for success. Taking a long break and jumping right back into the highest level of competition obviously will be difficult. Hopefully he can mount a comeback and make things interesting. Always respected Phil’s table demeanor.

Originally Posted by jsnake716

I can for sure post updates. This first challenge is 25000 hands, playing 5 days /week for 4 hours /day. Maybe I will post weekly updates his money and amount of hands. I don't want to commit to daily, that is a bit much.

Totally understand. I didn't even know that the matches have already started

OK, Phil is running just awful. I do not know how many people here love "graph porn" , I will post Phil's EV graph which shows just bad he is running, along with possibly being out played so far by VeniVedi. Phil updates.jpg Phil update 2.jpg Bottom line so far : VeniVedi1993 is up 327,016 Euros after 6 days. Phil let's get your shit together Bro!!!!! I hear the "new" baby is keeping him up all night, and his wife is threatening death if he loses all the "college fund money" Of course these are just wild unconfirmed lies. I just made them up!!! On a serious note- everyone should go check out Phil's poker site Run it Once, they are offering great deals for any new player who signs up. You cannot live in the U.S. and they are only running Cash Games at the moment. Sit n Go's are coming soon.

Man , I suck. I tried to edit the post and lost the pictures .

Here they are the graph and the daily totals.

Phil updates.jpg Phil update 2.jpg

Everyone, I promise to do better. i guess I need to wait for the web page to reload or something. I must have been going to fast. I had the graphs in place and the text right. I edited the text,saved it and it went haywire!!! I lost the attachments. I tried to repost and suddenly the screenshots reappeared, except the text was in the wrong place.


Sorry everyone.

Phil has indeed dug himself a little hole, but can he come back? I personally do not think he has given up, that would be so unlike him. In fact, in the article, he stated that he knows he has a good mindset through this downswing. That tells me a lot, right there.

Phil Galfond Down More Than €327K After Six Days of VeniVidi Challenge

Originally Posted by jsnake716

Everyone, I promise to do better. i guess I need to wait for the web page to reload or something. I must have been going to fast. I had the graphs in place and the text right. I edited the text,saved it and it went haywire!!! I lost the attachments. I tried to repost and suddenly the screenshots reappeared, except the text was in the wrong place.


Sorry everyone.

You are doing a great job! Thank you for all of the updates.

This has been deflating to follow.


Yes, Galfond has run bad but played poorly on top of it. Veni Vidi seems to completely have his number. To be frank I was underwhelmed with an interview Galfond did just prior to this challenge on the Chip Race Podcast. He admitted he had not prepped for the challenge and thought (if underperforming) he would be able to study and catch up in the middle of play. He's down $553K at the end of session 10.


Galfond should not have scheduled Veni Vidi first. Variance could swing Galfonds way but I am not sure Veni Vidi will let Galfond claw it all back. Further, isn't there another anonymous world class player scheduled to play him also?

Session 11 is in the books and VeniVedi is way out in front. Phil is pretty upbeat considering the thrashing he is taking. This guy has an amazing attitude. I would bet my net worth that 90% of the other Poker pro's would have went "twitter" silent in the midst of this.

Total - VeniVedi +569,164.21 Euros

Session 11 - 7583 hands +15,647.36 euros

Phil says the graph for today is encouraging! (Boss!)

Phil2 graph.jpg

session 11.jpg

At minimum this will certainly prepare him for the remaining contenders. Still hoping for an epic comeback.

Originally Posted by jsnake716

Total - VeniVedi +569,164.21 Euros

Session 11 - 7583 hands +15,647.36 euros

Phil says the graph for today is encouraging! (Boss!)

How does the challenge actually work? Are they playing for real money plus Phil pays out 4 to 1 on a predetermined amount?

I read "Sponsored by MuchBetter" , so who is gonna pay the loss or the side bets? If there will be a loss. Of course it is easy to play unlike to his own bankroll...

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...pdates-449252/

Originally Posted by ekgbeat

How does the challenge actually work? Are they playing for real money plus Phil pays out 4 to 1 on a predetermined amount?

yeah they are playing for real money.also phil is giving odds to each player , if someone finishes the challenge and is an overall winner then phil will give them a bonus of a predetermined ammount ,

Session 13 - Galfond lost S266,000 in that one session and is now down S747,000.

Sorry to say, but Galfond took matters for granted and was not properly prepared to play Veni Vidi. Hubris. This is getting gruesome to follow.

People keep framing it as 'it's all good' as it functions like advertising/promotion...well for those paying attention, the whole idea was a last ditch effort to save Run It Once from going under. The point being neither Phil Galfond or his backers were able to commit unlimited funds to keep the poker site afloat.

It would be ironic if the very thing, the challenge, launched to keep it afloat became the straw (a seriously expensive one) that broke the camels back.

Originally Posted by ekgbeat

How does the challenge actually work? Are they playing for real money plus Phil pays out 4 to 1 on a predetermined amount?

Each different "challenge" has different side bets. Yes, this is real money in Euros which makes it "worse" in US dollars for Phil. This side bet is VeniVedi's 100k vs. Phil's 200k. So on top of the amount at the end Phil pays an extra 200k

I am away from my computer today so I will just say Phil had a winning session +87k, and then immediately got crushed the next session for -247k. The total is around -750k

I love Phil, I thought he might be an underdog BUT, if anyone has ever paid attention to high-stakes HU it does NOT go like this challenge. We are bordering on Mike Postle "stuff". I think many players have given up high stakes because we "know" there are active "teams" with real time software etc.... I hope Phil just quits and pays off!!

Originally Posted by DS3

Session 13 - Galfond lost S266,000 in that one session and is now down S747,000.

Sorry to say, but Galfond took matters for granted and was not properly prepared to play Veni Vidi. Hubris. This is getting gruesome to follow.

People keep framing it as 'it's all good' as it functions like advertising/promotion...well for those paying attention, the whole idea was a last ditch effort to save Run It Once from going under. The point being neither Phil Galfond or his backers were able to commit unlimited funds to keep the poker site afloat.

It would be ironic if the very thing, the challenge, launched to keep it afloat became the straw (a seriously expensive one) that broke the camels back.

WHAT ??? Tell me since you are paying "attention" where did this information about keeping run it once afloat came from?? Just so you "know" you can't run a business and report to your backers you are going to finance the operation by playing high stakes poker! why do people who know NOTHING, always have to make such stupid remarks. It would be illegal for Phil to be mixing "operating revenue" with this challenge. He is running a regulated site. They would shut him down if he could not show separate funding for this challenge. Phil owns other businesses too, I guess he is going to be homeless when this is over, because of course, you are paying attention.

Originally Posted by jsnake716

WHAT ??? Tell me since you are paying "attention" where did this information about keeping run it once afloat came from?? Just so you "know" you can't run a business and report to your backers you are going to finance the operation by playing high stakes poker! why do people who know NOTHING, always have to make such stupid remarks. It would be illegal for Phil to be mixing "operating revenue" with this challenge. He is running a regulated site. They would shut him down if he could not show separate funding for this challenge. Phil owns other businesses too, I guess he is going to be homeless when this is over, because of course, you are paying attention.

The 'information' comes from Phil Galfond himself who has been open in various interviews about the state (healthy or otherwise) of Run it Once as a viable entity. He has given several interviews where he has spoken plainly about it not being profitable and that his backers could not keep funding the venture if the site could not drive enough traffic to make it viable.

He has even admitted that if he had the choice to go back in time, he would likely opt to not attempt to start a poker site. Phil Galfond is frank when interviewed and had admitted (the most recent Chip Race podcast for example) that he was not prepared for the challenge and thought he might be able to study and learn as the challenge was undertaken against Veni Vidi- obviously the wrong call (and also re-iterated that the very idea of the challenges was to drive eyes/traffic to the site as he has done previously).

This might be of some interest to some of you (tracking the progress)

https://www.runitonce.eu/galfond-cha...8-9-15-16_7-3#

Originally Posted by Shells

This might be of some interest to some of you (tracking the progress)

https://www.runitonce.eu/galfond-challenge/?utm_source=20-22_18-9-15-16_7-3#

You know this is so much "smarter" than waiting for me to post some updates. If the results were not so horribly one-sided , I might enjoy it a bit. Thanks Shells

I am now hoping that everyone who wants to follow all along will just click on the link.

Originally Posted by jsnake716

WHAT ??? Tell me since you are paying "attention" where did this information about keeping run it once afloat came from?? Just so you "know" you can't run a business and report to your backers you are going to finance the operation by playing high stakes poker! why do people who know NOTHING, always have to make such stupid remarks. It would be illegal for Phil to be mixing "operating revenue" with this challenge. He is running a regulated site. They would shut him down if he could not show separate funding for this challenge. Phil owns other businesses too, I guess he is going to be homeless when this is over, because of course, you are paying attention.

Watch how you speak to people who are only trying to add to this discussion. Anything else like this just won't be tolerated. It's unnecesary, completely uncalled for (as the poster said he got it straight from watching Phil), and just plain rude.

Originally Posted by ekt0rac

yeah they are playing for real money.also phil is giving odds to each player , if someone finishes the challenge and is an overall winner then phil will give them a bonus of a predetermined ammount ,

Originally Posted by jsnake716

Each different "challenge" has different side bets. Yes, this is real money in Euros which makes it "worse" in US dollars for Phil. This side bet is VeniVedi's 100k vs. Phil's 200k. So on top of the amount at the end Phil pays an extra 200k

I am away from my computer today so I will just say Phil had a winning session +87k, and then immediately got crushed the next session for -247k. The total is around -750k

I love Phil, I thought he might be an underdog BUT, if anyone has ever paid attention to high-stakes HU it does NOT go like this challenge. We are bordering on Mike Postle "stuff". I think many players have given up high stakes because we "know" there are active "teams" with real time software etc.... I hope Phil just quits and pays off!!

Thanks for clearing up how it works. That is a crazy amount of money. Do you think this challenge will hurt Phil's brand?

Originally Posted by Shells

This might be of some interest to some of you (tracking the progress)

https://www.runitonce.eu/galfond-challenge/?utm_source=20-22_18-9-15-16_7-3#

Awesome link! Thanks

Galfond has suspended the match with Veni Vidi, with it would appear, the possibility he could concede the match.

He has issued a long statement regarding a loss of confidence, the onset of depression, inability to play his best game. I am sure it has been a harrowing experience so taking a break from the series to mentally regroup seems like the best thing Galfond could do for now.

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...6/#post5486045

Originally Posted by DS3

Galfond has suspended the match with Veni Vidi, with it would appear, the possibility he could concede the match.

He has issued a long statement regarding a loss of confidence, the onset of depression, inability to play his best game. I am sure it has been a harrowing experience so taking a break from the series to mentally regroup seems like the best thing Galfond could do for now.

Originally Posted by Shells

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poke...6/#post5486045

Wow, it's hard to see Phil go through that, but it goes to show that he is only human like the rest of us. I hope that he can make a good comeback story.

Just in case anyone would like to hear from the man himself. Great pod if you like Phil

You Tube

Phil has resumed play and showing signs the break did him good!

https://www.runitonce.eu/galfond-challenge/?utm_source=20-22_18-9-15-16_7-3#venividi

Originally Posted by Shells

Phil has resumed play and showing signs the break did him good!

https://www.runitonce.eu/galfond-challenge/?utm_source=20-22_18-9-15-16_7-3#venividi

Let's go Phil!! Wow, what a crazy ride. I am not saying much, afraid to jinx him.

Originally Posted by ekgbeat

Just in case anyone would like to hear from the man himself. Great pod if you like Phil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJrFESjz2mQ

Phil , just an all around good guy, attempting to make online poker better for everyone.

Originally Posted by Shells

Phil has resumed play and showing signs the break did him good!

https://www.runitonce.eu/galfond-challenge/?utm_source=20-22_18-9-15-16_7-3#venividi

Glad to see that he is back. Can't wait til he plays Perky and the TL10. I wonder if Jeff Gross will comment since he's a CC pro.

You can't see hole cards ?? I never watch a stream , video , FT replayer etc without being able to see the hole cards , ljust boring and miss of the chance for some poker education while having fun being a viewer and watching high stakes players , especially the very good ones , battling each other , lol

Anyway , I find this'' me against the world '' challenge stupid , he risks far more if he loses , his site's reputation one of them . I feel somehow sad for him against some unknown to me players , but for Jungleman I desire him to defeat Galfond and teach him a good lesson , lol