2015 WSOP Esfandiari All-In Moments

We’re alive,’ Antonio ‘The Magician’ Esfandiari roared this summer at the Rio for for five straight days. But even a magician can’t quite win a wrestling match with the poker gods. So during Day 5 of the 2015 WSOP $10,000 No-Limit Hold’Em Main Event, the magic that kept him and his rail alive ran out. With his backpack on, Esfandiari shook hands with his opponents, wished them good luck and joined his supporters in disappointment. His dream of making a WSOP Main Event final table was crushed.

Still, ‘’The Magician’ left Rio with some memorable moments in his mind, most of them happening in Day 4 and Day 5 of the 2015 WSOP ME. During those days, the poker gods smiled upon him and gave him several opportunities even though he was at a disadvantage in most all-in contests. Can’t remember? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are Esfandiari’s all-in moments at this year’s WSOP Main Event:

Day 4: Aggression Play Pays Off

Antonio’s first all-in moment happened in a hand against red-hot Andrew Jenkins who was crushing his opposition till that point. But he couldn’t crush Esfandiari. The two players went all-in preflop, pocket tens vs. Ace-King. ‘The Magician’ had the small edge in the flip, an edge that helped him double up to 30 big blinds. His stack however would again diminish and the pro had to make yet another move. He did with Ace-Ten suited only to ran into Daniel ‘DJ’ Buckley and his Ace-Jack hand. The flop was merciful giving Esfandiari a pair of tens that eventually sealed it. Later in the day, ‘The Magician’ turned up his aggression and shoved Ten-Six suited from the button. Indian Vivek Rajmukar reshoved in the small blind with King-Jack and the American born in Iran was again at risk but not done as he caught a flush on the river. Esfandiari lived to fight another day.

Day 5: Those Damn Cowboys

Day 5 of the WSOP Main Event started well for the 2012 Big One for One Drop winner. He went all-in on the flop with top pair and got two folds to win the hand uncontested. Later, he made a mistake that could have cost him his tournament life. With 14 blinds left, he shoved Nine-Seven off-suited only to ran into Ace-Queen. Still, the poker gods saved him once more pulling a nine out of the deck on the turn.The next all-in situation was his last. This time, Esfandiari made the right shove with pocket Kings aka Cowboys. Unfortunately, Neil Blumenfield had the best hand in No-Limit Texas Hold’Em, pocket Aces aka the Bullets. ‘The Magician’ couldn’t dodge anything finishing in 168th place good for $40,433. Maybe next year Antonio…

About Antonio Esfandiari

Antonio Esfandiari was born in Teheran, Iran and moved to California when he was nine years old. He was a professional magician before choosing poker.

So far, he has one European Poker Tour final table, two World Poker Tour titles and three WSOP bracelets. Two of those bracelets were earned in 2012 at the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop in Las Vegas and at WSOP Europe. At the Big One for One Drop, Esfandiari won the biggest cash prize in poker history: $18,346,673. He is second in the all-time tournament money list ($26,495,567), behind Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu.