Phil Galfond Leaves Nothing to Chance As He Dominates ActionFreak

May 1st, 2020 | by Kaycee James

Fresh off his narrow victory over Venividi1993, Phil Galfond has come roaring out of the gate against ActionFreak.

Phil Galfond has surged into the lead against ActionFreak in his latest online high-stakes poker challenge. (Image: Run It Once)

Although he recently started his second challenge against Bill Perkins, Galfond is doubling down against ActionFreak.

With Perkins attending to business commitments, ActionFreak stepping into the breach on April 27. Agreeing to play 15,000 hands of €150/€300 Pot Limit Omaha, the online pro took a slight lead over the first two sessions.

Phil Galfond Maintains Momentum

However, a €150,000/$163,600 side bet and thoughts of his first challenge spurring him on, Galfond has fought back. In a massive session on April 30, the American pro raced to a $310,000 lead over his opponent.

After just 185 hands of the third session, ActionFreak was trailing by $91,500. After 380 hands, the deficit had been cut but it was soon one-way traffic.

The pivotal point in the match came midway through the day with the board showing T♣K♦8♥. Galfond had a wrap with A♠J♠J♦Q♥ and happily meet fire with fire as ActionFreak started to bet.

In the end, all the money was in the middle and ActionFreak tabled K♠T♥8♣2♥ for two pair. Despite being ahead, an ace on the turn swung the hand in Phil Galfond’s favor before a blank on the river sealed the deal.

That hand was worth $108,100 to Galfond and proved to be the turning point in the match. With a lead of more than $100,000, he could have coasted. However, with more hands to play in the challenge, establishing a dominant lead is paramount.

High-Stakes Challenge is Far from Over

With that in mind, Galfond continued to grind. His hustle earned him a string of pots worth in excess of $70,000. By the time ActionFreak had suffered enough punishment for one day, Galfond was ahead by $310,594.

As we saw in the previous high-stakes challenge, anything can happen when the pressure is one. At one point in his showdown with Venividi1993, Galfond was down by $1 million.

However, a two-week break and a rush of cards saw him overturn the deficit and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

ActionFreak will certainly be clinging to that in the coming weeks. Although the pair have played fewer hands, Phil Galfond has proved that he’s still one of the game’s best. That, combined with the power of momentum, means the deck is currently stacked in the current leader’s favor.