The Magician's Trick Revealed
. Alex Kravchenko checked, Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari bet 750, and Kravchenko called. That made the pot about 2,000.The river brought the
, and Kravchenko again checked. Esfandiari then shoved his whole stack -- 5,100 -- the big overbet sending Kravchenko into the tank. Finally the Russian emerged to make the call, turning over just 
. He'd guessed right, as Esfandiari turned over 
. "Good luck, gentlemen," said Esfandiari as he departed. Kravchenko now has 14,000.