Esfandiari Can't Hold; Loses Majority of Stack
In a blind vs. blind match up, Steve Brecher opened to 4,800 from the small and Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari defended from the big.
The flop came 

and Brecher check-raised a 4,400 bet from Esfandiari to 12,500.
Esfandiari took a moment, then re-popped it to 32,500. Brecher announced he was all in for about 46,000 total and Esfandiari said, "Deal it!" while pushing his stack into the middle.
Esfandiari: 
for the nut-flush draw.
Brecher: 
for an open-ended straight draw.
Esfandiari was ahead with ace-high but would need to fade many outs.
The
turn put Brecher into the lead with a pair of queens and the
river bricked out for Esfandiari, which allowed Brecher to scoop the huge pot.
Esfandiari is down to his last 20,000 while Brecher is sitting on a very healthy stack of 100,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
100,000
43,000
|
43,000 |
|
|
20,000
62,000
|
62,000 |
|
|
||