March must be the month for incredible poker decisions. It was only a week and a half ago that Ian Steinman laid down his trip Kings in an amazing call at the WPT Rolling Thunder Main Event that saved him from losing a huge pot to a straight held by his opponent, Joe McKeehan. That decision allowed him to go on and finish second in the tournament to take home just over $201,000. In the latest head-scratcher, Antonio Esfandiari called a monstrous flop bet that left everyone understanding why he’s called The Magician.
Pre-flop bets were made, with no one jumping out to show strength. A flop of 8-A-10 gave both Cheadle and Tilly a killer hand, with both ready to pounce at the right minute. Tilly led off with a small $10,000 bet, possibly intending on slow playing her set of Aces. Esfandiari, who had a comfortable lead with $370,000 but no connectors, called. Cheadle was certain that his two pair made him top dog, so he raised to $43,500. Tilly responded by moving all in with $94,000—and Esfandiari actually called the bet. Cheadle was pot-committed and not insecure about his cards, and responded by moving all in.
It needed to be pointed out that Esfandiari was only in the hand at this point for $15,000—far off the size of the bet and with no greater than a 27% chance at finding a connector. The three-time WSOP bracelet winner isn’t known for shying away from a pot, though, and he was there to gamble.
A 7 on the turn provided no help to anyone, and Tilly was feeling even better about taking the monster pot. However, the river would provide the greatest suckout for Esfandiari. A King surfaced, giving the poker pro his straight, and the $283,000 pot. If it helped any, he actually apologized to Tilly for stealing the hand.