30 Jan 2026 Beginner This material is for beginner players Alan Keating and Antonio Esfandiari are not strangers in the high-stakes poker space. Both players have been on the felt for years, trading massive six-figure and seven-figure pots back and forth with their opponents. A wild hand on PokerGO's Super High Roller Cash Game once again showcased their experience in the game. The duo battled in a pot worth over $2 million, and they showed no emotions. A Fast Start Builds a Massive Pot The hand started with blinds of $500-$1,000 and a big blind ante of $2,000. Antonio Esfandiari, who had a stack of $1.2 million, made a straddle bet of $2,000. Andrew Robl, with a stack of $1.8 million, opened the action and raised to $20,000 holding . Esfandiari, in response, made a 3bet to $58,000 with . This set the stage for more action. Alan Keating fired back with a four-bet to $125,000, holding and having double-straddled to $4,000 with a $2.2 million chip stack. Robl decided to fold, and Esfandiari made the call. The pot had already grown to $273,000 by the time the flop was dealt. At that point, Esfandiari was in great shape and had more than an 85% probability of winning the pot. A Dream Flop Changes Everything The flop landed , which made things exciting right away. The flop gave Esfandiari the top set with his pocket nines, and Keating got an open-ended straight draw when he paired his eight. Esfandiari was still ahead, but Keating's chances went up a lot when he had eight outs to a straight. Keating kept mounting pressure and fired a $75,000 bet after Esfandiari checked. Esfandiari waited before making a big move. He went all in with his last $1.1 million stack, putting pressure on his opponent and making the hand one to be the highlight of the session. A Tough Call and a Split Pot Keating carefully looked over his cards again and watched Esfandiari, clearly thinking about what to do. He finally made the call, which pushed the pot over $2.4 million. Keating needed either a 5 or a 10 to finish his straight and win. The players agreed to play the turn and river two times. The landed on the turn on the first runout, and the fell on the river. That card completed Keating's straight and gave him at least half of the pot. On the second runout, the landed on the turn and the on the river. Esfandiari's set held up this time, and Keating didn't get any help. The pot was split fairly, and neither player lost their cool. Esfandiari admitted that he misinterpreted the entire situation. He said he thought Keating had jacks and that he would call. Keating said it looked like fun, which is how he summed up his decision. High Stakes Are Nothing New for These Pros Esfandiari has taken breaks from poker in the past, but he has recently returned to high-stakes games. He has won the World Series of Poker three times and the World Poker Tour twice. In December, he won more than $800,000 on High Stakes Poker after getting four of a kind against a full house. On the other hand, Keating is widely known for his high-stakes live streams. He has won more than $310,000 in streamed cash games since 2019. In May, the Michigan native made news when she won $2 million in Hustler Casino Live's Million Dollar Game. Seven-figure pots are just another day at the office for players like Esfandiari and Keating. Poker Community Reaction As usual, the poker community had something to say about this massive pot. @Joeingram1: very fun show tonight, great lineup— LEGION | Joey Ingram 🐉 (@Joeingram1) January 28, 2026 @therealgarlando: Who’s the prick chatting shit in the background— Billy B (@therealgarlando) January 28, 2026 @LuvinMuoz: What’s hilarious to me is Keating looking at Antonio as if he is going to “catch a bluff” buahahahaha— Luvin Munoz (@LuvinMuoz) January 28, 2026 @PuraVidaPokerCR: I feel like keating called out of spite. Check jamming that flop for that big with the virtual nuts is hilarious.— Fun Player (@PuraVidaPokerCR) January 28, 2026
