Antonio Esfandiari and Alan Keating have routinely played card games with high stakes on the line. Perhaps that’s why the two poker pros seemed unfazed during a hand on PokerGO’s Super High Roller Cash Game when the pot rose to more than $2 million.
With blinds at $500-$1,000 and a $2,000 big blind ante, Esfandiari straddled to $2,000 with $1.2 million in his stack. Andrew Robl raised to $20,000 with K♦Q♣ and $1.8 million in front of him.
Esfandiari then three-bet to $58,000 with 9♠9♥. Alan Keating, who double straddled to $4,000, then four-bet to $125,000 with 8♥7♦ and $2.2 million in his stack.
Robl folded and Esfandiari called, ballooning the pot to $273,000. At this point, Esfandiari had more than an 85% chance to win the pot with Keating at 14%, according to the Card Player Poker Odds Calculator.
The flop was 9♦8♣6♠, giving Esfandiari top set and Keating second pair with an open-ended straight draw. Esfandiari now was a 73% favorite, with Keating increasing his odds of taking the pot to just over 24%.
Esfandiari Makes Huge Flop Shove
Esfandiari checked and Keating fired $75,000. His opponent contemplated his next move for a while before moving all in with his remaining $1.1 million.
Keating checked his cards again and seemed a bit pained at his decision. He continued eyeing his opponent before finally making the call, swelling the pot to more than $2.4 million. Keating would need any 5 or 10 to complete a straight.
The two players decided to run two turn and river cards. Both players then watched nonchalantly as the turn brought the J♦. But the 5♠ fell on the river, delivering Keating at least half the pot with his completed straight.
The second runout saw the 3♠ on the turn and the 2♣ on the river, giving Esfandiari the other half of the pot. Esfandiari and Keating seemed mostly unmoved as to how things played out.
“I did not put you on that,” Esfandiari said after the hand. “I thought it was jacks and was like, ‘He’s just going to call me.’”
Keating then added: “It looked like fun.” Watch the complete hand below.
HOLY S*$% @MISTER_KEATING IS ONE OF THE SICKEST GAMBLERS OF ALL TIME
Watch the Super High Roller Cash Game presented by @MonkeyTilt on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG. pic.twitter.com/SBC9nlKTR8
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) January 28, 2026
High Stakes Nothing New For Players
While Esfandiari has been away from the game lately, the three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and two-time World Poker Tour champion has jumped into some high-stakes cash games recently.
In December, he was involved in another huge pot on High Stakes Poker that saw quite a cooler. “The Magician” won more than $800,000 after making quads over his opponent’s full house.
Keating is also a regular in high-stakes cash game streams and had more than $310,000 in winnings in those appearances dating back to 2019, according to High Roll Poker. In May, the poker pro originally from Michigan won $2 million on Hustler Casino Live Million Dollar Game.
