The moment we saw Antonio Esfandiari in the lineup for the latest set of PokerStars’ The Big Game on Tour, it was clear that it would be an action-packed session. And “The Magician” did not disappoint.

Antonio set the tone during the first episode, pulling a few unexpected moves, including a big all-in over-bet to put Luke Wakelin, the Loose Cannon, to the test. But during the last session, he really turned up the heat.

Esfandiari was seemingly involved in every pot, and his preflop hand selection was somewhat questionable (to say the least). However, he kept connecting with the flops, showing the world the true meaning of the popular phrase, “it ain’t no fun when the rabbit got the gun.”

A Magician Never Reveals His Tricks

Esfandiari got to work right from the start, winning a decent-sized pot against Nick Wright. He went for three streets of value with a weak top pair, having correctly assessed his opponent’s holdings.

Phil Hellmuth, seated to Antonio’s immediate right, wasn’t a happy camper. It was impossible for the Poker Brat to play his usual small ball strategy and see cheap cards as Esfandiari was betting and raising left and right.

Of course, this strategy is a double-edged sword. When it works, it can win you piles, but it can also cost you all your profits in one big pot.

Esfandiari was up heaps all the way until the end of the session. But then, he got involved in a cooler hand against Nick, which saw his trip eights cracked by Wright’s turned straight. To make matters worse, Antonio decided to move all in over Nick’s river bet, going for full value, and this time around, his aggressive strategy did not pay off.

Despite losing the nearly $100k pot, “The Magician” ended the session with a hefty profit of just over $24,000, so don’t expect this rabbit to put his gun down anytime soon.

Gronk’s Dad Gets in the Mix

Bringing in substitutions isn’t common for poker games, but things are a bit more chilled on The Big Game on Tour as the emphasis is on having fun. So, Gronk’s father, who’s been on the rail since the start of the game, was allowed to replace his son and play one hand.

That one hand showed that the poker gods have quite a sense of humor. Gronkowski Sr. was dealt 5-2 off-suit, and he nearly folded before the flop. But since he was only allowed to play one hand, he ended up playing it.

The pot went heads-up between him and the Loose Cannon. Luke’s Jh9h hit a nice flop with a flush draw, but he once again missed all of his outs. Instead, it was Gronk Sr. who caught a miracle on the river to complete his gutshot straight draw, picking up a fairly small pot.

No Lucky Breaks for the Loose Cannon

Luke Wakelin was coming into the session with a deficit of around $17k and eager to turn things around. The first session didn’t quite go to plan for the Loose Cannon, but he had more than enough ammo in front of him where one hand could get him back in black.

Unfortunately, the deck still refused to cooperate with his plans. Although he managed to flop a few promising draws in decent-sized pots, he bricked all of them, causing him to bleed even more chips without any tangible returns.

All said and done, he ended the day down almost $29,000, which means he’ll be coming back to the next session with $21,000. This is still plenty of money, but he’ll need to take his stand sooner rather than later.

The good news is that there are still over 100 hands to be played, so Luke has plenty of time, and the table has shown a propensity for action. If he can pick up a couple of good hands, he should have no problems finding some willing customers.