December is typically a big month for poker, as several of the biggest tournaments of the year usually play out in the final weeks of the year.
It was no different this time around, as many of the world’s most elite poker players flocked to Las Vegas, Paradise Island, and Prague to play in the big tournaments, which meant cash games would go on a bit of a back-burner.
Even with many of the biggest names in the game not playing in any high-stakes cash games, December still brought quite a few huge live streams as well.
Poker legends like Garrett Adelstein, Phil Laak, and Antonio Esfandiari all made their comebacks to the live streaming arena, and that inevitably meant some big games would form around them.
If you haven’t had the time to watch all the streams this month, here is a look at the three biggest and most entertaining pots played on live streams in December 2024.
Top Hands in December:
- $323k pot goes away from Antonio Esfandiari after a big cooler
- $150,6k pot for Garrett Adelstein with a great bluff-catch
- 94,5k por for Mariano after hitting his set
The Magician Gets Coolered on HCL
Antonio Esfandiari, also known at The Magician, is one of the original legends of the game, who made his name in the early days of High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark.
Always a fan favorite, Esfandiari made his return to live streams after an extended hiatus on an episode of Hustler Casino Live, battling with regulars like Peter, Mike X, and Britney over a game of $100/200 No Limit Texas Hold’em.
Esfandiari brought his recognizable brand of unpredictable poker to the table and played every hand like it was his last, without the fear many players exhibit when playing for such high stakes, especially on TV.
Yet, the biggest hand of the night didn’t come down to Antonio’s incredible courage or his unorthodox playing style, but rather a massive cooler.
The hand started with a few players, including Antonio, limping into the pot for $400 each. Recreational player by the name of Kennen bumped it up to $5k with his pocket fives from the straddle, and everyone but Antonio folded.
Antonio decided to defend with his A♠8♠ in the big blind, and he felt quite comfortable when the flop brought A♣J♠8♥, giving him two pair.
The Magician check/called a small c-bet of $3k from his opponent, and the hand looked like it was more or less over at that point.
That was true until the turn brought the 5♥, giving Kennen a set of fives, and spelling trouble for Antonio.
This time around, Esfandiari decided to protect his hand and check/raised Kennen’s bet of $12k to $39k. This was music to Kennen’s ears, as he announced raise, and then made a small raise over the top of Antonio’s $39k.
Antonio didn’t take too long before putting all the money in, and even thought he was good for a second, As Kennen took more time than expected to make the call.
Despite expecting good news, Antonio was quickly shown the opposite, as the two ran it twice and Kennen won both runs.
Despite losing this massive $323k pot, Antonio ended up being the day’s biggest winner with a profit of just under $300k in total.
Adelstein Wins Big with Just a Pair of Fives
The live streaming community and fans of Garrett Adelstein were all pleasantly surprised in early December, when Bally Live Poker announced the legend would be making a return to the game after not showing his face on a live poker stream in a full year.
Adelstein made his comeback in a $100/200 game alongside the likes of Phil Laak and Japanese poker vlogger Masato, which made for quite an entertaining lineup.
In his usual fashion, Adelstein applied his aggressive playing style of dominate the table, and he walked away the biggest winner on the night, playing quite a few fun hands in the process.
One of the biggest hands of the nigh started with Adelstein opening his A♦5♦ to $3k from the button. The only player to call was David, who held 7♣3♣ in the small blind.
The preflop call from David was certainly a bit of a surprise and quite loose, but the action player he is, David didn’t mind giving Garrett some action.
In fact, as further action would show, David was probably looking to get involved with Adelstein and try to muscle a big pot away from him on a live stream, perhaps to ascertain his dominance.
On a flop of 5♣4♣3♠, David held a pair and a combo draw, which is pretty much as good as one can hope for with such a bad starting hand.
David check-raised Garrett’s c-bet of $6k to $19k, and Gman promptly called, taking the two players to the 8♥ turn card.
Upon seeing the 8, David quickly moved all-in, and Adelstein went into the tank, asked for a count, and deliberated his decision.
The bet was worth $52,900, which made it only a slight overbet. Fully understanding his opponent’s aggressive nature, Garrett made the call and got the good news.
All that was left was to fade the river, as the two agreed to run it just once. The 5♠ on the river gave the whole pot to Adelstein, who scooped $150,600 in that pot, and walked away from the game with almost $200k in profits.
Mariano Flops a Set – Gets Paid the Max
The final notable hand we included on this included one of the most popular poker vloggers out there, Mariano Grandoli, and was played on a recent HCL stream.
Mariano was playing at a table with a number of other notable players, including Rampage and Bulldog, and was sitting on a stack of about $100k when he called a middle position raise with red pocket fours.
Mariano’s cutoff call prompted a string of action behind him, as Teuf and Brown Balla made the call, before Rampage made a squeeze with A♥J♣.
Rampage made it $4k to go, which cleared out the original raiser Bulldog. Yet, not one to back away from a challenge, Mariano called his friend’s re-raise, and Teuf also made the call with his 6♣4♣.
The flop brought K♠J♥4♠ and gave Mariano bottom set, putting him in pole position to win the pot.
Rampage opened with a check, and Mariano was forced to do his own betting. With just under $18k in the pot, Mariano put out $4.5k, which was small enough to entice Teuf to make the call. Rampage, on the other hand, wisely folded his middle pair and saved himself from any further losses.
The turn was a disaster for Teuf, as the 6♥ appeared on the board. With two flush draws on the board, and two pair of his own, Teuf was always going to lose everything against one of the most aggressive players in the game.
Mariano naturally continued for $12k, and Teuf decided it was time to protect his hand, as he moved in for $36k in total.
Mariano was left to make an easy call, and would easily fade the two rivers, as none of the remaining sixes turned over on either of the rivers.
Despite winning this hand, Mariano basically broke even on the day, while Bulldog was the big winner in the game, and Mariano’s opponent Teuf ended up dropping about $100k on the day.
