NFL star down $14,400 in televised poker debut after two tough folds against Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari made his intentions clear before the cards were dealt.
“This is Gronk’s first time playing cards on TV,” the “Magician” said before the start of PokerStars Big Game on Tour Season 2. “If the right opportunity comes up where I can put him to the test, I will act on it.”
He did exactly that.
Through the first 23 hands of the $100/$200 no-limit hold’em cash game, Esfandiari bluffed Rob Gronkowski off the best hand twice and finished the session up $12,500. Gronkowski, making his televised poker debut, ended the session down $14,400.
The former New England Patriots tight end was one of six players at the table. Each player bought in for $50,000, except for Esfandiari, who began with $100,000. The lineup also included Nick Wright, Phil Hellmuth, Rania Nasreddine, and the Loose Cannon, Luke Wakelin.
Nasreddine, who reached consecutive PokerStars European Poker Tour final tables in 2024, helped Gronkowski early by showing him how to check his hole cards without exposing them. In one of the first hands, Gronkowski limped under the gun with K♦8♣, but Wright raised to $1,000 from the small blind with A♣J♣ and took down the pot.
As the session continued, Gronkowski showed a cautious approach. He did not play many aggressive hands, but he also avoided making loose calls. Esfandiari, meanwhile, applied pressure to the less experienced players at the table.
One of the key hands came when Gronkowski limped from the cutoff with A♠7♦. Esfandiari raised to $800 on the button with 9♣4♣, and Wakelin called from the big blind with A♣8♣. Gronkowski called as well.
The flop came 3♠4♠7♣, giving Gronkowski top pair and Esfandiari bottom pair. After Wakelin checked, Gronkowski bet $1,500, and both opponents called.
The turn brought the J♣, giving both Esfandiari and Wakelin a flush draw. Action checked to Esfandiari, who moved all in for $50,000, nearly seven times the size of the pot.
Wakelin held ace-high with the nut flush draw, but calling and losing would have ended his session under the Loose Cannon format, so he folded. Gronkowski also folded, even though he had the best hand at that moment.
Later, Gronkowski found a flop he liked against Esfandiari when the board came 6♣9♥J♦.
“This is my hand, by the way,” Gronkowski said.
“What is it? Jack, nine, six?” Esfandiari asked.
“Six, nine, and I’m the jack of all trades,” Gronkowski replied, drawing laughter from the table.
That hand became the second key bluff of the session. Gronkowski held A♥Q♣, and the Q♠ on the turn gave him top pair. The river was the 4♦. With $14,500 in the pot and $45,900 remaining in his stack, Gronkowski checked. Esfandiari then moved all in with 9♠7♠, turning third pair into a bluff.
Gronkowski folded again despite holding the best hand.
There were no monster pots during the first episode, but there was plenty of table talk. Esfandiari and Gronkowski also spent part of the session teasing Hellmuth for repeatedly name-dropping his celebrity friends.
After 23 hands, Nasreddine was the biggest winner at the table, up $14,000. Wakelin was down $17,400. Esfandiari sat on a $12,500 profit, while Gronkowski was down $14,400.
The second episode with the same six players will air next Sunday morning on the PokerStars YouTube channel.
