Nine Months in the Making, ‘Galfond’ is the Future Poker Hall of Famer’s Latest Pride and Joy
When Phil Galfond put out notice promoting the debut episode of his four-part docuseries simply titled ‘Galfond’, the poker legend called it “The best content we’ve ever made.”
You’ll find no arguments here. This is a must-watch for any poker fan.
The best content we’ve ever made starts airing on my YouTube channel this Friday
pic.twitter.com/vb0Hp3nrUl
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) June 25, 2024
Galfond was originally hesitant to undertake the nine-month project, but with the encouragement of his wife Farah, Galfond’s co-star in the series and life, the idea became a reality.
“I’ve been asked many times to share some behind-the-scenes, day-in-the-life type content, and I’ve always resisted – not because I’m uncomfortable, but because I didn’t think it would be interesting,” said Galfond in the series’ press release.
“This time, it was my wife pushing me, so I said yes! As it turns out, I was wrong. Farah, (director and producer) John Irwin, and (producer) Miikka Anttonen showed me how much story I had to tell, and I was blown away by the four episodes John put together.”
While the series was released in four parts on YouTube, make no mistake; this is a high-end docuseries, not a vlog.
“If you’ve followed my career closely, about half of the show will be an enjoyable inside perspective on things you know about me, while the other half will cover stories I’ve never shared publicly.”
So, with that said, Let’s get into what each episode brings to the table.
Episode 1: Who Is This Guy?
For the few out there who may not be familiar with the poker legend and shoo-in Hall of Famer, the 39-year-old founder of Run It Once Training spends part of the 14-minute debut episode entitled “Who is This Guy?” introducing himself with the help of his friends and peers like Andrew Robl, Brian Rast, and Jason Koon, along of course with his wife Farah, Galfond’s co-star in the series and life.
Following its release, Galfond said on social media that the debut episode is his least favorite because of the time used to scene-set. However, the outstanding production value makes it and all four episodes shine.
Thanks for all the kind words on this episode! Several people put in a lot of hard work.
TBH, the first episode is my least favorite of them all because we had to do some stage-setting for those who don’t know me.
We’ll be going a lot deeper next Friday! https://t.co/hFP2UWcD78
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) June 29, 2024
Those intricately familiar with Galfond’s early days in poker will appreciate the debut episode’s clips of a young Galfond taking the World Series of Poker by storm, confounding opponents on Poker After Dark, and a couple of peeks at Galfond, Robl, and the rest of their ‘Ship it Holla Ballas’ crew. Galfond’s unintended transformation from online wizard to poker ambassador (or ‘oracle’ as Joe Stapleton refers to him) is also a topic of discussion that’s well covered.
Those looking for those rare glimpses into his and Farah’s home life will see touching moments with each other and their son, Spencer, shots of Phil working away at his kitchen table before 5:30 a.m., and other unique moments such as Phil pacing to break the monotony of sitting at his desk to work. If you’re on a call with Galfond, he’s likely doing laps around the house!
Phil with his son Spencer
This all leads to a staple of any good bite-sized series, the next episode tease.
The episode reaches its pinnacle as Galfond begins discussing the challenges he faced with his Run It Once online poker site, closing with the statement “And then things kind of spiraled out of control.”
Fade to black.
Episode 2: A Bad Day
We’re not going to spoil anything here, but the title of this episode is a massive understatement.
Without giving too much away, we can tell you that the second episode focuses on the struggles of Galfond’s venture into online poker with the Run It Once poker site.
A quote from Galfond inside the episode sums up just how deep the issues went with RIO poker.
“By the end of this, I had essentially lost everything”
Yup, it was that bad and worse.
The episode is primarily shared with his co-founder of the site, Dan Quinn, along with Farah. Her perspective of the time along with a reaction to a part of the story that she’d never heard before are incredibly emotional and revealing.
The amount of effort Galfond and his team put into first launching the site, then keeping it afloat, and then ultimately selling is truly incredible, and to hear the whole story from Galfond and those close to him is genuinely amazing.
Honestly, if you’ve ever thought about springing for YouTube Premium to avoid those annoying ads that pop up at the most inopportune times, getting it for this episode alone might just be worth it. Hearing Pete Davidson welcome me into the ball-bershop while Galfond was discussing how deep in financial trouble he was incredibly intrusive.
A full watch straight through without interruption is worth it for the real-life drama of this episode.
Episode 3: Conquered
After the incredible drama and tension of the second episode, it’s more drama in Episode 3, but with a lot more excitement and the happiest of endings.
It focuses on Galfond’s incredible comeback victory in his Galfond Challenge against ‘Venividi1993’.
As a quick refresher, during the middle of 2020 during the pandemic, Galfond played a series of online heads-up PLO matches on Run It Once Poker, with his match against online legend Venividi, the unquestioned highlight of the series.
After seeing the dejection and strife that he went through in the previous episode, seeing his, Farah’s, and others’ elation at his eventual victory is very satisfying to watch and a helluva palate cleanser after episode 2.
The episode is filled with friends and colleagues discussing the impact of the match, not just for the result, but the Challenge itself during a dark time for the entire world, let alone poker.
It discusses the massive swings of not just the match, but of the perception of Galfond by viewers of the challenge.
READ MORE: Top 10 Takeaways from the Galfond Challenge
Galfond says of his dramatic triumph over Venividi, “I’ve won three WSOP bracelets and this trumped those experiences and the feeling of victory of those by a mile.”
This episode is truly an outstanding way to relive one of the most incredible on-the-felt stories in poker history.
Episode 4: The Next Challenge
So, what’s next for the Galfonds?
That’s what the concluding episode focuses on as Phil and Farah discuss their current lives, much as they did in the first episode.
For now, Farah is the more regular poker player in the family as she’s gone from mid- to high stakes and is now a tournament player, playing them exclusively in 2023.
My 2024 WSOP results:
Unique tournaments: 11
Rebuys: 4
Total buy-in’s:
$29,131Cashes: 4
$22, 612For a loss of a new Chanel bag:
-$6,519I wanted to play more than 11 but so goes it when you’re a MOTHER.
Episode 4 of Galfond out tomorrow.
— Farah Galfond (@Farah_Galfond) July 18, 2024
Her rise on the felt along with her personal thoughts on why she moved to tournaments is the latest cool insight into their life as poker parents.
As for Phil, he says he wants to come back to playing poker more and he will once he has more time, but for now, his expanded coaching role is the most satisfying poker-related activity in his life.
That guy who crushed every online and live poker event in sight is still there, but his work-life balance has him in a good place in life.
It doesn’t mean that there’s no poker playing for Phil Galfond. He just appreciates the opportunities to play more when he gets them.
Oh, and their son Spencer… Well, you’ll see that poker may well be in his future, too, as he already has some serious math skills to get a head start in that area of the game… and he’s only five years old!
Conclusion: The Galfond Docuseries is a Stellar Must-Watch
To echo my sentiments from the top of this review, this is an absolute must-watch for any poker fan.
Whether you’re well in the know about Phil Galfond’s rich history in the game or if his is a story you’re interested in learning more about, ‘Galfond’ is a brilliant look into one of poker’s most important and well-loved figures.
The access to their lives that Phil and Farah Galfond provided for this series gives viewers an in-depth and private look at them on par with the best of reality-based shows, without any manufactured drama.
The drama is all real and fulfills the promise of a look at Galfond’s life like you’ve never seen before.
Balancing out the dives into those dramatic times is the genuine love shown throughout, which illustrates the happiness surrounding Phil and Farah’s lives with their family and many friends.
The four episodes of ‘Galfond’ make for a combined hour-long watch well worth giving a look.
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