Big buck bravery

The confidence and grit of professional poker players was on display this week in a high stakes confrontation between poker stars Phil Ivey and Finland's Patrik Antonius when the two gambled on three $100 000 plus pots in under an hour.

Playing heads up in the final showdown of a $300/$600 No Limit Texas Hold Em game, the two went for it with a vengeance with massive pots at stake on three occasions.

The first came when the two were all-in pre-flop following several raises and Ivey came out on top to take a $145 194.50 pot.

Barely fifteen minutes later the two clashed again with Ivey raising to $1 800 pre-flop and Antonius re-raising to $5 400 before Ivey called. After the flop Antonius steamed in with a $10 200 bet, which Ivey called. After the turn Antonius moved all-in with his remaining stash of $48 899, and once again Ivey called, but this time it was not to be and Antonius won the $128 997.50 pot.

The two poker superstars seemed to have developed an appetite for this brinkmanship, because a few minutes later they were going for it again, hunting the biggest pot of the night with aggressive intensity. Antonius raised to $1 800 pre-flop, Ivey re-raised to $5 400, and Antonius called. In quick succession Ivey bet $8 400, Antonius re-raised to $24 600, Ivey re-raised to $65 400, and Antonious pushed his last $91 797 into the pot to put Ivey all-in. Ivey called, winning the $193 778.50 pot with pocket aces over pocket jacks.