Ronnie Bardah
Once again, in my weekly look around the Interwebs for the latest in poker, I find myself stumbling upon a hand from the past that’s so good, it must be shared.
I found this thanks to @IndiaPokerChamp: It’s from a 2014 PokerStars event called “Shark Cage,” in which the players are put on the clock and they’re sent to a cage (that doesn’t have real sharks in it, even though that’d be SO COOL AND NOT DANGEROUS AT ALL) if they fold the best hand.
Ronnie is a cast member of the 39th season of Survivor, Island of the Idols. Hobbies: Kickboxing, beatboxing, and hiking. Sep 27, 2019 Any hopes of Ronnie Bardah winning a last longer over previous poker player contestants on Survivor were dashed this week when he was voted off the island. Poker pro Ronnie Bardah lasted less than. Ronnie Bardah on IMDb: Movies, Tv, Celebrities, and more. Oscars Best Picture Winners Best Picture Winners Golden Globes Emmys STARmeter Awards San Diego Comic-Con New York Comic-Con Sundance Film Festival Toronto Int'l Film. Ronnie Bardah has won 1 bracelets and 0 rings for total earnings of $831,664. See all events where they placed in-the-money. Ronnie Bardah is a contestant from Survivor: Island of the Idols. Ronnie launched an early campaign to eliminate Elaine Stott for her perceived likability, but this style of play turned the tribe against him and he became the first person voted out of his season.
This hand involves Sara Chafak, a former Miss Finland at the Miss Universe competition, and poker pro Ronnie Bardah. Let’s break it down:
Chafak calls the big blind with Ace-2 offsuit, and Bardah goes in with 8 of clubs and 4 of spades.
The flop arrives and there’s a 4 of clubs. Bardah has a pair! He bets 15,000 chips … and Chafak raises!? Hmm. She’s got a shot at a straight if she hits a 3 but that’s a tough decision to even call, let alone raise. Bardah calls.
The next card? A 4!!! Bardah has three-of-a-kind! There’s no way he can lose, right? But he checks, worried about what Chafak had. And this is where Chafak seems to see an opportunity — “Why are you checking?” she asks. And in she goes with 55,000! He raises to 155,000, as he should … and Chafak RE-RAISES TO 255,000!
This is an absolutely bonkers move, an insane risk given that she’s got a 9 percent chance here to win, but let’s remember: She has to keep representing whatever hand she thinks she’s bluffing with. Any sign of weakness and she’s done for.
The river comes out — the 6 of hearts, which helps no one. Chafak goes all-in, and Bardah uses some kind of extended-time option to give himself more than 30 seconds to decide to call or to fold. He then tries to get her to break by showing he has a 4. This is her response:
She’s not budging. And he folds!!!!!!!!!!! Unbelievable. Bardah goes off to the cage and is left flabbergasted.
Table Of Contents
Poker fans tuning in to the season premiere of hit reality show 'Survivor' on Sept. 25 will get to see a familiar face: Ronnie Bardah. While Bardah's participation has been all but confirmed for months since a May leak, news officially hit the wire last week that he's a contestant.
Reached through a CBS executive, Bardah agreed to an interview. While he's forbidden from revealing particulars of his time in Fiji for 'Survivor: Island of the Idols', he did fill PokerNews in last week on the process of becoming a contestant, how things have been in the intervening months after filming, and what his plans are once the season starts.
From Fan to Player
While Bardah counts himself a 'Survivor' super fan at this point, it hasn't always been that way.
The long-running series first aired way back in 2000, when it helped kick off the reality TV craze. Bardah remembers watching the first few seasons before 'life and other things' pulled him away. When fellow poker player Anna Khait was cast in Season 32, which aired in 2016, Bardah dove back into the popular show.
'I would consider myself a huge fan,' he said. 'I really started watching it again. I went back in the archives and watched almost every season.'
Around Season 35 or Season 36, Bardah applied to be a contestant. He submitted a tape and 'Survivor' executives liked what they saw. They gave Bardah a buzz and told him he'd been selected for final auditions in Los Angeles.
'You're not allowed to talk to anybody.'
There, Bardah went through a rigorous, multi-step selection process. It began with interviews, with Bardah explaining why he wanted to be on 'Survivor'. The secrecy starts right away.
'You're not allowed to talk to anybody,' Bardah said. 'You can look at them, but you can't speak.'
Would-be survivors who pass the initial interviews undergo psychological and physical testing. The culling continues day after day until the seven-day trial is finished. Even if you complete the entire process, Bardah said, you're still in the dark, waiting months until you find out if you're selected.
Preparing to Survive
While he waited over the next several months, the longtime grinder said he continued playing poker, about 30 hours per week at the limit and no-limit tables in L.A.
'You can't just say, I'm going on 'Survivor', I'm gonna stop life,' Bardah said. 'I had to keep grinding, of course.'
Despite the lack of clarity, he felt good about his chances. He began doing a bit of light prep. For instance, he began learning how to make fire with flint and a machete. He engaged in an eight-day fast consuming only water to see how he'd do with no food.
He drilled key skills like building a shelter and fishing.
In February, he found out he'd been selected, with filming set for March and April. At that point, he and his family had to sign non-disclosure agreements and the full-on secrecy began.
Bardah signed up for a 'Survivor' camp of sorts in Florida, where he said he got one-on-one lessons in the skills he'd need for the show. He drilled key skills like building a shelter and fishing while getting used to things like sleeping on the ground.
According to Bardah, there was a bit of wink-wink with the camp's mastermind, who'd often playfully ask Bardah what the lessons were for and whether he was going to be on 'Survivor.'
'I don't know what you're talking about, bro,' Bardah dutifully responded.
Bardah also worked hard to get into shape — but not too good of shape.
'You don't wanna be in sick shape,' he explained. 'You want some fat on you.'
A 'Feel Player' in His Element
Shortly after filming, Bardah headed to Las Vegas for his yearly pilgrimage to the World Series of Poker, where he has earned about two-thirds of his $1.3 million in cashes, including his 2012 bracelet win in a six-max limit event.
At that point, the cat was out of the bag regarding his participation in the show, and Bardah said he received plenty of playful ribbing from his fellow players. Many tried getting a read on his success or failure, so Bardah had his guard up at all times.
'I was buying action during the Main, so they said, 'Oh, you must have won,' Bardah said with a laugh. 'People were busting my balls in the hallway. It was tough [to keep it under wraps], for sure.'
Survivor Poker
Asked how he expected his poker skills to translate to the show, Bardah wouldn't even say whether he informed his fellow contestants of his background. He did, however, explain that being a self-described 'feel player' made him a natural.
'I know all poker players have an advantage because of the life that we live,' he said. 'Being able to perceive how people perceive you...I'm not really a fundamentalist. I don't study sims. I'm a huge feel player so I knew going into 'Survivor' those skills would be huge for me.
Ronnie Bardah (@ronnie_bardah) • Instagram Photos And Videos
'I know what people want to hear. I know how to integrate myself into certain social crowds. I'm friends with all walks of life. I knew that I'd come in and I'd crush.'
Previous poker players to play experienced modest success at best. None of Khait, Jean-Robert Bellande and Garrett Adelstein even made it into the final 50% of their respective seasons. Will Bardah break the mold and show poker players have what it takes to compete in the famed show?
'I know all poker players have an advantage because of the life that we live.'
The 'crush' comment may provide a clue, as could Bardah's plans for watching the coming season, which checks in as the 39th in the long history of 'Survivor'.
'I'm just gonna do it with really, really close friends who are as big of fans as I am,' he said when asked his plans for the premiere. 'We're just doing a thing in L.A. I'm gonna do some parties for the later episodes.'
Maybe that's a hint that Bardah will be in Fiji for a long stay. Then again, Bardah's still a poker player, so perhaps it could be a bluff.
'Survivor: Island of the Idols' premieres Sept. 25 on CBS with a 90-minute episode, starting at 8 p.m. EST. Tune in then to track Ronnie Bardah's progress on the show.
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