The Online Railbird Report: Viktor Blom Wins His Biggest Pot Ever On PokerStars
The 2012 Crown’s Aussie Millions Poker Championship is in full swing in Melbourne, Australia, with high-stakes superstars like Tom “durrrr” Dwan*, Patrik Antonius, and Phil Ivey taking part in the action. Ivey is even making a deep run in the Main Event. At the same time, the high-stakes online cash games have been going strong on PokerStars this week, keeping the railbirds satisfied.
*Check out our exclusive interview with Dwan.
Last week, the player known as “patpatman” was the biggest winner with nearly $300K in profit, and this week was even better — he won $459K in 5,442 hands. That almost made him the biggest winner for the second consecutive week, but Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen edged him out for the title by just $247! Kyllönen ended the week with $459,504 in profit in 13,419 hands.
Rounding out the top five winners of the week were Davin “mTw-DaviN” Georgi ($422,608 in 13,010 hands), Rafi “refaelamit” Amit ($314,932 in 5,893 hands), and Ronny “1-ronnyr3” Kaiser ($301,844 in 4,579 hands).
At the other end of the spectrum, Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond followed up last week’s $101,903 win with a disastrous week, dropping $678,442 in 4,112 hands. That loss makes Galfond the year’s biggest loser thus far as he is $553,182 in the red. Sander “Berndsen12” Berndsen also had a tough week, dropping $315,120 in 3,574 hands.
Here’s a look at some of the more notable stories and hands of the week.
Heineckerragen Thursday’s Biggest Winner ... in NLHE!
When it comes to high-stakes cash games, or at least the Online Railbird Report, pot-limit Omaha tends to dominate the headlines. That wasn’t the case last Thursday as the day’s biggest winner, Niklas “ragen70” Heineckerragen, emerged from the no-limit hold’em tables. Heineckerragen took on Sander “Berndsen12” Berndsen in a $100/$200 heads-up match and booked a $200,000 win, bringing his yearly total up to $700K, second only to “patpatman."
The two played approximately 1,000 hands over three hours, and the young German managed to win the two biggest pots of the match. In the first, Berndsen ($74,826) opened for $500 on the button and Heineckerragen ($41,074) three-bet to $1,639. Berndsen made the call and then watched Heineckerragen lead out for $1,800 on the 9♣6♦A♠ flop. Berndsen responded with a raise to $4,800, and the two then engaged in a raising war that ended with Heineckerragen calling off his entire stack.
Showdown
| Heineckerragen | A♦J♦ |
| Berndsen | A♥9♠ |
Berndsen had flopped top two pair and was in control of the hand, but the 4♦ turn delivered a flush draw to Heineckerragen's hand. Sure enough, the 8♦ spiked on the river to complete the flush, and the $82,148 pot was snatched from Berndsen.
In the other big hand between the two, Berndsen ($64,926) opened for $500 and Heineckerragen ($33,040) exercised his option in the big blind with a three-bet to $1,639. Berndsen came back with a four-bet to $4,200, Heineckerragen called, and the flop came down 10♠5♥9♥. Heineckerragen checked, Berndsen bet $3,600, Heineckerragen check-raised to $8,800, and Berndsen moved all in. Heineckerragen called off his remaining $20,040 and the cards were turned up:
Showdown
| Heineckerragen | A♥8♥ |
| Berndsen | Q♣Q♥ |
Berndsen was ahead with his pocket queens but needed to dodge an ace or heart to take the pot. The 6♠ turn provided no help to his opponent, but the A♦ peeled off on the river to give Heineckerragen a pair of aces and the $66,080 pot.
Saturday! Saturday! Saturday! Byun vs. D’Auteuil!
The big story on Saturday was a 900-hand heads-up battle between Eujong Byun and Phil “takechip” D’Auteuil at the $100/$200 no-limit hold’em tables. It took about two and a half hours, but Byun, bested his opponent to win $193,000.
In one hand, D’Auteuil ($40,348) opened for $600, Byun ($23,910) three-bet to $2,400, D’Auteuil four-bet $4,800 and Byun called. Both players checked the 5♥7♣J♦ flop, and the 3♣ appeared on the turn. Byun led out for $5,000, D’Auteuil called, and the 9♠ was put out on the river. Byun moved all in for $14,110 and D’Auteuil called, but D’Auteuil's 8♥7♠ was second best to the A♥J♠ of Byun.
In another hand, Byun ($25,836) raised to $400, D’Auteuil ($23,592) raised to $1,500, Byun called, and the 2♥3♥10♠ appeared on the flop. D’Auteuil led out for $1,600, which prompted Byun to bump it up to $5,000. Not to be outdone, D’Auteuil three-bet to $10,200. Byun then moved all-in for $24,336 and D’Auteuil called off the $11,892 he had behind.
Showdown
| Byun | A♥4♦ |
| D’Auteuil | J♦J♥ |
D’Auteuil was ahead with his overpair, but had a sweat when the 8♥ hit the turn to give Byun a flush draw. While that draw didn’t come in, the A♣ river was just as good to Byun as it gave him the winning pair and the $47,184 pot.
Byun ended the day as the biggest winner, while D’Auteuil’s total loss of $151,000 made him the day’s biggest loser.
The Isildur1 Saga
Sunday was a good day for Viktor “Isildur1” Blom as he won $251K, most of which came from “VietRussian” at the $50/$100 PLO tables. Blom grinded the day away, logging around 2,500 hands, as he also took on Terje “Terken89” Augdal and Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies.
The Swede’s biggest pot of the day came against Augdal at the $100/$200 PLO tables. Blom ($51,650) raised to $600 on the button and Augdal ($74,560) three-bet to $1,880. Blom four-bet to $5,720, and Augdal called, bringing a J♦3♣10♣ flop. Both players checked and the 4♦ appeared on the turn. Augdal led out for $11,518, Blom moved all-in, and Augdal made the call.
Showdown
| Augdal | A♥J♥7♦6♦ |
| Blom | A♠A♦10♦8♠ |
Both players had turned flush draws, but Blom’s was better. In addition, the Swede’s pocket aces were in the lead. There was no funny business on the 4♠ river, and Blom took down a pot worth $103,298.
But Blom didn't hold those winnings long, returning Monday evening and losing all of it back and then some, mainly in six-max games to Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen and Sahamies, who finished as the day’s biggest winners with $300,000 and $253,000 in profit, respectively. Numerous players took a beating in those games, including “patpatman” (-$285,000), Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond (-$259,000), and Augdal (-$170,000).
Just when you thought Blom had had enough, he returned Tuesday for some wild $100/$200 PLO games, first losing a couple hundred thousand, then hitting a half-million dollar heater and even getting his winnings up to $774K for the 24 hours of play. Unfortunately for him, he kept on playing and gave more than $500,000 back. It was during this time that "patpatman" won a healthy $400K.
There were also some monster pots that took place on Tuesday. In the biggest hand, which was actually Blom’s biggest ever on PokerStars, four players were seated at a $100/$200 PLO table when "patpatman" ($72,150) opened for $600 under the gun and Blom ($209,961) three-bet to $2,260 from the button.“1Il|1Il|1il|” ($158,480) made the call from the small blind, and "patpatman" four-bet to an even $10,000. Blom called, but 1Il|1Il|1il| put in a five-bet to $40,120. Both "patpatman" and Blom made the call, creating a $120,560 pot before the flop, which came down 10♠4♠3♦.
1Il|1Il|1il| immediately led out for $114,235, "patpatman" folded, and Blom raised. 1Il|1Il|1il| only had $4,125 behind and called.
Showdown
1Il|1Il|1il|: A♣A♦5♣6♠
Blom: A♠Q♠Q♥10♣
1Il|1Il|1il| held a pair of aces, but Blom had flopped the nut-flush draw. Much to 1Il|1Il|1il|’s dismay, the J♠ hit on the turn and left him drawing dead. After the 8♠ was put out on the river, Blom raked in a pot worth $355,195.
Tuesday also marked a catastrophic day for Phil Galfond as he dropped $428,000, which ultimately led to him becoming the week’s biggest loser.
Biggest weekly winners/losers all on PokerStars
Week’s biggest winners (1/20-1/26): Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen ($459,504), patpatman (+$459,257), Davin “mTw-DaviN” Georgi ($422,608), Rafi “refaelamit” Amit ($314,932), Ronny “1-ronnyr3” Kaiser ($301,844), Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky ($207,734)
Week’s biggest losers: Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond (-$678,442), Sander “Berndsen12” Berndsen (-$315,120), Fake Love888 (-$216,031), VietRussian (-$176,298)
Year-to-date winners: patpatman (+$986,596), Niklas “ragen70” Heineckerragen (+$700,272), Davin “mTw-DaviN” Georgi (+$526,485), bernard-bb (+$513,815), Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen ($496,565), Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (+$459,565)
Year-to-date losers: Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond (-$553,182), GVOZDIKA55 (-$495,865), long90110 (-$369,936), Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (-$334,894), Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies (-$260,547)
Data and hands obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
