The Online Railbird Report: Shchemelev Wins $406K; Blom Week's Biggest Loser & Much More

February 08, 2013

Online poker may not be what it once was prior to Black Friday, but since the return of Full Tilt Poker to the market, there has been plenty of action to satisfy the railbirds. Last week, we told you about Alexander “PostFlopAction” Kostritsyn’s big win of $1,258,234, and this week we’ll tell you how he gave $498,855 of it back. Likewise, we’ll discuss the $1 Million Challenge between Rui Cao and Patrik Antonius, the week’s biggest winners and losers, and much more.

Speaking of Cao, he actually emerged as the week’s biggest winner after banking $646,984 in 4,250 hands spread across 32 sessions. He was followed by Sebastien “Seb86” Sabic (+$458,846 in 16 sessions/958 hands) and Alex “Alexonmoon” Luneau (+$449,503 in 14 sessions/1,290 hands) on Full Tilt Poker, and Davin “mTw-DaviN” Georgi (+$412,088 in 37 sessions/2,907 hands) and Vladimir “GVOZDIKA55” Shchemelev (+$406,589 in 28 sessions/4,368 hands) on PokerStars.

Of course, where there are winners there have to be losers, and this week’s list is composed of some of the industry’s biggest names. Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, who was the week’s biggest loser after dropping $850,292 in 6,735 hands over 77 sessions, topped that list, but he was joined by Antonius (-$523,946 in 21 sessions/2,621 hands), Kostritsyn (-$498,855 in 93 sessions/6,056 hands), and Phil “Polarizing” Ivey (-$244,160 in 56 sessions/5,825 hands), all of whom lost on Full Tilt Poker.

Big Weekend for the Russian on PokerStars

On Friday, February 1, Vladimir “GVOZDIKA55” Shchemelev was busy mixing it up in the $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha games on PokerStars. While he’s primarily a limit player, Shchemelev proved his PLO chops by winning $304,000. Along the way, Shchemelev won some big pots, including the biggest on PokerStars thus far in 2013.

In that hand, action was three-handed when Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies ($203,798) opened for $1,400 from the button, Shchemelev ($167,238.39) three-bet to $4,600 from the small blind, and “ChaoRen160” ($131,625.04) folded from the big blind. Sahamies then four-bet to $15,600, Shchemelev called, and the flop came down 9♠2♣Q♠. The Russian proceeded to lead out for $28,795, Sahamies raised to $115,180, and Shchemelev moved all in for $151,638.39. Sahamies called the additional $36,458.40 and the cards were turned up.

Sahamies: A♠A♦3♠7♥
Shchemelev: 10♣9♣J♠2♠

Shchemelev got it in with two pair, an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw, which was ahead of Sahamies’ aces, but the Finn did hold the nut-flush draw. The 8♣ turn gave Shchemelev a straight, and that meant Sahamies needed a spade on the river to win. Unfortunately for him, the 9♦ appeared on the river and Shchemelev, who improved to a full house, was pushed the $334,872 pot.

In another three-handed pot, Shchemelev ($120,906.80) opened for $800 on the button, “VietRussian” ($61,129.45) folded the small blind, and Ben “Ben86” Tollerene ($68,988.25) three-bet to $2,600 from the big. Shchemelev called the raise and then called a bet of $5,395 on the K♥8♥3♦ flop, leading to the 8♦ turn. This time, Tollerene slowed down with a check but woke up with a check-raise to $21,800 when Shchemelev bet $5,600. The Russian responded with a three-bet to $87,185, and Tollerene called off his remaining $39,193.25. The 2♠ completed the board on the river and Tollerene tabled the K♠K♣9♠6♣ for kings full. Surprisingly, it wasn’t good — Shchemelev revealed 8♠8♣Q♥J♥ for quads! Ship the $138,172 pot to Shchemelev.

Other big winners in Friday’s games included Davin “mTw-DaviN” Georgi (+$221,400) and Sahamies (+$96,400), while both “1Il|1Il|1il|” (-$347,000) and Tollerene (-$290,200) lost big.

As if winning on Friday wasn’t enough, Shchemelev returned on Saturday and banked $102,800 more, which wasn’t too far behind Rui Cao, the day’s biggest winner with $165,400 in profit. In Shchemelev’s biggest hand on Saturday, action was three handed when “VietRussian” ($17,618.13) opened for $800 on the button, Tollerene ($169,492.26) three-bet to $2,800 from the small blind, and Shchemelev ($87,862.22) called from the big. After “VietRussian” called, the flop came down 9♥10♥7♦, and Tollerene led out for $7,400. Shchemelev called, “VietRussian” moved all in for $14,818,13, and Tollerene three-bet to $60,249.41. Shchemelev responded by moving all in for $85,062.22. Tollerene called the additional $24,812.81 and the cards were turned up.

Shchemelev: 10♣10♠7♥7♠
Tollerene: A♦A♥K♥Q♥
“VietRussian”: 9♠8♠5♥J♦

Everyone had a piece of the flop as “VietRussian” flopped the nuts, Tollerene was drawing to a flush, and Shchemelev flopped bottom set. The 9♣ turn paired the board and thrust Shchemelev into the lead; the 4♦ river assured him the $193,342.60 pot.

In another big Saturday hand, action was four-handed when “calvin7v” ($17,936.25) opened for $800 under the gun, Shchemelev ($154,091.60) called on the button, and Tollerene ($80,243.14) three-bet to $3,600 from the small blind. “VietRussian” ($37,484.26) folded from the big, “calvin7v” gave it up, and only Shchemelev called. Tollerene kept the pressure on by leading out for $6,296.25 on the 8♣4♥J♠ flop, but he couldn’t shake Shchemelev, who called.

When the 9♣ turned, Tollerene bet $17,000, and Shchemelev opted for a raise to $71,987.50. Tollerene called off his remaining $70,346.89, creating a pot worth $161,681, and the 2♥ completed the board on the river. Tollerene rolled over J♦J♣A♣7♦ for a set of jacks, but it was no good because Shchemelev had the nuts with Q♥10♥10♣K♥.

Tollerene Gets a Little Back in Monday $200/$400 PLO Action

After losing over $500,000 during the weekend, Ben “Ben86” Tollerene returned to his winning ways on PokerStars by notching a $283,400 win playing $200/$400 PLO against the likes of Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies, “Odd_Oddsen”, and “1Il|1Il|1il|”. Here’s a look at the three biggest pots from Monday’s action.

Hand #1: Sahamies ($240,300.37) opened the action in a four-handed game by raising to $1,200 under the gun. The button and small blind both folded, Tollerene ($145,854.26) three-bet to $3,800 from the big, and Sahamies four-bet to $7,600. The action didn’t stop there as Tollerene five-bet to $19,400, Sahamies called, and the flop fell Q♠9♦K♥. Tollerene check-called a bet of $22,900, the 8♠ turned, and Tollerene check-called another bet, this one for $84,795. Both players then checked the 2♣ river, and Tollerene tabled the A♠A♦10♦3♠. It was good enough to win the $254,385 pot because Sahamies mucked his hand.

Hand #2: Action was six-handed when “1Il|1Il|1il|” ($215,088.63) opened for $880 under the gun, Sahamies ($116,496) three-bet to $3,240 from the button, and “Odd_Oddsen” (20,408) four-bet to $11,000 from the small blind. The big folded, “1Il|1Il|1il|” five-bet to $37,520, Sahamies called, and “Odd_Oddsen” called off his remaining $9,408. “1Il|1Il|1il|” then led out for $94,083 on the 5♦6♠4♥ flop, and Sahamies called off for $79,856.

“1Il|1Il|1il|”: A♠A♥9♠5♠
Sahamies: 10♠4♠8♥6♥
“Odd_Oddsen”: A♣10♣5♣K♠

The J♣ appeared on the turn followed by the Q♦ on the river, and Sahamies was pushed the $253,795 with two pair.

Hand #3: It was once again six-handed action when “Odd_Oddsen” ($16,595) opened for $828 under the gun and “1Il|1Il|1il|” ($159,735.62) called from the button. Tollerene ($39,655) called from the small blind, and then all three of those players called when Sahamies ($69,212) three-bet to $4,140 from the big. Tollerene checked the 3♣Q♥7♣ flop, Sahamies bet $16,555, and “Odd_Oddsen” called off his last $12,455. “1Il|1Il|1il|” opted to raise to $78,675, Tollerene folded, and Sahamies committed his last $48,517.

“1Il|1Il|1il|”: A♦Q♦3♦10♣
Sahamies: A♥K♣Q♣2♦
“Odd_Oddsen”: A♣J♠10♠9♣

“1Il|1Il|1il|” got it in good with two pair but needed to dodge a lot of cards. He did so on the 5♥ turn, as well as the J♥ river. “1Il|1Il|1il|’s” two pair held and he was pushed the $159,154 pot. “1Il|1Il|1il|”, who is rumored to be Hac Dang, ended up winning $247,100 on the day.

Cao vs. Antonius in the $1 Million Challenge; Sulsky & Blom on Opposite Ends of the Spectrum

Rui Cao and Patrik Antonius recently agreed to a $1 million challenge on Full Tilt Poker in which the two would play a mix of 2-7 Triple Draw, pot-limit Omaha, and no-limit hold’em. On Tuesday, February 5, that challenge continued as the two played $1,500/$3,000 2-7 Triple Draw. After about three hours and 350 hands, Cao relieved Antonius of $330,000, the allotted bankroll for that part of the challenge. Unfortunately, HighStakesDB doesn’t yet track the 2-7 Triple Draw hands, but expect plenty of them when Cao and Antonius play the PLO and NLHE portions of the challenge.

It was also on Tuesday that Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky won $199,200 playing $250/$500 PLO and won the day’s biggest pot. It happened when action was six-handed, and Sulsky ($109,764.50) opened for $2,250 under the gun only to be met by a three-bet to $8,000 from Viktor “Isildur1” Blom ($207,580) on the button. The blinds both folded and Sulsky called before leading out for $14,500 on the 4♠8♦10♦ flop. Blom responded by making it $60,750 to go, Sulsky moved all in for $101,764.50, and Blom called the additional $41,014.50.

Sulsky: 7♠9♠10♠6♦
Blom: A♦Q♦Q♠K♠

Blom was ahead with his pair of queens and flush draw, but Sulsky held a pair of tens with a wrap. The 8♥ turn was of no consequence, but the 5♠ river was — it gave Sulsky the straight and the $220,576 pot.

In the day’s second-biggest pot, action was five-handed when “punting-peddler” ($106,628) opened for $1,500 on the button only to have Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond ($88,294) three-bet to $5,500 from the small blind. After the big blind had folded and “punting-peddler” called, Galfond bet $6,840 on the 10♦4♠J♥ flop. A call was made, the 6♠ turned, and Galfond bet $18,750. “Punting-peddler” then made it $81,930 to go, Galfond called off his remaining $57,204, and the cards were turned on their backs.

Galfond: A♠9♠Q♦7♥
“punting-peddler”: A♣J♣4♣5♥

The river was run twice and came down the 9♦ and 3♦, respectively. “Punting-peddler” had two pair on both and it was good enough to win the entire $177,385 pot.

It was also on Tuesday that Viktor “Isildur1” Blom ended the day as a big loser, in part because of this cooler:

Biggest Winners/Losers (Full Tilt Poker)

Week’s biggest winners (2/1-2/6): Rui Cao (+$646,984), Sebastien “Seb86” Sabic (+$458,846), Alex “Alexonmoon” Luneau (+$449,503), Davin “mTw-DaviN” Georgi* (+$412,088), Vladimir “GVOZDIKA55” Shchemelev* (+$406,589), Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky (+$386,667), Hac “trex313” Dang (+$230,936)

Week’s biggest losers: Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (-$850,292), Patrik Antonius (-$523,946), Alexander “PostFlopAction” Kostritsyn (-$498,855), Ben “Ben86” Tollerene* (-$339,250), Phil “Polarizing” Ivey (-$244,160)

Year’s biggest winners: “SallyWoo” (+$1,585,616), Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (+$1,572,460), Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (+$1,453,196), Alexander “PostFlopAction” Kostritsyn (+$990,667), Ben “Bttech86” Tollerene (+$941,950), Ronny “ronnyr37617” Kaiser (+$941,304), “1Il|1Il|1il|”* (+$663,296)

Year’s biggest losers: Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky (-$1,372,920), Alex “IReadYrSoul” Millar (-$977,617), Gus Hansen (-$758,857), “Poker_KaMI” (-$649,865), “CRAIN85” (-$606,605), “DealMeInFast” (-$549,050), Tom “durrrr” Dwan (-$531,348), “Schoitl” (-$525,289), Patrik Antonius (-$521,983)

*DenotesPokerStars

_{Data, hands and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com}

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