The Online Railbird Report: Kostritsyn and Sahamies Finish as Week's Biggest Winners

January 17, 2015

Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager

We’re a little over two weeks into the New Year, and things are heating up at the high-stakes tables on both Full Tilt and PokerStars. In last week’s Online Railbird Report we reviewed Dan "jungleman12" Cates’ capturing the "Biggest Online Winner of the Year" honor and Gus Hansen finishing as online poker's biggest loser for the second year in a row.

We also talked about the biggest winners from the first week of January, which included "EireAbu," Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky, and Scott "gunning4you" Seiver, just to name a few. This week a new set of players made their mark including Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn, who was the biggest winner with $447,463 in 5,732 hands spread across 74 sessions on PokerStars.

Other winners on PokerStars included Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies (+$328,418 in 57 sessions/4,778 hands), Vladimir "GVOZDIKA55" Shchemelev (+$178,429 in 10 sessions/1,484 hands), and "Faith#1Virtu" (+$159,669 in 41 sessions/2,672 hands).

On the flip side, "CoeJassidy" was the week's biggest loser dropping $255,450 in just 383 hands over seven sessions on Full Tilt. Others who finished in the red, all on FTP, were Steven "Zugwat" Silverman (-$109,233 in 27 sessions/4,174 hands), Phil "Polarizing" Ivey (-$104,634 in 1 session/55 hands), and Viktor "Isldur1" Blom (-$40,384 in 16 sessions/3,639 hands).

"RugDoctor" Takes from Blom; "EireAbu" Books Another Win

On Saturday, Jan. 10, the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables were going strong on PokerStars. It was there that "RugDoctor," whose HighStakesDB profile is linked to 2004 World Series of Poker runner-up and former Team PokerStars Pro David Williams, took on Viktor "Isildur1" Blom and won a hefty $309,000. That was more than enough to make him the day's biggest winner, though "EireAbu" wasn't too far behind with a $170,600 win playing pot-limit Omaha on PokerStars.

The Online Railbird Report: Kostritsyn and Sahamies Finish as Week's Biggest Winners 101 — David "RugDoctor" Williams

It was at the $200/$400 stakes that "EireAbu" played 209 hands against "d2themfi," whom he beat for a little more than $160,000. One of those hands happened to be the biggest pot of the day. It began when "EireAbu" ($237,432.45) opened for $1,360 on the button and "d2themfi" ($39,920) called from the big blind. The Q♠Q♥4♣ flop saw "d2themfi" check-call a bet of $800, and then he checked the 10♠ turn. "EireAbu" bet $3,600, "d2themfi" check-raised to $13,200, and "EireAbu" called to see the 2♣ river.

At that point "d2themfi" bet all in for $24,560, but his attempt at representing a hand failed as "EireAbu" quickly called holding the Q♦10♥J♥K♣ for the nuts. "d2themfi" showed the 10♣9♥3♥4♠ and watched the $79,998 pot pushed to "EireAbu."

"Trueteller" Wins $4,090.20 Per Minute of Play

For the early part of 2015, most of the high-stakes online action has taken place on PokerStars, but on Sunday, Jan. 11 it shifted back to Full Tilt. It was there that "Trueteller" and "CoeJassidy" played two sessions at the 8-Game tables.

In the first, "Trueteller" took his opponent for $111,900 in just 93 hands over 23 minutes, and a short time later he added another $96,600 in 115 hands over 28 minutes.

"Trueteller" finished as the day's biggest winner with $208,600 in profit, and if you break it down he banked $1,002.88 per hand and $4,090.20 per minute of play. Not too shabby.

Here's a look at the biggest pot from their match:

Blom and Kostritsyn Thrive in Monday Action

On Monday, Jan. 12, Viktor "Isildur1" Blom and David "RugDoctor" Williams were back at it, but this time it was the Swede who walked away a winner. Blom began his day by relieving Steven "Zugwat" Silverman of $50,000 in 652 hands at the $500/$1,000 2-7 triple draw tables, and then doubled the stakes to take on Williams. Eight hours later, Blom logged off a $259,400 winner, which was enough to make him the day's biggest winner, though not by much.

That's because Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn won $220,000 playing heads-up $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw against "EireAbu." The two played in the early morning hours, and Kostritsyn emerged victorious in both sessions. In the first, the Russian won $173,800 in 79 minutes, and then put in another 30 minutes later on, during which time Kostritsyn won an additional $51,300.

Recapping a Flurry of Tuesday Action

The Online Railbird Report: Kostritsyn and Sahamies Finish as Week's Biggest Winners 102 — Alexander Kostritsyn

There was quite a bit of action on Tuesday, Jan. 13, so we thought we'd touch on the highlights.

"Trueteller" finished as the day's biggest winner with $198,800 in profit, which came off Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby in three hours at the $2,000/$4,000 2-7 triple draw tables.
"Patriktortonius," not to be confused with poker pro Patrik Antonius, took on Viktor "Isildur1" Blom at the 8-Game tables. In their first match, "Patriktortonius" won $41,200 in just 15 minutes. A couple hours later, the two played another match, which proved to be a swingy affair. Still, "Patriktortonius" logged off a $110,800 winner to bring his daily haul up to $151,900.
Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn, the day's third-biggest winner, won $129,100 playing $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw on PokerStars.
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies, the day's fourth-biggest winner, won $95,400 playing pot-limit Omaha on PokerStars.

PLO Wins Makes Sahamies Wednesday's Biggest Winner

On Wednesday, Jan. 14, Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies topped the daily leaderboard after winning $158,500 at the $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha tables. It was there he played for five hours in the afternoon against the likes of Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky, "AckmaJin," and Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, just to name a few. Here's a look at three notables hands from the match.

Hand #1: Sahamies ($321,690.64) raised to $1,640 on the button and "AckmaJin" ($81,979.87) called from the small blind. After "yiyi01" folded the big, the flop came down 5♥J♦K♣ and "AckmaJin" checked. Sahamies bet $2,800, "AckmaJin" check-raised to $9,200, and the Finn called to see the 9♥ turn.

"AckmaJin" check-called a big bet of $15,000, and then both players checked the 8♥ river. "AckmaJin" tabled the K♦K♠J♣3♥ for trip kings, but it wasn't good enough to win the $52,320 pot as Sahamies held a flush with the 10♥J♥Q♠9♠.

Hand #2: Action was three-handed when "AckmaJin" folded the button and Kory "s00tedj0kers" Kilpatrick ($17,032) limped from the small blind. Sahamies ($20,795) exercised his option with a raise to $600, Kilpatrick called, and the two watched the flop fall 6♠3♠A♣. "s00tedj0kers" check-called a bet of $1,195 and then check-called one of $3,585 on the 3♥ turn.

When the 5♦ completed the board on the river, Kilpatrick checked for a third time and Sahamies bet $10,755. Kilpatrick made the call but mucked when Sahamies rolled over the A♥A♦8♦K♥ for a full house and the $32,270 pot.

Hand #3:

Biggest Winners/Losers from Jan. 8-14

Winners	Profit	Losers	Loss
Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn	$447,463	"CoeJassidy"	$255,450
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies	$328,418	Steven "Zugwat" Silverman	$109,233
Vladimir "GVOZDIKA55" Shchemelev	$178,429	Phil "Polarizing" Ivey	$104,634
"Faith#1Virtu"	$159,669	Viktor "Isildur1" Blom	$40,384
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky	$157,942	Ami "UhhMee" Barer	$36,025

Year's Biggest Winners/Losers

Winners	Profit	Losers	Loss
Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn	$465,525	"CoeJassidy"	$255,450
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky	$288,003	Phil "Polarizing" Ivey	$167,853
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies	$258,347	Viktor "Isildur1" Blom	$107,914
"EireAbu"	$248,739	Steven "Zugwat" Silverman	$77,023
Vladimir "GVOZDIKA55" Shchemelev	$212,269	Ami "UhhMee" Barer	$17,256