The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly $500K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser

Phil Ivey

It's that time of year when the biggest names in the game are attracted to the popular Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). There have already been some big winners, such as Jason Mercier (winning two titles) and Calvin Anderson (setting a new SCOOP record), but while online tournaments are all the buzz right now there was plenty of cash-game action on both PokerStars and Full Tilt this week.

This week's biggest winner was Phil Ivey, who won $279,782 (7 sessions/1,476 hands) on Full Tilt and $201,624 (12 sessions/3,293 hands) on PokerStars. It was a welcome win for Ivey, who before that was the year's biggest loser. That's no longer the case, though, as the win, combined with a Viktor "Isildur1" Blom loss of $257,450 (17 sessions/2,580 hands) on PokerStars, saw Ivey get out of the basement and switch spots with the Swede.

The loss for Blom was enough to make him the week's biggest loser for the second consecutive week.

Other big winners on PokerStars were Ben "Ben86" Tollerene, who won $373,086 in 1,800 hands over 12 sessions and Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion, who banked $111,710 in 39 sessions/3,246 hands.

Joining Blom on the loser's list were Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby (-$226,050 in 5 sessions/772 hands on FTP and -$127,734 in 12 sessions/1,853 hands) and Isaac Haxton (-$114,885 in 9 sessions/400 hands).

Full Tilt made some major changes to their high-stakes ring games, which you can read all about by clicking here.

Good Day for Both Ivey and Blom

On Saturday, May 9, Ivey, who plays as "RaiseOnce" on PokerStars, and Blom finished as the two biggest winners of the day. Ivey was the day's biggest winner after winning $87,800 off Kibler-Melby in 90 minutes at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables.

Meanwhile, Blom won $86,300 over on Full Tilt. The Swede dug himself an early hole losing $55,000 to Sebastian "taktloss47" Ruthenberg in just 20 minutes at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables, but after a short break they were back at it and over the course of five hours Blom pulled out to a $100,000 lead before logging off. Toss in a 17-minute 8-game heads-up match against "BigNittyBanker," one in which Blom won $42,000, and Blom ended up finishing the day with $86,300 in profit.

In other Saturday news, Dan "w00ki3z." Cates was the day's third-biggest winner with $59,100 in profit, more than half of which came from the $50/$100 pot-limit Omaha tables against Sami "LrsLzk" Kelopuro.

Ivey Tops Leaderboard Two Days in a Row

On Sunday, May 10, Ivey once again found himself atop the daily leaderboard after a seven-hour stint against Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn at the $400/$800 8-game tables. Both players held the lead at one point — at his high point Kostritsyn was up $44,000 — but in the end it was Ivey who logged off a $56,200 winner after 1,045 hands.

A half hour later, Ivey jumped over to a $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw table to square off against Kibler-Melby and "RaulGonzales," who plays under the "Sanlker" moniker on Full Tilt. They played for nearly seven hours, and in the early going Ivey was down as much as $150,000. Over the next few hours, he hit a $250,000 heater and won $65,700 when it was all said and done to bring his daily total up to $118,000.

Over on Full Tilt, Blom was the biggest winner with $57,800. More than half of that, $36,400 to be exact, came from 40 minutes of $250/$500 pot-limit Omaha against David "POKERBLUFFS" Eldar, while $21,300 came from just 11 hands of 8-game against Ivey.

Blom Wins for Fourth Day in a Row

On Monday, May 11, Blom topped the daily leaderboard with $108,000 in profit on PokerStars, which marked his fourth consecutive winning day and put him up $530,000 during that time period.

Blom's Monday win came after he fired up three $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha tables against Team Online's Haxton. The two played 270 hands, and according to HighStakesDB Blom won at two of the tables, including a $146,700 win in 93 hands at table Hartmut II.

The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 101
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom

In one hand, Blom ($45,834) opened for $1,360 from the button, and Haxton ($41,706) three-bet to $4,240. Blom called, the flop came down 545, and Haxton led out for $1,400. Blom popped it to $7,200, Haxton called, and the 7 peeled off on the turn. Haxton check-called a bet of $12,800, and then checked the 4 river. Blom bet $21,594, and that proved enough to win the $48,640 pot as Haxton folded.

In another hand, Haxton ($55,229.54) limped the button and then called when Blom ($73,802.66) raised to $1,360. The 1025 flop saw Haxton call a bet of $2,400 from Blom, and then he called one of $6,400 on the J turn. When the 5 completed the board on the river, Blom slowed down with a check, but still called when Haxton bet $13,515.48. Haxton tabled the QQK7 for two pair, and it was good enough to win the $47,510.96 pot as Blom sent his cards to the muck.

Even though he won on PokerStars, it's worth noting Blom lost $61,000 to Ruthenberg at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables.

Blom Comes Crashing Down

It never seems to fail that whenever Blom wins big, he follows it up with a massive loss. That was the case on Tuesday, May 12, when the Swede lost more than $700,000.

The biggest beneficiary was Tollerene, who took on Blom for 4.5 hours at three $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha tables. Tollerene was up $270,000 after 50 minutes, but Blom managed to win it all back and then some, pulling out to a $140,000 lead of his own. Still, in the last couple of hours, momentum swung back to Tollerene, who hit a $425,000 rush to end up a $351,000 winner. Here's a look at two hands from that match.

Hand #1: Blom ($41,984.01) opened for $1,360 on the button, Tollerene ($45,495.66) called, and the two watched the flop come down 247. Tollerene checked, Blom bet $2,400, and Tollerene woke up with a check-raise to $6,239. Blom called and then called a bet of $10,237.33 from Tollerene on the 6 turn.

When the 2 completed the board on the river, Tollerene bet $27,659.33 and Blom called off his remaining $24,347.68. Blom tabled the A958 for a straight, but it was no good as Tollerene tabled the 2634 for a full house to win the $84,528.02 pot.

Hand #2: Blom ($41,159) raised to $1,360, Tollerene ($64,661.34) called, and the flop fell 10J10. Tollerene check-called a bet of $2,400 and then checked the 6 turn. Blom bet $6,400, Tollerene check-raised to $12,800, and Blom called to see the 5 river. Tollerene bet $33,278, and Blom called off his last $24,599. Blom held trips with the 10A44, but Tollerene was pushed the $82,478 pot after he showed the J10K9 for a flopped full house.

On Full Tilt, Blom met up with Ivey, who plays as "Polarizing," at the 8-game tables for a three-hour affair. Ivey won $256,300 in that match, but after some other losses throughout the day, ended up finishing Tuesday with $159,500. That made him the day's third-biggest winner as Kostritsyn took the second spot after winning $172,300 after two hours playing 8-game.

Biggest Winners/Losers from May 8- 14

WinnersProfit LosersLoss
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 102

Ben "Ben86" Tollerene

$373,086 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 103

Viktor "Isildur1" Blom

$257,450
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 104

Phil "Polarizing" Ivey

$279,782 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 105

Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby

$226,050
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 106

Phil "Raise Once" Ivey

$201,624 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 107

Jean-Robert Bellande

$213,755
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 108

Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion

$111,710 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 109

Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby

$127,734
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 110

"ringosnuff"

$109,460 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 111

Isaac Haxton

$114,885

Year's Biggest Winners/Losers

WinnersProfit LosersLoss
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 112

"bbvisbadforme"

$960,979 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 113

Viktor "Isildur1" Blom

$1,494,604
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 114

Viktor "Isildur1" Blom

$875,806 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 115

Phil "Polarizing" Ivey

$1,330,470
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 116

Ben "Sauce1234" Sulsky

$743,015 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 117

"Sanlker"

$726,621
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 118

Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion

$501,456 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 119

Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond

$470,721
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 120

Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies

$468,081 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 121

"BigNittyBanker"

$459,090
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 122

Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky

$395,053 
The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly 0K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser 123

Daniel "w00ki3z." Cates

$363,802

Data, hands, and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com

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  • Phil Ivey won nearly $500,000 to finish as the week's biggest winner. As a result, he is no longer the biggest loser of the year.

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Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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