The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins PokerStars' Biggest Pot of Year But Still Down
The 2015 World Series of Poker is well underway, but noticeably absent is 10-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey. In last week's Online Railbird Report, we mentioned that Ivey, along with Viktor "Isildur1" Blom and Isaac Haxton were all missing from the WSOP. Since then, Haxton has shown up, but both Ivey and Blom have stuck to PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.
In the last week, Ivey played 1,618 hands over 13 sessions, and even took down PokerStars' biggest pot of the year, which you can read about below. Unfortunately, Ivey lost on the whole, dropping $285,762 to finish as the week's biggest loser.
On the flip side, Alex "IReadYrSoul" Millar is listed atop the weekly leaderboard after winning $179,456 in 1,018 hands over four sessions on FTP, but that's a bit misleading considering he also lost $197,272 on PokerStars, where he plays under the screen name "Kanu7." Given that, "Cobus83" was actually the week's biggest winner profiting $110,112 in 2,402 hands over 16 sessions on PokerStars.
Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond is at the 2105 WSOP and says "nosebleeds have gotten a lot worse." Read what he had to say by clicking here.
Ivey Inspired Friday No-Limit Hold'em Action
On Friday, May 29, Phil "Polarizing" Ivey took a seat at FTP's $250/$500 no-limit hold'em six-max tables, which inspired a slew of other players to join him. Over the course of seven hours some of the game's best battled it out, and when all was said and done Alex "IReadYrSoul" Millar and "Denoking" walked away as the big winners with $179,500 and $128,800 wins respectively.
"Denoking" actually took down the biggest pot of the day. It happened with five players at the table when Millar ($109,564.75) raised to $1,100 from the cutoff and "Denoking" ($89,290.75) called from the small blind to see the 8♥4♥9♦ flop. "Denoking" checked, Millar bet $1,350, and "Denoking" check-raised to $5,500. Millar then three-bet to $14,000 and called when "Denoking" shoved all in for $88,190.75.
"Denoking": 9♠9♥
Millar: 8♠8♣
It was a brutal set-over-set flop, and Millar was on the bad end of it. The two agreed to run it twice, but neither the 7♦ turn and 7♠ river on the first nor 4♠ turn and K♣ river on the second helped Millar. Ship the $179,081.50 pot to "Denoking."
Despite losing that pot, Millar managed to take down the second-biggest pot of the day. With five players at the table, action folded to "SkWizZ" ($96,945.50) on the button and he opened for $1,200. Ivey ($67,513) then three-bet to $4,500 from the small blind, Millar ($61,262.30) four-bet to $12,000 from the big, and "SkWizZ" got out of the way. Ivey called and then check-called Millar's shove of $49,262.30 on the J♠10♠2♥ flop.
Ivey: K♦Q♥
Millar: A♦K♠
Ivey flopped an open-ended straight, but as the cards lay Millar was ahead with Big Slick. The 4♣ turn was of no consequence, and neither was the 2♣ river. Ivey missed and watched the $123,724.60 pot pushed to his opponent.
As for Ivey, he lost $66,000 in the no-limit games. According to HighStakesDB, he was actually up $200,000 at one point against Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby, who he was facing at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables. Unfortunately for him, Kibler-Melby battled back over the course of the nine-and-a-half hour match to leave Ivey in the red.
Ivey Wins the Year's Biggest Pot on PokerStars
From late Saturday night into Sunday morning, a heated three-way battle took place at a PokerStars $200/$400 no-limit hold'em table between Phil "RaiseOnce" Ivey, Alex "Kanu7" Millar, and "OtB_RedBaron." The match lasted more than nine hours, and the biggest winner was "OtB_RedBaron," who profited $152,800, though at one point was up $240,000.
Likewise, Ivey was up over $200,000 at one point, but ended up giving much of it back, ultimately finishing $65,800 in the black. It was during this match that Ivey won PokerStars' biggest pot of 2015.
It happened when Ivey ($147,945.92) opened for $900 on the button and Millar ($116,156.05) folded from the small blind. "OtB_RedBaron" ($286,541.19) three-bet to $3,640 from the big, Ivey called, and the flop fell Q♥8♥6♣. Ivey called a bet of $2,317.25 from "OtB_RedBaron," and then called one of $10,293.07 on the 5♣ turn. When the 10♦ completed the board on the river, "OtB_RedBaron" bet $27,791.29 and then called when Ivey shoved for $131,695.60. "OtB_RedBaron" tabled the Q♠Q♣ for top set, but it was no good as Ivey tabled the 9♠7♦ for a straight to claim the $296,091.84 pot.
There were two other noteworthy pots from the match. Have a look:
Hand #1: After Ivey folded the button, Millar ($123,053.72) raised to $1,400 from the small blind holding the K♥J♣. "OtB_RedBaron" ($158,636.18) called from the big with the 4♣5♠ and then bet $1,705.95 after Millar checked top pair on the 3♠K♦9♣ flop. Millar made the call and then check-called a bet of $8,500.71 on the 6♣ turn.
The 2♥ river actually gave "OtB_RedBaron" the runner-runner straight, and he moved all in after Millar checked. Millar called off for $111,448.06, and watched the $246,107.44 pot pushed to "OtB_RedBaron."
Hand #2: "OtB_RedBaron" ($251,377.31) raised to $1,010 from the button, Ivey folded from the small blind, and Millar ($146,909.45) popped it to $3,230 from the big blind. "OtB_RedBaron" called and then called a bet of $4,991.25 on the 2♣3♥7♦ flop.
Millar proceeded to bet $24,956.25 and $49,912.50 on the 2♦ turn and J♦ river respectively, both of which "OtB_RedBaron" called. Millar tabled the K♠9♠ for a pure bluff, and "OtB_RedBaron" rolled over the 5♦3♦ for a flopped pair that turned into a flush to lay claim to the $166,380 pot. Millar ended up losing a total of $144,000 on the day.
"WRUUUUM" Banks $160,700 Playing Pot-Limit Omaha
On Sunday, May 31, the $100/$200 pot-limit Omaha games were going strong on PokerStars. Ben "Ben86" Tollerene won $80,300 in approximately 1,300 hands, but that trailed the $160,700 of "WRUUUUM," which came in over 2,000 hands played.
"WRUUUUM" also managed to take down the biggest pot of the day. It happened at a five-handed table when "HC_68" ($44,185.40) raised to $600 from the cutoff and "WRUUUUM" ($51,158.85) three-bet to $2,100 from the button. Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies ($23,829.89) called from the small blind, "HC_68" came along, and three players saw a flop of J♣2♥8♦, which all three checked.
When the 5♣ appeared on the turn, Sahamies led out for $6,400, both his opponents called, and the 5♠ completed the board on the river. Sahamies checked, "HC_68" bet $8,400, and "WRUUUUM" raised to $24,400. Sahamies got out of the way and "HC_68" called only to muck when "WRUUUUM" tabled the 8♠5♦2♦7♠ for a full house. Ship the $74,500 pot to "WRUUUUM."
Biggest Winners/Losers from May 28 – June 4
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alex "IReadYrSoul" Millar | $179,456 |
 Phil "Polarizing" Ivey | $285,762 | |
|
"Cobus83" | $110,112 |
Alex "Kanu7" Millar | $197,272 | |
|
"fjutekk" | $72,002 |
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky | $136,012 | |
|
"WRUUUUM" | $57,793 |
"SkWizZ" | $132,840 |
Year's Biggest Winners/Losers
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
"bbvisbadforme" | $965,770 |
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $1,618,816 | |
|
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $766,013 |
Phil "Polarizing" Ivey | $1,227,809 | |
|
Ben "Sauce1234" Sulsky | $743,015 |
"Sanlker" | $925,239 | |
|
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $558,871 |
"natalie724" | $508,015 | |
|
Ike Haxton | $479,211 |
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies | $439,696 | |
|
Isaac "luvtheWNBA" Haxton | $341,519 |
Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond | $470,721 | |
|
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky | $297,074 |
"BigNittyBanker" | $459,090 |
Data, hands, and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
