The Online Railbird Report: Blom's Wild July Ride; A High-Stakes Baby Expected & More
After a two-week hiatus, the Online Railbird Report is back to take a look at the biggest winners and losers on both PokerStars and Full Tilt. However, if recent changes are any indication, expect Full Tilt to be slowly phased out of the Online Railbird Report.
That's because those changes – which include the removal of all heads-up tables, no longer allowing players to table select, and getting rid of nosebleed stakes plus all stakes of Stud, Draw and Mixed Game tables – will undoubtedly drive players to PokerStars for their high-stakes poker fix. In fact, the maximum stakes available on Full Tilt (once home to the biggest games in the world) are now $10/$20 for no-limit hold'em, $15/$30 for fixed-limit hold'em, $10/$20 for pot-limit Omaha, and $2/$5 for pot-limit Omaha hi/lo.
Anyway, back to business. The biggest winner over the past couple weeks was Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, who won $245,359 in 6,158 hands over 70 sessions over on Full Tilt. Other winners included Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky (+$194,518 in 32 sessions/3,666 hands), John "dagunman" O'Shea (+$161,598 in 56 sessions/6,592 hands), and Phil "RaiseOnce" Ivey (+$150,993 in 5 sessions/722 hands), all of who made their fortune on PokerStars.
On the flip side, Jean-Robert "Jaqueline" Bellande was the biggest loser over the same time period, dropping $168,096 in 2,488 hands over 19 sessions on PokerStars. At the same site, "kkopghy" (-$140,676 in 25 sessions/2,861 hands), Dani "supernova9" Stern (-$111,364 in 25 sessions/718 hands), and "Candela2005" (-$108,025 in 34 sessions/1,465 hands).
A Look Back at Blom's July Ride
On Thursday, July 16, Viktor "Isildur1" Blom finished as the day's biggest winner after banking $272,100 on PokerStars. Nearly all of that came from the 2-7 triple draw tables, with $25,000 or so coming from the $100/$200 pot-limit Omaha tables.
According to HighStakesDB, Blom kicked off the day by taking Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby for $49,000 in 109 hands over 34 minutes at the $500/$1,000 2-7 triple draw tables. He then notched the PLO win before playing a 3.5-hour evening session of 2-7 triple draw against "JesusLebtNOT," who is better known as "Kagome Kagome" on Full Tilt. Blom managed to win $205,800 in that match.
As if things couldn't get any better, Blom returned to the virtual felt a day later and won a massive $690,600 on Full Tilt playing a mix of $250/$500 PLO and 2-7 triple draw. Blom took Sebastian "talktloss47" Ruthenberg for $202,000 in 477 hands of $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw, but he managed an even bigger score at the PLO tables, which is where he squared off against "Doorbread."
The duo played several six-figure pots, and we thought we'd take a look at the top three.
Hand #1: Blom ($85,721.50) raised to $1,500 from the button and was met by a three-bet to $4,500 by "Doorbread" ($82,225.50). Blom pushed back with a four-bet to $13,500, "Doorbread" called, and the flop came down 2♥A♥J♦. "Doorbread" checked, Blom bet $27,000, and "Doorbread" check-raised all in for $68,725.50. Blom called and the cards were turned up.
"Doorbread": A♦K♠Q♠9♠
Blom: A♣K♣K♦4♠
Both players flopped a pair of aces with a king kicker, but "Doorbread" had a straight redraw. The 5♦ turn was of no consequence, but the 10♣ was as "Doorbread" made the said straight to double with the $164,451 pot.
Hand #2: "Doorbread" ($100,975) raised to $1,500 and Blom ($97,994) three-bet to $4,500. "Doorbread" popped it to $13,500, Blom called, and the flop fell 4♠A♣5♣. Blom check-called a bet of $13,500, and then both players checked the 2♣ turn. When the K♥ completed the board on the river, Blom fired out $54,000 and then called off for $70,994 total after "Doorbread" had moved all in. "Doorbread" tabled the K♣4♣K♠6♠ for the nuts, and Blom mucked. Ship the $195,988 pot to "Doorbread."
Hand #3: In the biggest pot of the day, Blom ($328,402) raised to $1,500 from the button then called when "Doorbread" ($114,476) three-bet to $4,500. The K♣6♣8♠ flop saw "Doorbread" check, Blom bet $5,500, and "Doorbread" check-raise to $17,500. Blom made the call and then called a bet of $33,500 on the 2♥ turn. When the 9♦ completed the board on the river, "Doorbread" bet all in for $58,976 and Blom wasted little time in calling. "Doorbread" tabled the K♠K♦5♦5♥ for top set, but he watched the $228,952 pot pushed to Blom, who had rivered a straight with the 5♣7♣8♥A♠.
Unfortunately for Blom, he'd go on to lose $300,000 back by the end of the weekend, albeit to Kibler-Melby playing $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw. Over the next week and a half, Blom continued to grind the virtual felt, stringing together a mix of both winning and losing sessions.
"WithColor" Gets the Best of Blom in Thursday Action
More recently – on Thursday, July 30 in fact – Viktor "Isildur1" Blom dropped $173,300 to "WithColor" at the pot-limit Omaha tables. The two played at both $100/$200 and $200/$400 stakes for approximately 3.5 hours, and at certain points each player held a lead. In the final hour, "WithColor" came on strong and ended up winner, while Blom saw an earlier win at the $400/$800 8-Game tables disappear, making him $103,000 loser on the day.
Here's a look at the two biggest pots of the day.
Blom's Biggest Pot: At a $100/$200 table, "WithColor" ($49,990.32) opened for $680 and then called when Blom ($47,685.56) three-bet to $2,120, which brought about a flop of J♣6♠J♥. Blom bet $2,000, "WithColor" raised to $5,200, and Blom called to see the 5♦ turn. Blom proceeded to check-call a bet of $10,596.96, and then check-called off his last $29,768 after "WithColor" bet $32,073.36 on the 3♦ river.
"WithColor" tabled the 5♠6♥10♥Q♦ for jacks and sixes, but it was no good as Blom took down the $95,451.12 pot with the J♦A♠2♠8♦ for trip jacks.
"WithColor's" Biggest Pot: With the stakes at $200/$400, Blom ($36,900.56) raised to $1,200, "WithColor" ($44,679.44) called, and the flop came down 10♣9♠J♣. "WithColor" checked, Blom bet $1,600, and "WithColor" check-raised to $5,630.56. Blom made the call and then called a bet of $9,834.57 on the 6♥ turn. When the 9♣ completed the board on the river, "WithColor" slowed down with a check, but quickly called when Blom bet all in for $20,235.43. Blom showed the Q♥8♣10♥2♥ for a flopped straight, but it was no good as "WithColor," who had flopped a bigger straight, actually wound up with a straight flush! Ship the $73,801.12 pot to "WithColor."
Sahamies Expecting a Baby Boy
According to a post he made on Facebook, online superstar Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies and his girlfriend Elina Alanne are expecting their first child. If his post is any indication, it'll be a boy. Check it out:
Biggest Winners/Losers from July 11-30
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $245,359 |
 Jean-Robert "Jaqueline" Bellande | $168,096 | |
|
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky | $194,518 |
"kkopghy" | $140,676 | |
|
John "dagunman" O'Shea | $161,598 |
Dani "supernova9" Stern | $111,364 | |
|
Phil "RaiseOnce" Ivey | $150,993 |
"Candela2005" | $108,025 |
Year's Biggest Winners/Losers
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
"bbvisbadforme" | $965,770 |
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $1,367,244 | |
|
Ben "Sauce1234" Sulsky | $743,015 |
Phil "Polarizing" Ivey | $1,250,806 | |
|
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $584,723 |
"Sanlker" | $910,746 | |
|
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $532,778 |
Phil "RaiseOnce" Ivey | $802,322 | |
|
Ike Haxton | $479,211 |
Dan "w00ki3z." Cates | $513,340 | |
|
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky | $380,649 |
"natalie724" | $508,015 | |
|
Isaac "luvtheWNBA" Haxton | $341,519 |
Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond | $470,721 | |
|
Mikael "punting-peddler" Thuritz | $286,772 |
"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.
