The Online Railbird Report: Kostritsyn Wins $670,830, Blom Inspires Action, and More
What's been happening in the world of online poker?
Well, a week after Mustapha "lasagnaaammm" Kanit won the Sunday Supersonic for $47,999.89, he turned around and won the PokerStars Sunday Million for $177,229.79. Speaking of PokerStars, they finally launched in New Jersey (albeit a soft launch until Monday, March 21), and speaking of the Sunday Million, there is a special 10th Anniversary Sunday Million being held this Sunday.
That's all well and good, but this is the Online Railbird Report, which you read to keep to keep on top of all the high-stakes cash game action on PokerStars.
This week, Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn, who if you recall won $209,263 last week, was once again the week's biggest winner, this time winning $670,830 in 9,420 hands over 49 sessions.
To read about Kostritsyn's success from last week, click here.
Likewise, it was a good week for Dani "supernova9" Stern (+$437,688 in 25 sessions/3,349 hands), Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky (+$213,923 in 15 sessions/2,263 hands), and "fjutekk" (+$136,286 in 19 sessions/1,287 hands).
On the flip side, Timofey "Trueteller" Kuznetsov was the week's big loser after dropping $517,488 in 8,375 hands over 53 sessions. Others who dropped a lot were "BERRI SWEET" (-$439,954 in 29 sessions/2,510 hands), Rafi "rafaelamit" Amit (-$353,391 in 5 sessions/1,747 hands), and Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion (-$210,863 in 29 sessions/3,873 hands).
Additionally, Viktor "Isildur1" Blom returned to the virtual felt this week. For more on Blom's return and his effect on the high-stakes games, check out HighStakesDB's detailed account of the Swede's recent exploits.
Sulsky and Blom Mix It Up in Big Day of Action
According to HighStakesDB, it was a big day of action on Friday, March 11. In fact, according to the online tracking site, four players won six figures, including Sulsky (+$205,400), Blom (+$198,500), Kuznetsov (+$125,000), and Mikael "ChaoRen160" Thuritz (+$101,500).
Sulsky's win came at the $1,000/$2,000 8-game tables, which is where he played for six hours against some of the biggest names in the game. Fittingly, he won the biggest pot of the day.
That biggest pot happened in a round of $250/$500 pot-limit Omaha when Amit ($61,442.73) opened for $1,500 on the button, and Sulsky ($65,045.78) three-bet to $5,000 from the small blind. Blom ($85,890.85) folded from the big blind, Amit popped it to $15,500, and Sulsky called to see the 6♥10♠9♥ flop.
Sulsky led out for $31,495 and then called when Amit moved all in for $45,942.73.
Amit: A♣A♦9♣6♣
Sulsky: K♥7♥7♠Q♠
Amit had flopped two pair to compliment his aces, while Sulsky was drawing to straight and flush draws. The two agreed to run it twice, and the J♣ turn on the first gave Sulsky the said straight. The 8♠ river failed to help Amit, and then disaster struck once again when the 10♥ turn on the second run gave Sulsky a flush, and the 2♦ blanked on the river. Ship the entire $123,385.46 pot to Sulsky.
In regards to Blom, most of his profit came from the $100/$200 PLO tables where he squared off against "BERRI SWEET" for a mere hour. Still, the Swede managed to win $127,000 across four tables. That said, Blom's biggest pot came in a round of PLO during 8-game.
It happened in a heads-up match against Kostritsyn when Blom ($89,331.94) opened for $1,500 on the button. Kostritsyn ($60,478.06) three-bet to $4,500, Blom called, and the flop came down 8♠9♥10♠. Kostritsyn continued for $2,969.34, Blom just called, and the 3♠ appeared on the turn.
Kostritsyn proceeded to check-call a bet of $10,500, then check-called one of $35,936.68 on the 4♣ river. Blom tabled the A♠Q♠7♠10♦ for the nuts, and Kostritsyn simply mucked.
How Kostritsyn Won 3/4 of a Million in a Single Day
On Monday, March 14, Kostritsyn, who had been on a four-day $240,000 downswing, had a huge day winning $747,000 after nearly 18 hours at the $1,000/$2,000 8-game tables. The Russian squared off against a plethora of tough competition, but he steamrolled them all, including Kuznetsov, who dropped $457,000 over 14.5 hours.
Here's a look at two big hands from Kostritsyn's big day.
Hand #1: Action was four-handed when Sulsky ($6,665) raised to $1,750 under the gun and Kostritsyn ($51,045.07) called from the button. Kuznetsov ($71,592.92) then three-bet to $3,000 from the small blind, Blom ($104,390) called from the big, and Sulsky moved all in. Kostritsyn called, Kuznetsov made it $29,660 to go, and both Blom and Kostritsyn called to see the K♣Q♠Q♥ flop.
Kuznetsov led out for $10,500, Blom folded, and Kostritsyn moved all in for $21,385.07. Kuznetsov called and the turn and river were run twice, which came the 6♥, 6♠ and the 5♦, 3♦, respectively. Kuznetsov had flopped trips with a wrap holding the Q♦A♥10♥J♣, but it was no good as Kostritsyn had flopped a full house with the Q♣K♦9♦3♣ and held to scoop the $138,415.14 pot. Sulsky mucked his hand.
Hand #2: Action was heads-up when Kostritsyn ($87,151) opened for $1,500 and then called when Blom ($62,795) three-bet to $4,500. The J♥3♣5♠ flop saw Blom bet $6,000, Kostritsyn call, and the Q♠ peel off on the turn. Blom bet again, this time $20,998, and then called off his remaining $31,297 after Kostritsyn had moved all in for $76,651.
Blom: 6♥4♥7♣2♣
Kostritsyn: K♠Q♥J♣8♦
Blom held a wrap, which he needed to hit to overcome the two pair of Kostritsyn. The river was run twice, but unfortunately for Blom neither the 5♥ on the first nor 3♦ on the second helped and he watched the entire $125,590 pot pushed to Kostritsyn.
In other Monday news, HighStakesDB reports that Stern won $144,200 after playing "BERRI SWEET" for two and a half hours at the $50/$100 PLO tables.
Biggest Winners/Losers from March 11-17
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn | $670,830 |
Timofey "Trueteller" Kuznetsov | $517,488 | |
|
Dani "supernova9" Stern | $437,688 |
"BERRI SWEET" | $439,954 | |
|
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky | $213,923 |
Rafi "rafaelamit" Amit | $353,391 | |
|
"fjutekk" | $136,286 |
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $210,863 | |
|
Mikael "ChaoRen160" Thuritz | $101,513 |
"DANMERRRRRRR" | $133,960 |
Biggest Winners/Losers of 2016
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Andres "Educa-p0ker" Artinano | $638,827 |
Alex "Kanu7" Millar | $574,333 | |
|
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky | $531,958 |
Daniel "w00ki3z." Cates | $432,377 | |
|
Dani "supernova9" Stern | $371,315 |
"candela2005" | $212,068 | |
|
"Cubus" $353,146 |
"40and7" | $175,332 | ||
|
Mikael "ChaoRen160" Thuritz | $189,935 |
"I_Mr_U_Bean" | $165,138 |
*Lead photo courtesy of globalpokerindex.com.
Data and hands obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
