The Online Railbird Report, Vol. 19: Choppy Waters for Dang, DIN_FRU
As the start of the WSOP’s $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event approached and the live cash games continued to thrive, the online action dropped off a bit from last week’s frenzy. Nosebleed-stakes regulars Phil Ivey, David “MR B 2 U SON” Benyamine, and Gus Hansen all played the H.O.R.S.E. event, while some typically prolific players like Tom “durrrr” Dwan were hardly heard from at all this week. In their absence, DIN_FRU continued to take on all comers in heads-up matches, Niki Jedlicka booked some more solid wins, and Ted “profbackwards” Forrest made a rare appearance online and managed to clean up in the Omaha/8 games.
Where’s “durrrr”?
Typically one of the most high-volume high-stakes cash players online, Tom Dwan was all but absent this week, logging only a small handful of sessions and only a few hundred hands, but still finishing the week more than $500,000 to the good. In the few hours he did play, Dwan picked up a $179,000 win over Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro and Patrik Antonius over the course of 80 minutes at the $300/600/100 ante pot-limit Omaha on Sunday evening. While playing in that three-handed game, Dwan also played Kelopuro heads-up on a separate $300/600/100 table. Soon their battle expanded to two tables and two games as they sat down at a $300/600/100 no-limit hold’em table for even more action. Dwan took over $260,000 off Kelopuro that evening, including this huge NLHE pot:
Kelopuro opened for $2,000, Dwan three-bet to $6,200 and Kelopuro called. Dwan checked the 8♣5♥3♠ flop over to Kelopuro, who bet $7,800. Dwan called and they saw the K♠ hit the turn. Dwan checked again, Kelopuro bet $17,400, and Dwan came back over the top for his entire stack, $147,396 in all. Kelopuro called all in for $46,968 and turned up K♣Q♣—dominated by Dwan’s A♠K♦. The river was the 9♠ and Dwan took down the nearly $157,000 pot.
Kelopuro would get some of those losses back later in the week when he booked a $189,000 win over Dwan inside an hour in a $300/600/100 PLO rematch in the wee hours of Friday morning, but would ultimately finish the week down $382,000.
A Bumpy Ride for DIN_FRU
The Finnish player known only as DIN_FRU suffered some heavy losses this week, notably in a six-hour heads-up match of $1,000/2,000 limit hold’em with Niki Jedlicka. After 1,300 hands, DIN_FRU left with a $406,000 loss and was down as much as half a million at one point before making a small comeback.
This being limit poker, the session’s largest hand topped out at only $38,000. The match was in its fifth hour and Jedlicka had already worked his stack up to $422,000 while DIN_FRU was sitting on $176,000. DIN_FRU raised from the button, Jedlicka three-bet, DIN_FRU capped and Jedlicka called. The flop was A♠J♣3♦ and Jedlicka check-called DIN_FRU’s bet. The turn came the 2♣ and Jedlicka checked again. DIN_FRU bet, Jedlicka raised, and they capped the betting. The river fell the 4♦ and Jedlicka led out. DIN_FRU raised, Jedlicka three-bet, and DIN_FRU called. Jedlicka showed 4♣5♦ for a wheel and took down the pot.
Though DIN_FRU lost big that night, he managed to win $33,000 back from Jedlicka in a 45-minute match the next afternoon. The following evening, however, he decided to take a shot at the $500/1,000 HA game, sitting down amidst a lineup that included Phil Ivey, Di “Urindanger” Dang, “luckexpress10,” Gus Hansen, “just_the_nuts,” David Benefield and Ashton “theASHMAN103” Griffin. DIN_FRU ended up down $112,000 after two and a half hours of play and ended up on this losing end of this hand against Griffin, one of the night’s largest at over $226,000:
Griffin opened for $3,500, DIN_FRU reraised to $10,000, Griffin four-bet to $31,500 and DIN_FRU called. Griffin potted for $64,500 on the 9♣5♣2♠ flop, DIN_FRU moved in for $80,994 and Griffin called, showing A♦K♠Q♦9♠ for top pair, top kicker to DIN_FRU’s A♥K♣Q♥10♣ for the king-high flush draw. DIN_FRU missed his outs, the 3♥ landing on the turn and the A♠ hitting the river to make Griffin aces up and earn him the $226,585 pot.
Ted “profbackwards” Forrest Dominates Omaha/8 Action
Ted Forrest decided to get in on the booming online action this week, booking several profitable sessions including a $187,000 win at Omaha/8 on Friday. In the morning hours, he took in $80,000 at the $1,000/2,000 level, raking in chips from “Sirens,” Ashton “theASHMAN103” Griffin, “Rekelme,” and Rafi “howisitfeellike” Amit. Later in the afternoon, Forrest took on Griffin in a heads-up match at the $2,000/4,000 level and after 500-plus hands, booked a $107,000 win. Forrest seemed to scoop every major pot of the session, including this $40,000 hand:
Forrest limped in from the button, Griffin raised from the big blind and Forrest called. Griffin led out on the Q♣J♦4♦ flop, Forrest raised and Griffin called. The turn came the 5♠ and Griffin fired again. Forrest again raised and Griffin called. The river was the 7♦ and Griffin slowed down and checked. Forrest bet and Griffin called. It was the A♦9♥3♦3♠ for Forrest, making the nut flush for high and a 7-5-4-3-A low to scoop the pot.
Rough Week for “Urindanger”
Di “Urindanger” Dang had a brutal session against Gus Hansen on Tuesday evening, dropping over $475,000 in the space of 165 hands. Dang and Hansen’s match played over two tables of $500/1,000 pot-limit Omaha, the aptly named “Hansen Knockout” and “Hansen Suckout.” Dang simply could not catch a break in this session, losing the vast majority of his all-ins, including this $194,985 pot where Hansen hit a perfect river card.
Hansen limped in on the button, Dang raised to $3,000, Hansen made it $5,000, Dang four-bet to $15,000 and Hansen called. The flop came down J♠9♣4♦ and Dang led out for $30,000. Hansen called and they went to the turn, which paired the board with the J♣. Dang immediately moved all in and Hansen called. Dang had flopped two pair and turned a flush draw with 9♥6♣5♥4♣ while Hansen had a gutshot straight draw and a higher flush draw with A♠K♠10♣7♣. Hansen hit his straight on the river with the Q♦ and he raked in the $194,985 pot.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down?
This week’s biggest winners: Gus Hansen (+$588,000), Tom “durrrr” Dwan (+$501,000), Phil Ivey (+$314,000)
This week’s biggest losers: “luckexpress10” (-$546,000), Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro (-$382,000), Di “Urindanger” Dang (-$207,000)
"The Online Railbird" report is a weekly feature summarizing the biggest matchups in the online game. Many of the largest online collisions take place at Full Tilt. Why not join the fun?
