The Online Railbird Report: Sahamies & Cao Return to the Virtual Felt

June 29, 2012

Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager

The online high-stakes cash games were fairly calm last week, though a couple of players who were on sabbatical — Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies and Rui “PepperoniF” Cao — both returned to the virtual felt, albeit with varying results.

It had been awhile since Sahamies amused the high-stakes railbirds, but he probably wishes he had waited a bit longer before returning because he ended up the week’s biggest loser, dropping $151,251 in 4,425 hands across 48 sessions. The only other player to lose even close to that amount — and the only other player to lose $100,000-plus — was “longerpig,” who dropped $141,258 in 24 sessions of 1,936 hands.

“EireAbu” continued to thrive in 2012 by extending his lead on the yearly leaderboard by an additional $144,596, which he did in 36 sessions of 3,766 hands. That was enough to make him the week’s biggest winner, though both “Phisherman36” (+$140,514 in 21 sessions/2,910 hands) and Cao (+$134,878 in 50 sessions/6,231 hands) were close behind. Likewise, Alex “Kanu7” Millar was another big winner, rounding out the top four after banking $126,079 in nine sessions of 2,219 hands.

Sulsky vs. Millar in Friday Foray

On Friday, June 22, Alex “Kanu7” Millar and Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky played two matches. In the first, Millar won $34,000, but in the second, which was a two-hour session played at $100/$200 no-limit hold’em, Sulsky battled back and banked a much more impressive $220,000.

In the largest hand the two played, Sulsky ($63,838.59) raised to $400 on the button and was met with a three-bet to $1,600 by Millar ($22,396) in the big blind. Sulsky responded by four-betting to $4,000, Millar moved all-in for $22,496, and Sulsky made the call.

Showdown

Millar	K♠K♥
Sulsky	A♦A♠

With $44,790 on the line, it was a cooler for Millar to run the second-best hand into the best. With that said, the 7♦K♣9♣ flop reversed his fortune as he made trips and took a commanding lead. Neither the 7♠ turn nor 5♥ river brought an ace for Sulsky and Millar was pushed the sizable pot.

Despite losing that hand, Sulsky ended up finishing the day with $100,000 in profit, which was second only to Rui “PepperoniF” Cao, who won $166,000 playing 9,825 hands of heads-up $25/$50 pot-limit Omaha against “rickv17.” Even though he won the aforementioned hand, Millar ended the day as biggest loser (-$195,000).

Slow Saturday Sees Sahamies Top Leaderboard

Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies has been absent from the virtual felt in recent weeks, but that changed on Saturday, June 23, when he found success at the $50/$100 PLO tables. In fact, he ended as the day’s biggest winner with $69,000 in profit, most of which came courtesy of “EireAbu,” who would be labeled the biggest loser after dropping $64,000.

In the biggest pot the two played, Sahamies ($31,648) raised to $340 from the button and then called a three-bet to $1,060 by “EireAbu” ($35,674). The 7♣4♥K♠ flop saw “EireAbu” lead out for $1,300 only to have Sahamies raise to $3,300. Not to be outdone, “EireAbu” three-bet to $6,800, Sahamies called, and the 4♣ appeared on the turn.

Again “EireAbu” led out, this time for $4,000, Sahamies called, and the 3♥ peeled off on the river. At that point, “EireAbu” simply moved all-in and Sahamies called off for $19,788. The former rolled over J♠9♠8♥7♥ for sevens and fours, which was no good against the K♥K♦4♦J♦ of Sahamies and the $63,294 pot was sent to Sahamies.

“EireAbu” Rebounds on Sunday, Adds to Yearly Lead

A day after dropping $64,000 and finishing as the biggest loser, “EireAbu” rebounded to win $103,500 and finish as Sunday’s biggest winner. Over the course of four hours, and 762 hands, “EireAbu” took on some online regulars and won two of the day’s top four pots.

In one of those hands, action was three-handed when Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies ($24,930) opened for $400 on the button, Alexey “LuckyGump” Makarov folded the small blind, and “EireAbu” ($80,802.49) three-bet to $1,310 from the big. Sahamies responded by making it $4,440, “EireAbu” five-bet to $12,230, Sahamies called, and the flop came down 8♠J♣7♣. “EireAbu” led out for $19,899.27 and Sahamies called off for $12,700.

Showdown

Sahamies	9♠8♥7♥3♥
“EireAbu”	A♥Q♥Q♣4♣

Sahamies held two pair, but he’d need to pair one of them to overcome the flush of “EireAbu.” Unfortunately for him, the A♣ turn was no help, and neither was the 6♦ river. With that, "EireAbu" was pushed the $49,890 pot.

In another hand, action was heads-up between “EireAbu” ($24,274) and Sahamies ($41,092) when the former opened for $300 on the button and was met with a three-bet to $940 from the latter. “EireAbu” made the call and then raised Sahamies’ $1,200 bet on the 10♣J♣8♥ flop up to $3,200. Sahamies countered with a three-bet to $11,518, “EireAbu” moved all-in for $23,334, and Sahamies made the call.

Showdown

Sahamies	A♣5♣8♠9♥
“EireAbu”	A♥Q♣9♠5♠

Sahamies had flopped a pair of eights with an open-ended straight draw and an ace-high flush draw, but he was behind “EireAbu’s” straight. The K♥ turn gave “EireAbu” an even better straight, and he took the $48,548 pot after the 5♥ fell on the river.

Although he lost those two big pots, Sahamies did manage to snag the day’s biggest pot. It happened when action was five-handed and Ignat “0Human0” Liviu ($36,756) opened for $300 from the cutoff. “EireAbu” ($36,575) then three-bet to $1,100 from the small blind, Sahamies ($26,842) four-bet to $3,700 from the big, two calls ensued, and the flop came out 4♥K♦A♣.

“EireAbu” checked, Sahamies bet $4,000, and Liviu made the call. After “EireAbu” got out of the way, the 10♥ was put out on the turn and Sahamies moved all-in for $19,142, which Liviu called. The 3♦ river completed the board and Sahamies rolled over J♦Q♦7♠4♠ for a Broadway straight. Liviu mucked and Sahamies was awarded the $57,439 pot. Even so, Sahamies would go on to finish $71,700 down on the day, second only to “Katya_18,” who dropped $85,700 playing $50/$100 NLHE.

Cao Tops Daily Leaderboard on a Slow Monday

Monday was a fairly slow day, but that didn’t stop Rui “PepperoniF” Cao from playing some $25/$50 and $50/$100 PLO. Although he lost in the former to “EireAbu,” he managed to win over $50,000 from Sander “Berndsen12” Berndsen in the latter. What’s more, he did it in just 30 minutes during an evening session.

In their biggest pot, Berndsen ($15,076.75) opened for $300 on the button and then called a three-bet of $900 from Cao ($31,177.75). The 10♥K♠5♥ flop saw Cao bet $1,000, Berndsen call, and the 4♠ come out on the turn. This time Cao checked, Berndsen bet $2,400, and Cao check-raised to $10,998. Berndsen moved all-in for $13,176.75 and Cao called the additional $2,178.75.

Showdown

Cao	A♥7♥8♣5♣
Berndsen	Q♥J♥10♠4♣

Berndsen was actually ahead with his pair of tens, though he was no doubt relying on his straight and flush outs. With that said, Cao held straight and flush draws of his own, so the river was likely to change things. That’s exactly what happened when the 6♦ appeared, giving Cao the straight and the $30,152 pot.

Cao finished the day as the biggest winner with $66,000 in profit, and Berndsen ended up losing $59,800, behind only Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies (-$84,400) and Theo “Theo J” Jorgensen (-$61,700).

Biggest Weekly PokerStars Winners/Losers

Week’s biggest winners (6/21-6/27): “EireAbu” ($144,596), “Phisherman36” (+$140,514), Rui “PepperoniF” Cao (+$134,878), Alex “Kanu7” Millar (+$126,079))

Week’s biggest losers: Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies (-$151,251), “longerpig” (-$141,258)

Year-to-date winners: “EireAbu” (+$2,657,088), Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (+$2,265,790), “bernard-bb” (+$1,371,768), Alex “Kanu7” Millar (+$1,144,790), “Phisherman36” (+$1,113,887), Terje “Terken89” Augdal (+$1,050,535), Phil “MrSweets” Galfond (+$1,029,005), Niklas “ragen70” Heinecker (+$1,026,198), Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen (+$1,018,559)

Year-to-date losers: “Zypherin” (-$2,708,561), Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (-$1,477,197), “1Il|1Il|1il|” (-$761,767), Benny “toweliestar” Spindler (-$739,951), Gavin “gavz101” Cochrane (-$720,623), Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies (-$644,739), “VietRussian” (-$562,061)

_{Data and hands obtained from HighStakesDB.com}

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