The Online Railbird Report: Antonius Extends Lead Against Cao in $1 Million Challenge

February 22, 2013

Most of the online high-stakes cash-game action has taken place at Full Tilt Poker in 2013, but this week, some big winners were found at PokerStars. Granted, nobody had anything close to a $2-million-plus-in-profit week like Tom “durrrr” Dwan had last week, but it was still pretty good for both Ben “Ben86” Tollerene (+$575,171 in 5,033 hands) and Niki “RealAndyBeal” Jedlicka ($558,943 in 4,985 hands). They finished as the week’s two biggest winners across all sites.

Other winners on PokerStars included “Odd_Oddsen” (+$243,894 in 39 sessions/2,183 hands) and Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies (+$237,464 in 29 sessions/2,593 hands), while Patrik “FinddaGrind” Antonius (+$443,221 in 82 sessions/5,420 hands), Hac “trex313” Dang (+$442,648 in 38 sessions/3,056 hands), Erik “Erik1223” Sagström (+$429,390 in 101 sessions/8,685 hands) and Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (+$342,393 in 52 sessions/5,720 hands) all scored big on Full Tilt.

Galfond managed to recoup the $343,507 he lost a week earlier, Dang added to the $399,730 he had banked during the same period, and Antonius continued to roll by nearly matching the $449,497 he also won a week earlier.

On the flip side, Rui Cao finished as the week’s biggest loser after dropping $864,666 on Full Tilt Poker in 3,509 hands across 26 sessions. The second biggest loser was “punting-peddler”, who dropped $494,166 in 3,743 hands over 59 sessions, adding to his $638,164 loss last week. Meanwhile, “VietRussian” (-$490,431 in 52 sessions/3,935 hands) and Davin “mTw-DaviN” Georgi (-$475,578 in 13 sessions/933 hands) were the two biggest losers over at PokerStars.

Lovely Valentine’s Day for Sahamies

On Thursday, Feb. 14, Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies squared off against Davin “mTw-DaviN” Georgi at two $100/$200 heads-up pot-limit Omaha tables. The two played for approximately an hour during which Sahamies relieved his opponent of $468,000. Surprisingly, there weren’t any six-figure pots in the match.

The largest occurred when Sahamies ($127,382) opened for $680 only to have Georgi ($50,000) three-bet to $2,120. Sahamies responded with a four-bet to $6,440, Georgi called, and the flop came down Q♥8♣J♣. Both players checked. Georgi then led out for $6,400 on the 7♣ turn and called when Sahamies raised to $17,400. Georgi checked the 7♠ turn and then call off his remaining $26,120 after Sahamies bet $47,758. Georgi rolled over A♠10♠9♠6♥ for a straight, but it was no good as Sahamies revealed A♣5♣A♦9♦ for a flush. The $99,998 pot went to Sahamies.

The biggest pot on Valentine’s Day occurred in a $200/$400 no-limit hold’em game between Ben “Ben86” Tollerene and “wilhasha”. The latter won four of the seven six-figure pots from the match, but Tollerene walked away the $213,000 winner.

In the day’s biggest pot, “wilhasha” ($97,750.47) opened for $1,000 and then called when Tollerene ($58,383.50) three-bet to $3,600. The J♠7♦Q♣ flop saw Tollerene lead out for $4,800, “wilhasha” call, and the 5♦ turn. Again Tollerene led out, this time for $12,598.50, and again “wilhasha” called, bringing about the 2♣ on the river. Tollerene wasted little time in moving all in for $37,385 and “wilhasha” made the call. Tollerene showed K♠10♣ for a missed straight, and “wilhasha” turned over Q♥9♠ for a pair of queens to win the $116,765 pot.

While Tollerene lost that pot, he did manage to win a nice won of his own. It happened when “wilhasha” ($54,179.98) opened for $1,000 and then called when Tollerene ($211,664.05) three-bet to $3,800. When the flop fell 10♠K♣2♥, Tollerene led out for $4,800 and “wilhasha” called. The latter then called a bet of $12,600 on the 3♦ turn and the 6♥ completed the board on the river. Tollerene moved all in and “wilhasha” called off his last $32,979.98 with K♦Q♦. Unfortunately for him, Tollerene had went runner-runner for the nuts with 5♦4♣. Ship the $108,358 pot to Tollerene.

Dang and Antonius Find Success Over the Weekend

It was a good weekend for Hac “trex313” Dang. He got off to a nice start Friday by earning $239,700 at the $200/$400 PLO table against Viktor “Isildur1” Blom.

In the biggest pot between the two, Dang ($61,974.50) opened for $1,200 on the button and then called when Blom ($97,386) three-bet to $3,600 from the big blind, leading to a 6♥K♦10♦ flop. Blom led out for $5,600, Dang called, and the 8♦ came on the turn. Again Dang called a bet from Blom, this time $13,600, and the 6♣ completed the board on the river. Blom led out with a big bet and Dang called off his remaining $39,174.40 to create a pot worth $123,949. The Swede rolled over A♦A♥8♥7♥, but it was no good — Dang held a full house with 6♦K♥3♥8♣.

Blom went on to lose $266,000 on the day. Meanwhile, Friday's two biggest pots took place at the $250/$500 PLO tables on Full Tilt Poker.

Hand #1: Action was three-handed when “patpatpanda” ($87,797) opened for $2,050 from the button, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond ($167,435.29) called, and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies ($94,990.19) three-bet to $8,500. Both called, and the flop fell A♦5♦8♠. Sahamies fired out $15,750 after Galfond checked to him. “Patpatpanda” then raised to $73,050, Galfond folded, and Sahamies moved all in. “Patpatpanda” called off his remaining $6,247 and the cards were turned up.

Sahamies: A♠9♠K♣7♣
“patpatpanda”: 8♣A♥6♥4♣

“Patpatpanda” got it in good with two pair, but the 6♠ spiked on the turn to complete Sahamies’ gutshot straight draw. The 5♥ river was of no consequence and the Finn was pushed the $184,193 pot.

Hand #2: Action was heads up between Ben “Bttech86” Tollerene ($85,315) and Sahamies ($73,586.30) when the former opened for $1,100 and then called when the latter three-bet to $3,500. The J♥9♠2♦ flop saw Sahamies check only to raise to $24,480 after Tollerene bet $5,760. Tollerene responded by moving all in and Sahamies called off for $45,506.30 more.

Sahamies: 10♣9♣Q♠A♦
Tollerene: 2♠2♥8♥J♣

Tollerene had flopped a set and was up against Sahamies’ open-ended straight draw. The two agreed to run it twice, but neither the 3♥/5♦ on the first run nor the 10♠/3♣ on the second help Sahamies and he watched the $147,172 pot get pushed to his opponent.

Antonius Defeats Cao in the PLO Portion of the $1 Million Challenge

Patrik “FinddaGrind” Antonius and Rui Cao have been engaged in an entertaining $1 Million Challenge in which the two agreed to battle in three variants—no-limit hold’em, 2-7 triple draw and pot-limit Omaha. The 2-7 triple draw part was completed weeks ago when Antonius promptly relieved Cao of $300,000. On Saturday, Feb. 16, the two returned to play out the PLO quota at two tables of $200/$400 for a $350,000 freeze-out

The two played nearly 760 hands throughout the day, and Antonius walked away the victor, though he finished Saturday with only $266,300 in profit after losing some back in other games. Still, it was enough to make him the day’s biggest winner.

Despite losing the match, Cao ($60,433) actually won the biggest pot. It happened when he opened for $800 on the button and was met by a three-bet to $2,400 by Antonius ($77,067,50). Cao pushed back with a four-bet to $7,200 and then called when Antonius five-bet to $21,600, bringing about a 7♠10♦3♠ flop. Antonius immediately led out with a big bet and Cao called off for $38,833.

Cao: K♥Q♥J♠4♠
Antonius: A♥A♠J♦9♣

Cao got it in with a flush draw and was looking to crack the aces of Antonius. The turn and river were run twice, and the {9d/J♥ on the first gave Cao an improbable runner-runner straight for half the pot. It got even worse for Antonius on the second run as the K♠ turned and gave Cao the flush. Antonius was drawing dead-headed to the river, which came the 3♣, and the entire $120,866 pot was pushed to Cao.

Jedlicka Wins $539,000 on PokerStars in Monday Action

We haven’t seen much of Niki “RealAndyBeal” Jedlicka in recent months, but on Monday he hit the $200/$400 PLO tables on PokerStars. In about eight hours of play against some stiff competition, he won a healthy $539,000.

Despite the big win, his biggest pot fell short of six figures. In that hand, action was heads up when “VietRussian” ($36,438) opened for $800 and then called when Jedlicka ($75,298) three-bet to $2,400. The latter then fired out $2,815 on the 9♦4♦10♣ flop, “VietRussian” raised to $13,243, and Jedlicka made it $44,527 to go. “VietRussian” called off his remaining $20,995 and the cards were turned up.

Jedlicka: A♦5♦J♣4♣
“VietRussian”: K♠Q♦6♦3♥

Both players were drawing to a flush, but Jedlicka’s was better. The 10♥ turn changed nothing, and neither did the 2♠ river. Both players missed their flush, which meant Jedlicka took down the $73,274 pot with two pair.

Biggest Winners/Losers (Full Tilt Poker)

Week’s biggest winners (2/14-2/19): Ben “Ben86” Tollerene* (+$575,171), Nikolaus “RealAndyBeal” Jedlicka* (+$558,943), Patrik “FinddaGrind” Antonius (+$443,221), Hac “trex313” Dang (+$442,648), Erik “Erik1223” Sagström (+$429,390), Phil “OMGClayAiken” (+$342,393), “Odd_Oddsen”* (+$243,894), Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies* (+$237,464)

Week’s biggest losers: Rui Cao (-$864,666), “punting-peddler” (-$494,166), “VietRussian”* (-$490,431), Davin “mTw-DaviN” Georgi* (-$475,578), Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver (-$386,064)

Year’s biggest winners: Tom “durrrr” Dwan (+$1,762,020), “SallyWoo” (+$1,585,616), Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (+$1,452,083), Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (+$1,328,680), Alexander “PostFlopAction” Kostritsyn (+$1,292,138), Kyle “KPR16” Ray (+$1,209,568), Ben “Bttech86” Tollerene (+$1,043,787), Patrik “FinddaGrind” Antonius (+$892,717), Ronny “ronnyr37617” Kaiser (+$873,763)

Year’s biggest losers: Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky (-$2,654,433), “punting-peddler” (-$1,332,636), Phil “Polarizing” Ivey (-$1,061,631), Alex “IReadYrSoul” Millar (-$978,338), Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver (-$952,039), ), “kagome kagome” (-$865,323), “CRAIN85” (-$831,430), “Johnbest” (-$793,503), Gus Hansen (-$779,490)

*Denotes PokerStars

_{Data, hands and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com}

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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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