The Online Railbird Report: Blom Keeps the Games Afloat During Tail End of 2015 WSOP
There's no denying the 2015 World Series of Poker dried up the high-stakes online cash games this summer. Some of the nosebleeds' best got out from behind the computer screen to venture to Vegas for their shot at poker glory, and it was reflected on the virtual felt.
Last week we skipped the Online Railbird Report because there really wasn't much to report. The week before that there had been a little action – except for the revelation that Russian player Timofey Kuznetsov was the man behind the "Trueteller" screenname – and while there isn't much to report this week, we thought we'd best keep you updated with what's transpired since June 25.
Taking the past two weeks into consideration, "kkopghy" finished as the top winner with just $60,192 in profit, which came in 1,796 hands over 27 sessions on PokerStars. Meanwhile, "eddinho87" finished at Full Tilt's biggest winner with $51,278 in profit, which came from 1,299 hands over 45 sessions.
As for recognizable names, Viktor "Isildur1" Blom was a winner, banking $25,694 in 7,639 hands over 59 sessions, while Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies was the biggest loser over that two-week span, dropping $67,055 in 207 hands over five sessions on PokerStars. Over on Full Tilt, "timekpr" was the biggest loser after losing $40,380 in a single sessions comprised of 405 hands.
Blom Helps Spur Some Online Action
On Wednesday, July 8, Viktor "Isildur1" Blom managed to win $96,100 on PokerStars, which was the biggest daily win HighStakesDB had tracked in quite some time. Blom took to two tables of $100/$200 Deep pot-limit Omaha and squared off against Sami "lrslzk" Kelopuro for nearly two hours. Blom managed to pull out to an early lead thanks to a big pot, which ended up being the second biggest of the day.
It happened when Kelopuro ($23,539.04) opened for $600 on the button and Blom ($20,678) called to see a flop of 3♥5♠J♥. Blom checked, Kelopuro bet $869.04, and Blom check-raised to $3,000. Kelopuro called and then bet $5,676.84 after Blom checked the K♠ turn. The Swede made the call and then checked once again when the K♥ paired the board on the river. Kelopuro bet $14,262.20, and Blom called off his remaining $11,401.16.
Kelopuro tabled the [1h6h2h10d] for a flush, but it was no good as Blom had the best flush with the A♥9♥4♠3♦. Ship the $41,436 pot to Blom. While that pot was nice, it was a bit smaller than the one Blom took down in the last 20 minutes of the match.
In that hand, Kelopuro ($42,977.30) raised to $600 and Blom ($25,475) called, which brought about a flop of 7♠3♥10♦. Blom checked, Kelopuro bet $869.04, and Blom check-raised to $3,000. Kelopuro called and then bet $5,676.84 after Blom had checked the 9♠ turn. Blom sprung to life with an all-in check-raise to $21,875, and Kelopuro called with the 8♥6♦2♥A♦ for a ten-high straight and flush draw.
He needed to hit the latter draw though as Blom held a jack-high straight with the J♥8♦9♦5♣. Unfortunately for Kelopuro, the 2♦ blanked on the river and he watched the $51,030 pot pushed to Blom.
Three Big Pots from Early July
While the above hand was the biggest of the month, there were a few others worth mentioned. Here's a look at the second, third, and fourth biggest pots of July thus far.
Hand #1: At a five-handed $100/$200 no-limit hold'em table on PokerStars, "OtB_RedBaron" ($22,251.79) opened for $435 under the gun and "candela2005" ($30,920.32) called from the cutoff. "Tochminator" ($32,311.20) called from the button, both blinds folded, and three players saw a flop of 4♣2♣A♠. "OtB_RedBaron" checked, "candela2005" did the same, and "Tochminator" bet $1,066.66.
Only "OtB_RedBaron" called and then he check-called a bet of $2,837.32 on the 9♥ turn. When the 8♦ completed the board on the river, "OtB_RedBaron" checked for a third time but still called off for $17,912.81 after "Tochminator" moved all in. "OtB_RedBaron" held the A♣8♣ for top pair and a missed flush, but it wasn't good enough to win the $45,238.58 pot as "Tochminator" held the 2♠2♦ for a set of deuces.
Hand #2: At a $50/$100 PLO table on PokerStars, action was heads up when "TILTMENOT" ($23,382) limped from the button and then called when "meatz04" ($22,458.05) raised to $300, which brought about a flop of 6♦2♦5♠.
"meatz04" led out for $406.64, "TILTMENOT" raised to $1,43.33, and "meatz04" called to see the 5♣ turn. "meatz04" checked, "TILTMENOT" bet $1,900, and "meatz04" check-raised to $6,867.16. "TILTMENOT" made the call and then called when "meatz04" moved all in for $13,837.56 on the 3♠ river. "meatz04" tabled the 6♣6♠9♣8♠ for a full house, and it was good enough to win the $44,916.10 pot. "TILTMENOT," who mucked his hand, was left with just $923.95.
Hand #3: In the same game as that mentioned in Hand #1, action was five handed when "OtB_RedBaron" ($21,892.37) opened for $435 from the cutoff and "hhecklen" ($22,475.19) defended from the big blind. The 5♣Q♣7♥ flop saw "hhecklen" check-call a bet of $299.15, and then he check-called one of $2,141.72 on the K♥ turn. When the 8♦ completed the board on the river, "hhecklen" checked for a third time and "OtB_RedBaron" moved all in for $19,016.50. "hhecklen" called with the Q♦7♦ for two pair, which won him the $43,884.74 pot as "OtB_RedBaron" had been bluffing with the A♦3♦.
All of online poker is getting tougher and heading in that direction, but by no means do I think it's dead.
Tollerene Says "All of Online Poker is Getting Tougher"
During the 2015 WSOP, PokerNews caught up with Ben "Bttech86" Tollerene to talk about online poker.
"It's definitely getting tougher," said Tollerene. "All of online poker is getting tougher and heading in that direction, but by no means do I think it's dead, it's still very lucrative, quite a soft game."
In addition to discussing the shift from Full Tilt to PokerStars and who he thinks are the best pot-limit Omaha players out there, Tollerene shed some light on why he opted out of long-term online tracking.
"I opted out of the beginning of 2014, and there was awhile I was thinking I would try and do the branding thing, see if I could get a deal with PokerStars or Tilt or whatever," Tollerene explained. "I got a small offer, I got a tiny offer from Team Online, and I held out on it, didn’t take it."
Tollerene continued: "From there nothing ever came up, and once I realized there wasn't much to be made from the publicity side of things for young American pros that aren’t particularly easy to sell — I'm a pretty generic American pro I'd say, aside form playing nosebleed — then I just decided I didn't want my information out there. I got weirded out when I would Google myself and see that you could see how much money I make playing poker, and it's misleading too. I just didn't want it out there."
To read Tollerene's entire interview, click here.
Biggest Winners/Losers from June 25 – July 10
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 "kkopghy" | $60,192 |
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies | $67,055 | |
 "eddinho87" | $51,278 |
"fjutekk" | $43,935 | |
|
"DannStarr" | $48,130 |
"TILTMENOT" | $42,384 | |
|
"Tochminator" | $30,209 |
"timekpr" | $40,380 | |
|
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $25,694 |
"zumbapoker" | $35,603 |
Year's Biggest Winners/Losers
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
"bbvisbadforme" | $965,770 |
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $1,612,603 | |
|
Ben "Sauce1234" Sulsky | $743,015 |
Phil "Polarizing" Ivey | $1,227,809 | |
|
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $673,424 |
Phil "RaiseOnce" Ivey | $953,315 | |
|
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $533,902 |
"Sanlker" | $910,746 | |
|
Ike Haxton | $479,211 |
Daniel "w00ki3z." Cates | $513,340 | |
|
Isaac "luvtheWNBA" Haxton | $341,519 |
"natalie724" | $508,015 |
Data, hands, and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
