The Online Railbird Report: Benny Spindler & Ronny Kaiser Dominate PLO Action
The high-stakes online action was mouthwatering this past week as a virtual who��s who of poker stars were in action, creating some interesting matchups and table draws. There were some familiar names atop the winner��s list, but also quite a few pros who graced the loser��s roster.
Benny ��toweliestar�� Spindler was the week��s biggest winner after pocketing $389,583 in 13,839 hands spread across 204 sessions. Not too far behind was ��long90110�� (+$373,396 in 133 sessions/14,526 hands), ��LewisFriend�� (+$334,445 in 22 sessions/2,458 hands) and ��milkybarkid�� (+$305,952 in 63 sessions/5,028 hands). Rounding out the top five was Ronny ��1-ronnyr3�� Kaiser, who banked $281,271 in 99 sessions/5,466 hands.
As far as the losers are concerned, no one did worse than Davin ��mTw-DaviN�� Georgi, who dropped $359,375 in 4,233 hands spread over 76 sessions. Along with Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies (-$276,795 in 75 sessions/3,406 hands) and Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene (-$267,417 in 66 sessions/3,689 hands), they were the week��s top three biggest losers.
Plenty of PLO Action
On Thursday, March 15, there was a ton of pot-limit Omaha action played from $50/$100 all the way up to $200/$400. One man in action was Terje ��Terken89�� Augdal, who was the third biggest winner of the day after banking $92,000 in over 5,000 hands of PLO.
In Augdal��s most notable hand, which ended up being the second biggest pot of the day, ��Tsubi87�� ($38,061.59) opened for $400 under the gun and cleared the field all the way back to ��long90110�� ($22,690.18), who put in a three-bet to $1,420 from the small blind. Augdal ($33,140) then four-bet to $4,780 from the big blind, both his opponents made the call, and the flop came down 9?7?5?.
��Long90110�� was first to act and he led out for $14,455, which prompted Augdal to move all in for $28,360. ��Tsubi87�� then moved all in, ��long90110�� called off his remaining $3,455.19 and the 5? was put out on the turn, followed by the 9? on the river. At that point, Augdal rolled over K?K?Q?A? for kings and nines, which was good enough to win the $89,025 pot as both his opponents mucked.
In the biggest pot of the day, action was six handed at a $200/$400 PLO table when Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies ($50,117.51) opened for $800 from the hijack and Sander ��Berndsen12�� Berndsen ($52,763.75) three-bet to $3,000 from the cutoff. The rest of the players got out of the way, Sahamies called, and the flop fell 7?Q?3?.
Sahamies checked, Berndsen fired out $4,946.25, Sahamies check-raised to $21,433.75, and Berndsen moved all in for $49,763.75. Sahamies called off his remaining $25,683.75, and the cards were turned up:
Showdown
| Berndsen | A?5?Q?J? |
| Sahamies | K?Q?10?3? |
Sahamies had flopped two pair, and Berndsen held top pair and the nut-flush draw. The 8? changed nothing, but the 9? river did because it gave Berndsen the flush and the $100,830 pot.
Despite losing that pot, Sahamies managed to book a $107,000 win, making him the day��s second biggest winner behind ��EireAbu,�� rumored to be Jorryt van Hoof, who banked $128,000. Berndsen ended up being the biggest loser after dropping $195,000 to ��EireAbu."
RaiseOnce, Win More
On Saturday, the $100/$200 PLO games were in full swing and ��RaiseOnce,�� the high-stakes pro rumored to be Phil Ivey, took full advantage. He played just 425 hands and booked an impressive $240,000 win to become the day��s biggest winner. Surprisingly, he did so without winning a top-ten pot.
Other players who booked solid wins were ��long90110�� (+$114,000), ��ZhipOHoy�� (+$104,000) and Joeri ��L0ve2playU�� van der Sman (+$70,000), who were the second, third and fourth biggest winners respectively. Of course where there are winners, there are also losers as Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky (-$161,000), Alexey ��LuckyGump�� Makarov (-$115,000), Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene (-$110,000) and Ronny ��1-ronnyr3�� Kaiser (-$108,000) found out as all four finished as the day��s biggest losers.
Beware of Ronny ��1-ronnyr3�� Kaiser!
Monday belonged to one man, Ronny ��1-ronnyr3�� Kaiser. He owned the $100/$200 PLO table by winning an astounding $425,000, more than double of the day��s second biggest winner, Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom, who profited $181,000 in over 5,500 hands. Rounding out the top four were Gabriel ��verve.oasis�� Goffi (+$127,000) and ��long90110�� (+$117,000).
In one of the more notable hands, action was four-handed when Kaiser ($88,272) opened for $600 under the gun. Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond ($75,427.32) was next to act on the button and three-bet to $2,260, which inspired both blinds to fold and Kaiser to make the call. The 4?Q?4? flop saw Kaiser check-raise Galfond��s bet of $1,800 up to $6,800, which the latter called.
When the 7? appeared on the turn, Kaiser led out for $13,600, Galfond called, and the K? peeled off on the river. Kaiser fired out $38,800 and Galfond quickly called. Kaiser rolled over Q?Q?J?8? for a flopped full house, which was good enough to win the $123,375 pot.
In another hand, action was five handed when Kaiser ($56,332.12) opened for $600 in the cutoff. The button and small blind both folded to ��long90110�� ($161,338.66) on the big and he three-bet to $2,100. Not to be outdone, Kaiser four-bet to $4,200, ��long90110�� five-bet to $11,100, Kaiser called and the flop fell 10?3?K?. ��Long90110�� led out for $22,495, Kaiser moved all in for $45,232.12 total and ��long90110�� made the call.
Showdown
| ��long90110�� | A?A?Q?6? |
| Kaiser | 7?7?K?K? |
The aces of ��long90110�� had been cracked by Kaiser��s flopped set of kings, though the former held a straight draw. The 4? turn changed nothing, and neither did the 2? river, and Kaiser took the $112,879 pot.
As if that wasn��t enough, Kaiser ($43,953.79) won another monster pot in a five-handed game when he opened for $600. Benny ��Toweliestar�� Spindler ($83,104.05) was next to act and called, while Davin ��mTw-DaviN�� Georgi ($29,642.79) three-bet $2,900 from the button. ��Long90110�� ($47,211.08) then four-bet to $10,300 from the small blind, Galfond ($51,458.62) called from the big blind, and Kaiser and Georgi came along for the ride.
The J?7?2? flop saw action check to Kaiser, and he fired out $6,200. Both Georgi and ��long90110�� folded, and Galfond check-raised all in for $41,158.62. Kaiser called off his remaining $27,453.79 and needed some help.
Showdown
| Galfond | Q?A?10?8? |
| Kaiser | J?J?8?8? |
As we said, the day belonged to Kaiser and it showed when the 2? spiked on the turn to give him a winning full house. After the Q? was put out on the river for good measure, Kaiser was pushed the $109,223 pot.
Galfond went on to lose $108,000 on the day, which was no surprise considering he lost two of day��s biggest pots. Joining him on the loser��s list was ��mikki696�� (-$296,000), Georgi (-$131,000) and Phil ��takechip�� D��Auteuil (-$152,000), just to name a few.
No Sulking for Sulsky on Tuesday
Monday was kind to Ronny ��1-ronnyr3�� Kaiser, but Tuesday was just as good to Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky as he won $397,000 playing $100/$200 PLO games. It was also good to ��Gozoboro,�� who won $247,000 by dismantling Rui ��PepperoniF�� Cao in a heads-up battle. The latter ended up losing $246,000, making him the day��s biggest loser.
In one of the biggest hands of the day, which is one that Sulsky actually lost, Phil ��MrSweets�� Galfond ($82,710.60) opened for $833.60 and received a call from Rafi ��refaelamit�� Amit ($72,128.19). Sulsky ($20,000) then three-bet to $3,874.40, Galfond four-bet to $13,830.39, Amit called and Sulsky moved all in for $20,000 total. Galfond and Amit called, creating a pot of $60,300, and the Q?9?9? was put out on the flop.
Galfond led out for $7,600, Amit raised to $27,800, and Galfond moved all in. Amit had $24,328.20 remaining and committed it to the pot. The board completed the 10? on the turn followed by the 5? on the river, and Galfond revealed K?K?J?3? for a king-high straight. Both of his opponents folded without exposing their cards, and the $164,671 pot was pushed to Galfond.
Even with that win, Galfond failed to do much on Tuesday; instead, pros like ��doncarignano�� (+$175,000), Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen (+$156,000) and Terje ��Terken89�� Augdal (+$137,000) ruled the roost. On the other end of the spectrum, Ville Wahlbeck (-$191,000), ��Fake Love888�� (-$187,000), Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies (-$155,000), Viktor "Isildur1�� Blom (-$126,000) and Alexey ��LuckyGump�� Makarov (-$124,000) all joined Cao on the loser��s side of things.
Biggest weekly winners/losers all on PokerStars
Week��s biggest winners (3/16-3/22): Benny ��toweliestar�� Spindler (+$389,583), ��long90110�� (+$373,396), ��LewisFriend�� (+$334,445), ��milkybarkid�� (+$305,952), Ronny ��1-ronnyr3�� Kaiser (+$281,271), Terje ��Terken89�� Augdal (+$277,434)
Week��s biggest losers: Davin ��mTw-DaviN�� Georgi (-$359,375), Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies (-$276,795), Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene (-$267,417), Alexey ��LuckyGump�� Makarov (-$258,846), Phil ��takechip�� D��Auteuil (-$255,482), ��Fake Love888�� (-$239,417)
Year-to-date winners: Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen (+$1,364,096), ��bernard-bb�� (+$1,049,931), Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky (+$984,498), Phil ��MrSweets�� Galfond (+$786,817), ��milkybarkid�� (+$698,612), ��patpatman�� (+$685,623)
Year-to-date losers: Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies (-$1,160,551), ��Zypherin�� (-$629,755), ��long90110�� (-$557,059), ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� (-$507,404), ��julia753�� (-$433,297), ��VietRussian�� (-$421,470), Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom (-$385,581)
Data and hands obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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