The Online Railbird Report: Sahamies Wins Big Again; ��Zypherin�� Drops $450K
Plenty of action took place at the high-stakes felt on PokerStars this week, though no staggering win like Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene��s $631,824 profit last week. Instead, this week saw pros like Niklas ��ragen70�� Heinecker and David ��Deldar182�� Eldar put in tons of play and grind out respectable wins. The biggest winner, though, was Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies, who won $283,435 in 7,054 hands spread across 85 sessions.
One who didn't do too well for himself this week, or all year long for that matter, was ��Zypherin,�� rumored to be Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Lalibert��, who was the week��s biggest loser after dropping $450,302 in 5,241 hands. ��Zypherin�� is the year��s biggest loser through April 19, down $1,180,835, nearly twice the amount as the next biggest loser.
Joining ��Zypherin�� in the loser column was Ronny ��1-ronnyr3�� Kaiser (-$285,670 in 2,566 hands), Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom (-$200,059 in 3,779 hands) and Phil ��takechip�� D��Auteuil (-$176,571 in 4,287 hands).
Here��s a look at some of the more interesting hands and story lines from the past week:
Heinecker Dominates $200/$400 NLHE on Friday
On Friday, a $200/$400 no-limit hold��em games sprung up featuring a full six-max table that included players such as Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene, Andrew ��Kanu7�� Millar, ��mikki696�� and Niklas ��ragen70�� Heinecker. When all was said and done, the Heinecker was the big winner with a profit of $65,000. Combined with his other winnings from the day, the German NLHE specialist collected $110K in profits. That was enough to make him the day��s biggest winner.
In Heinecker��s biggest hand in the $200/$400 game, action was five handed when Millar ($47,980) opened for $1,000 on the button. Heinecker ($74,155.75) was next to act in the small blind and three-bet to $3,400, only to have ��mikki696�� ($31,915) four-bet to $7,950. Millar got out of the way, Heinecker moved all in, and ��mikki696�� called off his remaining $23,565.
Showdown
| ��mikki696�� | K?J? |
| Heinecker | A?K? |
Heinecker was in a dominating spot, especially after the flop fell A?3?9? to give him a pair of aces. Neither the 5? turn nor 6? river changed a thing, and Heinecker took down the $64,825 pot.
The game's biggest hand developed when ��sat1337en�� ($33,995) opened for $1,200 from the cutoff in a six-handed game, Tollerene ($41,346) three-bet to $3,400 from the button, and both blinds got out of the way. From there, ��sat1337en�� four-bet to $8,400, Tollerene moved all in, and ��sat1337en�� called of his remaining $25,595. The board ran out 9?6?8?A?6? and ��sat1337en�� rolled over A?Q?, which was good enough to win the $68,585 pot as Tollerene simply mucked.
Tollerene Continues Winning Ways on Saturday
In last week��s Online Railbird Report, we highlighted Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene��s excellent week. He managed to rediscover his winning ways on Saturday when he banked an impressive $171K playing $100/$200 pot-limit Omaha. The majority of that came in a 3.5-hour session, which also saw the day��s biggest hand develop.
At a six-handed table, Benny ��toweliestar�� Spindler ($21,576.95) opened for $300 from the cutoff. Ronny ��1-ronnyr3�� Kaiser ($65,563.87) then three-bet to $1,100 from the small blind, Tollerene ($66,836.17) four-bet to $3,720 from the big, and Spindler made the call. With action back on Kaiser, he five-bet $15,000. Tollerene and Kaiser called, and the flop came out 2?K?3?.
Kaiser immediately led out for $45,115, Tollerene moved all in for $51,836.18, Spindler called off for $6,576.94 and Kaiser called off his remaining $5,428.86.
Showdown
| Kaiser | A?A?9?8? |
| Tollerene | K?K?4?5? |
| Spindler | 8?5?7?4? |
Tollerene had flopped top set to crack Kaiser��s aces, but there were plenty of draws out there, most notably Spindler��s open-ended straight draw. Luckily for Tollerene, the Q? turn was a brick, as was the 9? river, and he took down the $152,760 pot.
That pot contributed to Spindler��s $160,000 loss on the day, which made him Saturday��s biggest loser. ��Zypherin,�� who dropped $106K on the day, followed him.
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie
There was some big action Sunday at the $100/$200 PLO tables. Australian pro David ��Deldar182�� Eldar emerged with a remarkable $268K in profit. He played for 11 hours against the likes of Ilari ��Ilari Fin�� Sahamies, ��Fake Love88,�� and Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen, just to name a few.
Despite being the big winner, Eldar wasn��t involved in any of the day��s big pots, instead taking down a number of medium sized ones. In one hand, Eldar ($34,253.25) opened for $600 after action folded to him in the cutoff only to have Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond ($72,047.80) three-bet to $2,140 from the big blind. Eldar made the call and it was heads-up to the K?9?6? flop. Galfond led out for $2,600, Eldar raised to $12,415, Galfond three-bet $41,860 and Eldar called off his remaining $19,658.25.
Showdown
| Eldar | 6?6?2?2? |
| Galfond | Q?10?10?8? |
Eldar had flopped bottom set but needed to dodge Galfond's straight and flush draws. The A? turn gave Galfond the that flush, leaving Eldar in need of a paired board on the river. Sure enough, the K? spiked to give him the $68,762 pot.
In another one of his notable hands, action was five-handed when it folded around to Eldar ($70,173.50) in the small blind. He raised to $800, and Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom ($28,872) three-bet to $2,600 from the big. Eldar opted to make it $8,000, Blom called, and the flop fell 4?8?7?. The Aussie led out for $16,195 and then called the additional $4,677 after the Swede shipped his stack of $20,872.
Showdown
| Eldar | A?A?8?4? |
| Blom | 10?9?5?6? |
Blom had flopped the nuts and was ahead of Eldar��s two pair. The 3? turn bore little consequence, but the 8? river did as it gave the Aussie a full house and the $57,859 pot.
Both Blom and Galfond ended up in the red, dropping $104K and $301K, respectively. Not surprisingly, the latter��s massive loss made him the day��s biggest loser. Joining Eldar on the winner��s side of things were Andrew ��Kanu7�� Millar (+$221K) and ��Phisherman36�� (+$174K).
Manic Monday for Sahamies
On Monday, Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies returned to his winning ways when he raked in $324K at the $50/$100 and $100/$200 PLO tables. During that time, he took down two of the day��s three biggest pots:
Hand #1: In the biggest pot of the day, Sahamies ($176,009) was playing heads up against Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond ($50,000) at a $100/$200 table. Sahamies was on the button and opened for $680, and Galfond three-bet to $2,120. Not to be outdone, Sahamies four-bet $6,400. Galfond called, and the flop fell 5?3?K?, which both players checked. When the 9? appeared on the turn, Galfond led out for $12,958 before calling off his remaining $30,602 to the Fin��s shove.
Showdown
| Sahamies | A?A?10?7? |
| Galfond | K?K?Q?8? |
It was a classic aces-versus-kings situation, but Galfond had flopped a set to take the lead. Unfortunately for him, the A? river gave Sahamies a flush and the $99,998 pot.
Hand #2: In another heads-up match, this time against Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom ($67,160), Sahamies ($48,432) opened for $680 from the button only to have his opponent three-bet to $2,120. Sahamies made the call before raising Blom��s bet of $2,800 on the 10?4?5? flop up to $12,718. Blom pushed back to the tune of $42,472, Sahamies moved all in for a few thousand more, and Blom made the call.
Showdown
| Sahamies | Q?10?4?5? |
| Blom | A?K?10?4? |
Sahamies had flopped top two pair, which was ahead of Blom's top and bottom pair. Unfortunately for the Fin, the A? spiked on the turn to give Blom a bigger two pair. After the 6? blanked on the river, the $96,862 pot was pushed to the Swede.
Hand #3: Sahamies got his revenge against Blom by taking down the day��s third biggest pot. It began when Sahamies ($48,170) opened for $680, Blom ($42,048) three-bet to $2,120, Sahamies four-bet $6,440, and Blom called. On the 2?3?Q? flop, Blom proceeded to check-raise all in for $35,608 total after Sahamies bet $7,800. Sahamies made the call.
Showdown
| Sahamies | A?A?K?9? |
| Blom | J?7?5?3? |
Sahamies was ahead with his pocket aces and stayed in the lead as the 6? turn and 3? river improved him to a flush. The Fin scooped a pot worth $84,096.
Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky and Blom ended up finishing as the day��s biggest losers, dropping $118K and $96K, respectively. Most of that cash went to Sahamies, but the day��s big winner couldn��t hold on to all his profit as he proceeded to drop $182K back on Tuesday.
Biggest Weekly PokerStars Winners/Losers
Week��s biggest winners (4/13-4/19): Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies (+$283,435), ��Phisherman36�� (+$263,209), David ��Deldar182�� Eldar (+$262,666), Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene (+$214,370), Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond (+$158,163)
Week��s biggest losers: ��Zypherin�� (-$450,302), Ronny ��1-ronnyr3�� Kaiser (-$285,670), Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom (-$200,059), Phil ��takechip�� D��Auteuil (-$176,571), Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen (-$154,006)
Year-to-date winners: Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen (+$1,331,547), ��bernard-bb�� (+$1,063,508), Phil ��MrSweets�� Galfond (+$1,020,617), ��EireAbu�� (+$982,360), Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky (+$805,371)
Year-to-date losers: ��Zypherin�� (-$1,180,835), ��Fake Love888�� (-$599,915), ��long90110�� (-$557,059), Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies (-$540,953), ��VietRussian�� (-$520,629), ��julia753�� (-$517,354)
Data and hands obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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