The Online Railbird Report: Ben Tollerene Closes Gap; ��patpatman�� Continues to Slide
Full Tilt Poker is scheduled to come back on line in November, but until then, there is still plenty of action to be had on PokerStars; in fact, the race to become the year��s biggest online winner is tighter than ever as Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky and Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene are constantly jockeying for position.
Sulsky currently tops the leaderboard, but Tollerene closed the gap a bit this week by winning $155,282. That was a far cry from the $470,209 win that the week��s biggest winner, ��Chung ho,�� won playing high-stakes fixed-limit Omaha hi/lo last Saturday.
��Patpatman's�� downward slide continued and he finished atop the losing column for the second week in a row. If you recall, the mystery man lost a staggering $654,593 last week, and he followed that up by dropping an additional $465,877 this week. Likewise, both ��Odd_Oddsen�� (-$182,954 in 256 sessions/20,192 hands) and Sulsky (-$182,382 in 63 sessions/3,864 hands) experienced losing weeks.
Tollerene, Kyll?nen & Galfond Partake in Friday PLO Action
Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene, who is locked in a tight race with Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky to become the biggest online winner of 2012, closed the gap a bit on Friday, Oct. 12, when he booked a $155,000 win playing various stakes of pot-limit Omaha. Most of that profit came at $100/$200 PLO, where he took on Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond, Sam ��tr1cky7�� Trickett and ��Odd_Oddsen.��
In the day��s biggest pot, action was six-handed when Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen ($23,063) opened for $600 under the gun, Gus ��broksi�� Hansen ($20,000) three-bet to $2,340 from the hijack, and ��patpatman�� ($34,034.91) four-bet to $8,060 from the small blind. After the big blind got out of the way, Kyll?nen moved all in, Hansen called off, and ��patpatman�� called to put them both at risk.
[U]Showdown[/U] |
Hansen: 4?5?Q?7? |
��patpatman��9?8?5?6? |
Kyll?nen: A?A?J?9? |
Kyll?nen got his money in with aces and improved big time when the Q?K?10? flop fell, giving him the nuts. Neither the 9? turn nor 9? river changed a thing, and Kyll?nen was pushed the $66,441 pot.
In the next biggest pot of the day, action was five-handed when Galfond ($22,322.40) opened for $446 from the cutoff only to have Trickett ($20,000) three-bet to $1,838 from the button. ��Odd_Oddsen�� ($37,648.58) then four-bet to $6,260 from the big blind, Galfond called, and Trickett moved all in. ��Odd_Oddsen�� moved all in over the top, Galfond called off, and the cards were turned over.
[U]Showdown[/U] |
Galfond: Q?Q?10?10? |
��Odd_Oddsen��: K?K?A?5? |
Trickett: Q?8?J?7? |
The 2?A?10? flop was gin for Galfond, giving him a set, and the J? turn wasn't too threatening. The 2? river actually improved Galfond to a full house, which was good enough to win the $64,820 pot. That contributed greatly to his $132,700 profit for the day.
In Tollerene��s biggest win, action was four-handed when Tollerene ($31,898.58) raised to $600 under the gun and was met with a three-bet to $2,260 from ��Odd_Oddsen�� ($41,273.45) on the button. The blinds got out of the way and then Tollerene made the call before check-calling a bet of $3,400 on the 6?9?J? flop. When the 7? turned, Tollerene took the initiative and led out for $11,775, and then called off his remaining $14,463.57 when ��Odd_Oddsen�� raised all in.
[U]Showdown[/U] |
Tollerene: A?J?10?8? |
��Odd_Oddsen��: 9?6?J?4? |
��Odd_Oddsen�� had flopped two pair, but Tollerene had turned the nuts. The 7? river was of no consequence, and Tollerene was pushed the $64,172 pot.
Trickett Benefits from Sunday Grind
Sunday was a relatively slow day on the virtual felt, expect for Sam ��tr1cky7�� Trickett that is. The Brit played seven hours of $50/$100 PLO and walked away a $151,400 winner.
In his biggest win, action was six-handed at a $50/$100 PLO table when Trickett ($27,930.75) opened for $300 from the hijack and received calls from ��Odd_Oddsen�� ($99,041.88) and Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen ($10,035) on the button and big blind respectively. The 8?3?8? flop saw Kyll?nen check, Trickett bet $600, and ��Odd_Oddsen�� raise to $1,700. Kyll?nen folded, Trickett three-bet to $4,700, and ��Odd_Oddsen�� made the call, bringing the 2? on the turn. Both players ended up checking and then Trickett led out for $6,900 on the K? river. ��Odd_Oddsen�� proceeded to put in a raise and Trickett called off his remaining $16,010.75 and tabled 9?9?3?3?. It was good enough to win the $56,287 pot as ��Odd_Oddsen�� revealed 10?10?J?6?.
While that pot was nice, it wasn��t even close to the day��s biggest, which occurred at a $200/$400 PLO table. In that hand, action was heads-up between Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond ($57,397.81) and ��patpatman�� ($47,696.95) when the former opened for $876 and then called a three-bet to $2,788 from the latter. The K?Q?J? flop saw Galfond call a bet of $3,153.69 from ��patpatman,�� and that was followed by the 6? on the turn. ��Patpatman�� led out for $8,800, Galfond raised to $38,441.40, ��patpatman�� moved all in, and Galfond called the additional $3,313.86. The 7? completed the board on the river and ��patpatman�� rolled over A?K?K?4?. Unfortunately for him, it was no good as Galfond showed A?10?2?4? to take down the $95,392 pot.
Blom Continues to Plug Away on PokerStars
It was recently announced that Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom, alongside Tom Dwan, had signed on as a member of ��The Professionals�� to represent the new Full Tilt Poker when it launches in November, but in the meantime, the Swede is busy sharpening his skills on the PokerStars high-stakes tables.
On Tuesday, Blom played a variety of games including triple draw, fixed-limit Omaha 8 (FLO8), and PLO, and walked away a $208,600 winner. Approximately $166,000 of that came at the FLO8 tables against ��FakeLove888�� but his biggest pot occurred at the PLO tables as the clock rolled over to Wednesday.
In that hand, Blom ($64,985) was playing $200/$400 PLO against ��patpatman�� ($73,850.19) when he opened for $1,200 on the button and was met with a three-bet to $2,000 from his opponent. Blom responded with a four-bet to $6,160, ��patpatman�� five-bet $18,640, Blom called, and the flop came down 8?Q?7?. ��Patpatman�� led out for $37,438 and then called when Blom moved all in for $46,345 total.
[U]Showdown[/U] |
Blom: K?K?9?8? |
��patpatman��: A?5?2?A? |
Blom��s kings were behind the aces of ��patpatman,�� and the 4? provided him no help; however, the 9? river did as it gave him two pair and the $129,968 pot.
Even though he won that big pot, Blom actually lost the biggest pot of the day. It happened at a three-handed $200/$400 PLO table when Blom ($94,680.25) raised to $1,440 from the small blind and received a call from Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond ($127,322.99) in the big blind. The A?6?10? flop saw Galfond call a bet of $2,400, and then Blom led out for $6,400 on the J? turn. This time Galfond pushed back with a raise to $21,728.90, Blom called, and the 8? appeared on the river.
Blom wasted little time in leading out for a pot-sized bet of $51,372.80, and then called off his remaining $17,738.54 after Galfond raised. Blom flipped over Q?Q?7?9? for the second-nut flush, but it was no good as Galfond held the K?10?3?3? nut flush, to take the $189,436 pot.
��1Il|1Il|1il|�� vs. Blom: Who Walks Away the $173,000 Winner?
On Wednesday, Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom was back in action and squared off against last week's biggest winner, ��1Il|1Il|1il|��, in $200/$400 PLO. Unfortunately for Blom, he lost back much of the money he won on Tuesday as ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� walked away a $172,700 winner, putting him up over $1.3 million in the last month and a half. Thanks to an earlier winning session, Blom was able to mitigate his losses and ended Wednesday $137,400 in the red.
Here are the dynamic duo��s two biggest pots:
Hand #1: ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� ($72,482) opened for $880 on the button and then called when Blom ($55,998) three-bet to $2,800, bringing about a flop of Q?5?10?. Blom led out for $4,000, ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� raised to $13,600, and Blom three-bet to $46,558. Not to be outdone, ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� four-bet, and Blom called off his remaining $6,640.
Showdown
��1Il|1Il|1il|��: J?5?5?7?
Blom: K?Q?J?9?
Blom held a massive wrap, but he was behind ��1Il|1Il|1il|'s�� flopped set. The Q? turn gave ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� a full house, but Blom tripped up and could still make a bigger boat on the river. Unfortunately for him, it wasn��t in the cards as the 8? peeled off. With that, ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� was pushed the $11,994 pot.
Biggest Weekly PokerStars Winners/Losers
Week��s biggest winners (10/12-10/17): ��Chung ho�� (+$470,209), Vladimir ��GVOZDIKA55�� Shchemelev (+$289,019), ��VietRussian�� (+$233,401), ��LewisFriend�� (+$202,588), ��IFiNishfish�� (+$177,306), ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� (+$170,684), Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene (+$155,282)
Week��s biggest losers: ��patpatman�� (-$465,877), Alex ��Kanu7�� Millar (-$232,703), ��limmouse�� (-$191,409), ��Odd_Oddsen�� (-$182,954), Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky (-$182,382)
Year-to-date winners: Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky (+$2,735,740), Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene (+$2,562,605), Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen (+$2,347,275), Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond (+$2,331,192), ��EireAbu�� (+$2,217,559), ��bernard-bb�� (+$1,732,118)
Year-to-date losers: ��Zypherin�� (-$3,108,535), ��patpatman�� (-$2,442,622), Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom (-$2,400,395), Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies (-$1,174,061), Gus ��broksi�� Hansen (-$1,085,191), Benny ��toweliestar�� Spindler (-$1,031,413)
Data, hands and re-player obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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