The Online Railbird Report: Alex "Kanu7" Millar Wins $271,000 in Week Full of NLHE Action
The World Series of Poker has a tendency to motivate online grinders to get out from behind their computers and test their mettle on poker’s biggest stage. Right now, online starts Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond, Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb and Brian “$tinger 88” Hastings* are just a few of the players who will be absent from the online scene because they are currently playing the WSOP.
*On Thursday, June 7, Hastings won his first WSOP gold bracelet. Read all about it by clicking here.
With such quality players away from the virtual felt, it’s no surprise to see some players stick around and take advantage of the softer games. This week, no one took more advantage than Alex “Kanu7” Millar, who emerged as the biggest winner after banking $271,351 in 7,274 hands spread across 68 sessions.
Other winners include “terryhsu” (+$220,334 in 21 sessions/1,447 hands), Phil “takechip” D’Auteuil (+$130,279 in 29 sessions/4,375 hands) and “wilhasha” (+$128,964 in 113 sessions/15,695 hands).
Consistent winner “patpatman” made an uncharacteristic appearance on the loser’s list, dropping an astounding $450,823 in 4,162 hands across 32 sessions. That was almost four times more than the next biggest loser, Eujong Byun (-$120,162 in 67 sessions/8,029 hands).
Sulsky Grinds Out a $288,000 Win on Thursday
On Thursday, May 31, Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky played 2,184 hands of pot-limit Omaha and walked away with $288,000, enough to make him far and away the day’s biggest winner. Sulsky played both heads-up PLO and $50/$100 PLO, and it was actually at the latter stakes that the biggest pot of the day was played. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a pot that Sulsky won.
It began when “EireAbu” ($34,965.98) opened for $300 in a three-handed game. Sulsky ($34,588.41) made the call from the small blind only to have Alexey “LuckyGump” Makarov ($10,047) three-bet to $1,260 from the big. “EireAbu” made the call and this time it was Sulsky who put in a raise, four-betting to $4,250.
From there, Makarov moved all-in, “EireAbu” called and Sulsky shipped all-in over the top. “EireAbu” made the call and a three-way pot worth $79,221 was at stake.
Showdown
| “EireAbu” | 7♣3♠9♣5♠ |
| Sulsky | A♣A♠J♠2♥ |
| Makarov | Q♠Q♣A♦2♠ |
Even though Sulsky’s aces were the best hand when the money went in, there will still five cards to come that could dramatically change things. The 4♦6♥9♥ flop did just that by giving “EireAbu” a wrap, which he hit on the 3♦ turn, leaving both of his opponents drawing dead headed to the 8♣ river.
In other news, three players lost $100,000-plus on Thursday including “Phisherman36” (-$148,000), “5tgb6yhn7” (-$141,000) and Makarov (-$135,000). Interestingly, “5tgb6yhn7's” loss came in just 168 hands, which averages out to an $839.29 loss per hand.
“Kanu7” Vs. “patpatman” in Weekend Rumble
Last weekend, Alex “Kanu7” Millar and “patpatman” duked it out at the $200/$400 heads-up no-limit hold’em tables. Over the course of two days, the dynamic duo played about 1,200 hands in a combined 3-and-a-half hours. There were some big pots, including the biggest that railbirds have seen in two weeks.
In that hand, “patpatman” ($100,000) opened for $800 only to have Millar ($144,566.10) three-bet to $3,200. “Patpatman” responded by four-betting $9,200, Millar five-bet $23,200, “patpatman” moved all-in and Millar snap-called.
Showdown
| “patpatman” | A♦K♠ |
| Millar | K♥K♣ |
It was no surprise to see two big hands run into one another, but how it ran out was certainly shocking. The 10♦10♣5♦ flop seemed harmless enough, but the J♦ turn made things interesting because it gave “patpatman” a flush draw to any diamond other than the K♦. With $200,000 on the line, the 4♦ spiked on the river to give “patpatman” the flush and the improbable win.
Millar may have lost that one, but he did lay claim to some other significant pots. In one, “patpatman” ($150,465.95) opened for $800 and Millar ($61,548.80) made the call. Both players checked the 9♠2♦J♠ flop, and the turn brought the 10♦. Millar led out for $1,600, which “patpatman” raised to $6,400. Millar made the call and then checked the J♥ river, prompting “patpatman” to bet $12,800. Millar then woke-up with a check-raise all-in for $54,348.80 and “patpatman” called with Q♣8♥ for the turned straight. Unfortunately for him, Millar’s J♦10♣ filled up on the river to steal the $123,096 pot.
In another hand, Millar ($48,644.40) opened for $800 and “patpatman” ($78,239.19) three-bet $2,800. After Millar called, the flop ran out 2♣5♥9♣ and “patpatman” bet $3,358.80. Millar not only called that bet, but called “patpatman’s” bet of $9,200 on the 5♠ turn. The 4♣ river saw “patpatman” ship and Millar quickly called off his remaining $33,485.59. “Patpatman” rolled over A♦A♣, but it was no good as Millar once again hit the river and made a straight with his A♥3♥.
Millar won $318,000 between Saturday and Monday, making him the biggest winner from that period. Predictably, “patpatman” was the biggest loser during that time, down a staggering $383,000.
Winning Day for “wilhasha;” Millar and “patpatman” Back at It
On Tuesday, “wilhasha” played 2,000 hands of heads-up $100/$200 no-limit hold’em against Eujong Byun and emerged victorious to the tune of $135,000. Over the course of five hours, “wilhasha” was on the good end of a couple of coolers.
Cooler #1: In the first, Byun ($29,190.50) opened for $400 and “wilhasha” ($24,936) three-bet to $1,400. The action didn’t stop there as Byun four bet to $3,400, “wilhasha” four bet to $5,400 and Byun moved all-in for $29,190.50. A call was made and the cards were turned up:
Showdown
| “wilhasha” | A♦A♥ |
| Byun | Q♥Q♣ |
It’s always brutal to run a big pocket pair into an even bigger pocket pair, especially in heads-up no-limit hold'em. That’s something Byun experienced firsthand as the board ran out 8♥6♠9♠J♥6♦ and he watched the $49,870 pot head in "wilhasha's" direction.
Cooler #2: The second biggest pot of the match occurred when Byun ($46,612.05) opened for $400, “wilhasha” ($22,892.79) called and the flop fell A♠2♠5♣. From there, “wilhasha” check-raised Byun’s bet of $550 up to $1,973.50 only to have Byun three-bet to $4,500. At that point “Wilhasha” moved all-in for $22,492.79 and Byun made the call.
Showdown
| “wilhasha” | K♠3♠ |
| Byun | A♦5♥ |
Both players flopped big hands, but this time Byun was ahead with top two pair; however, he needed to dodge the straight and flush draws of “wilhasha.” The 6♠ turn gave “wilhasha” the said flush, meaning Byun needed either an ace or five on the river to take back the lead. Much to his dismay, the J♣ blanked and “wilhasha” was pushed the $45,784 pot.
“Wilhasha” went on to finish as the day’s biggest winner while Byun finished as his counterpart on the loser’s list after dropping $130,000. It’s also worth noting that Alex “Kanu7” Millar was a winner on Tuesday winning $97,000, most of which came off of “patpatman.” The two, who had squared off in the aforementioned big game over the weekend, were back at it and even played the day’s biggest pot.
It happened at a heads-up $100/$200 no-limit hold'em table when Millar ($43,678.16) opened for $400 and “patpatman” ($67,625.60) three-bet to $1,400. Millar proceeded to four-bet $3,600, “patpatman” five-bet $8,600 and the Englishman called. Millar then called a bet of $4,400 on the K♦K♥4♠ flop and then watched as “patpatman” bet $5,555 on the 8♦ turn. Millar called once again and then called off his remaining $25,123.15 when “patpatman” shipped on the 3♠ river. “Patpatman” revealed A♥K♣ for trip kings with an ace kicker, but it was second best to his opponent’s 8♥8♠ full house and Millar pocketed the $87,354 pot.
Biggest Weekly PokerStars Winners/Losers
Week’s biggest winners (6/1-6/7): Alex “Kanu7” Millar (+$271,351), “Terryhsu” (+$220,334), Phil “takechip” D’Auteuil (+$130,279), “wilhasha” (+$128,964)
Week’s biggest losers: “patpatman” (-$450,823), Eujong Byun (-$120,162), “Lottenice” (-$87,462)
Year-to-date winners: “EireAbu” (+$2,357,384), Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (+$2,282,259), “bernard-bb” (+$1,364,437), “Phisherman36” (+$1,080,933), Phil “MrSweets” Galfond (+$1,029,005), Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen (+$1,001,433), Niklas “ragen70” Heinecker (+$981,291), Terje “Terken89” Augdal (+$951,678)
Year-to-date losers: “Zypherin” (-$2,532,782), Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (-$1,477,197), “1Il|1Il|1il|” (-$777,183), Benny “toweliestar” Spindler (-$704,534), Gavin “gavz101” Cochrane (-$570,148), “VietRussian” (-$562,061)
Data and hands obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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