The Online Railbird Report: Sahamies Wins $803,000; Sulsky Takes Million-Dollar Lead
There was some big action on the PokerStars high-stakes cash-game tables this week as Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies and Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky both won big. Sahamies won an remarkable $803,468, making him far and away the week’s biggest winner, and Sulsky banked $576,291, taking a million-dollar lead in the race to become the year’s biggest online winner against Ben “Ben86” Tollerene.
Sahamies’ success came from 5,276 hands spread across 67 sessions and Sulsky played 5,054 hands over 54 sessions. Other big winners included Sam “tr1cky7” Trickett (+$433,546 in 88 sessions/5,342 hands), “The Liar” (+$257,823 in 236 sessions/11,222 hands), and Andreas “Skjervøy” Torbergsen (+$213,047 in 259 sessions/16,237 hands).
“Fake Love888” was the week’s biggest loser after dropping $562,769 in 3,516 hands over 51 sessions, while ens “Jeans89” Kyllönen (-$425,216 in 89 sessions/3,420 hands), Terje “Terken89” Augdal (-$392,215 in 82 sessions/1,539 hands), Tollerene (-$302,781 in 145 sessions/5,610 hands) and “patpatman” (-$284,002 in 96 sessions/7,775 hands) rounded out the top five in the losing column.
Torbergsen Books a Thursday Win
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Andreas “Skjervøy” Torbergsen in any significant action, but he was back on Thursday, Oct. 18, when he played 5,000 hands at both $25/$50 and $50/$100 pot-limit Omaha. After nine hours, Torbergsen logged off up $162,500 — enough to make him the day’s biggest winner.
In his biggest pot, which took place at a heads-up $50/$100 PLO table, “VietRussian” ($18,911.63) opened for $218 on the button and was met with a three-bet to $654 by Torbergsen ($31,247.36). “VietRussian” responded with a four-bet to $1,962 and Torbergsen called before checking the 8♠2♥7♠ flop. “VietRussian” took the opportunity to bet $2,235.53, and then moved all in for $16,949.63 after Torbergsen check-raised to $10,628.59. A call was made and the cards turned up:
| [U]Showdown[/U] |
| “VietRussian”: J♣3♣10♠9♠ |
| Torbergsen: K♣6♣A♠2♠ |
“VietRussian” flopped a wrap with a straight-flush draw, while Torbergsen was drawing to the ace-high flush. The 5♠ turn gave Tobergsen the lead, and the 4♥ on the river meant he would take the $37,821 pot.
It was also on Thursday that “Fake Love888,” dropped $263,000 playing fixed-limit Omaha hi/lo (FLO8) and 2-7 triple draw, of which, $149,200 went to Viktor “Isildur1” Blom.
Sulsky Extends 2012 Lead to Over a Million
In recent weeks, Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky has been in a tight race with Ben “Ben86” Tollerene for the biggest winner of 2012 on PokerStars. This week, Sulsky opened things up and brought his total to $3,312,031, which is million-dollar lead over Tollerene’s $2,259,824.
Sulsky was able to do so thanks in part to a $279,000 win on Saturday that he won playing $50/$100 PLO against Andreas “Skjervøy” Torbergsen, “The Liar,” Gabriel “verve.oasis” Goffi, Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond and Viktor “Isildur1” Blom.
In Sulsky’s biggest win, action was six-handed when Sulsky ($34,434) opened for $470 from the hijack and Torbergsen ($29,482) three-bet to $1,680 from the cutoff. From there, “The Liar” ($8,482) called from the small blind, Sulsky four-bet to $7,410, and Torbergsen five-bet to $24,400. “The Liar” called off his stack, Sulsky six-bet, and Torbergsen called off his remaining $5,082, creating a pot worth $67,601.
| [U]Showdown[/U] |
| “The Liar”: J♣5♣10♥9♥ |
| Torbergsen: A♦A♥5♥2♣ |
| Sulsky: K♥K♣J♥4♣ |
Everyone had a little something, but Sulsky took down the pot with a king-high straight after the board ran out 6♥Q♦9♣10♦8♥.
In the biggest pot of the day, which took place after Sulsky had left the table, action was five-handed when Blom ($44,912.40) opened for $600 under the gun and cleared the field all the way to Jared “Harrington10” Bleznick ($41,599.59), who three-bet to $2,000 from the big blind. Blom made the call and then raised to $8,600 when Bleznick led out on the 4♥2♣J♣ flop. The latter proceeded to three-bet to $30,095, and then called off his last $9,504.60 when Blom four-bet to $42,912.40.
| [U]Showdown[/U] |
| Bleznick: K♣K♠8♠4♣ |
| Blom: J♠J♦3♦Q♠ |
Blom got it in good with top set, but Bleznick was drawing to clubs. The 5♣ turn filled Bleznick’s draw, and after the 3♥ failed to pair the board, so Bleznick was pushed the $83,414 pot.
As if Sulsky's $279,000 win wasn’t big enough on Saturday, he followed it up with a $344,000 win playing $200/$400 PLO on Sunday courtesy of Blom. In the most notable hand between the two, action was four-handed when Sulsky ($83,860.19) opened for $1,200 on the button and Blom ($58,156.48) three-bet to $4,320 from the small blind. The big blind got out of the way, Sulsky called, and they were heads-up to the J♠4♦3♦ flop. Blom led out for $6,400, Sulsky raised to $28,555, and Blom moved all in for $53,836.48. Sulsky made the call, the 4♣ turn and 6♠ river completed the board, and Blom rolled over J♣J♥Q♣3♥ for jacks full of fours; however, it was no good as Sulsky revealed 4♠4♥6♥7♠ for quad fours to take the $116,868 pot.
Sahamies Wins a Over a Million Dollars in 48 Hours
Between Monday and early Wednesday morning, Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies banked an astounding $1,030,543. About 20 percent of that came on Monday when he played $50/$100 and $100/$200 PLO. In his biggest hand from that session, action was heads-up when “Gozoboro” ($33,808) opened for $250 and was met with a three-bet to $750 from Sahamies ($26,920). “Gozoboro” four-bet to $1,250 and then called when Sahamies five-bet to $3,750, bringing about a flop of 9♥5♦3♠. “Gozoboro” ended up calling a bet of $7,498, and then bet $22,494 when Sahamies checked the 4♦ turn. Sahamies called off his last $15,672, creating a pot of $53,838, and the J♥ river completed the board. “Gozoboro” turned over Q♠A♥6♥4♠, but it was no good against Sahamies' 6♦8♥7♣J♦.
On Tuesday, Sahamies returned to action, this time winning $662,000 playing $200/$400 PLO before adding another $187,000 in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The huge win helped Sahamies dig out of his $1.4 million hole for 2012, and conjured images of a late-year comeback like he experienced in 2011.
On his way to such a huge win, Sahamies ran over Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen and “patpatman,” who lost $414,000 and $321,200 respectively. Others in the losing column included Terje “Terken89” Augdal (-$300,000) and Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (-$193,000); meanwhile, Sam “tr1cky7” Trickett (+$250,000) and Andreas “Skjervøy” Torbergsen (+$183,600) both profited on the day.
Needless to say, there were some big pots throughout Sahamies’ incredible run. Here’s a look at his top three:
Hand #1: Play was four-handed when action folded to “patpatman” ($102,879.21) in the small blind and he opened for $1,200. Sahamies ($375,491.79) responded with a three-bet to $3,920 from the big blind and then called when “patpatman” four bet to $12,080. The 9♥6♥10♣ flop saw “patpatman” check, Sahamies bet $9,200, and “patpatman” check-raise to $52,075. Sahamies then three-bet to $180,700 and “patpatman” called off his remaining $38,724.20, creating a $205,913 pot.
| [U]Showdown[/U] |
| Sahamies: K♥10♥5♥9♣ |
| “patpatman”: J♦10♦9♠3♠ |
Both players had flopped top two pair, but the J♠ turn gave “patpatman” the lead with an even bigger two pair. Fortunately for Sahamies, the 8♥ peeled off on the river to give him the flush and the win.
Hand #2: Action was three-handed when Sahamies ($86,560) opened for $1,640 on the button and then called when “patpatman” ($98,385) three-bet to $5,360 from the big blind. The 5♦3♥2♦ flop saw “patpatman” check, Sahamies bet $4,400, and “patpatman” check-raise to $18,000. Not to be outdone, Sahamies three-bet to $65,155, and then called off his last $16,045 when “patpatman” four bet to $93,025.
| [U]Showdown[/U] |
| Sahamies: A♦8♦Q♥9♠ |
| “patpatman”: A♣J♣K♦4♠ |
“Patpatman” had flopped the wheel, but he needed to dodge Sahamies’ diamond draw. He did it on the 9♣ turn, but not on the J♦ river. Sahamies hit the nuts and took down the $173,395 pot.
Biggest Weekly PokerStars Winners/Losers
Week’s biggest winners (10/18-10/24): Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies (+$803,468), Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (+$576,291), Sam “tr1cky7” Trickett (+$433,546), “The Liar” (+$257,823), Andreas “Skjervøy” Torbergsen (+$213,047)
Week’s biggest losers: “Fake Love888” (-$562,769), Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen (-$425,216), Terje “Terken89” Augdal (-$392,215), Ben “Ben86” Tollerene (-$302,781), “patpatman” (-$284,002), Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond (-$213,805)
Year-to-date winners: Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (+$3,312,031), Ben “Ben86” Tollerene (+$2,259,824), “EireAbu” (+$2,178,923), Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond (+$2,117,386), Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen (+$1,922,058), “bernard-bb” (+$1,627,156)
Year-to-date losers: “Zypherin” (-$3,202,084), “patpatman” (-$2,726,625), Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (-$2,476,594), Gus “broksi” Hansen (-$1,085,191), Benny “toweliestar” Spindler (-$1,012,435)
Data, hands and re-player obtained from HighStakesDB.com
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook now!
All promotions are subject to local jurisdictions
