The Online Railbird Report: Gus Hansen Loses $1.5 Million in a Day

Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager
7 min read
Gus Hansen

The Online Railbird Report took a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, but we’re back to catch you up on the biggest winners and losers from the past two weeks. There’s been plenty of action on both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, with one of The Professionals, Gus Hansen, losing $1.5 million in one day.

All told, Hansen lost $1,829,404 over 13,111 hands spread across 71 sessions from November 15 to 28, making him far and away the biggest loser. In fact, he dropped four times as much as Rafi “refaelamit” Amit (-$461,949 in 106 sessions/14,757 hands) did over at PokerStars. Other big losers on PokerStars included Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies (-$381,191 in 50 sessions/4,168 hands) and “Odd_Oddsen” (-$355,782 in 285 sessions/19,853 hands). Meanwhile, Andreas "skjervoy" Torbergsen (-$359,342 in 122 sessions/5,966 hands) and Ronny “ronnyr37617” Kaiser (-$290,454 in 21 sessions/1,758 hands) both lost big on FTP.

On the other end, Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky continued adding to his bank account by winning $760,921 in 5,816 hands over 50 sessions on PokerStars, giving him a nearly $1.4 million lead in the race to become the year’s biggest online winner. “1Il|1Il|1il|” (+$464,692 in 443 sessions/28,794 hands) also did well, but the rest of the big winners came from FTP. They included Kyle “KPR16” Ray (+$682,567 in 11 sessions/3,164 hands), Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver (+$442,274 in 17 sessions/3,124 hands), “kagome kagome” (+$358,648 in 20 sessions/2,183 hands), “no_Ola” (+$342,903 in 180 sessions/12,092 hands) and Kyle “cottonseed1” Hendon (+$319,956 in 8 sessions/2,005 hands), to name a few.

Hansen Loses More Than $1.8 Million on Full Tilt Poker

Hansen’s demise began on Friday, Nov.16 when he played 27 consecutive hours on FTP. That included some $1,500/$3,000 2-7 Triple Draw (where he actually won $300K against “O Fortuna PLS” over the course of six hours), $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha, and $2,000/$4,000 fixed-limit Omaha hi/lo (FLO8).

The Online Railbird Report: Gus Hansen Loses .5 Million in a Day 101
Gus Hansen

Hansen played nonstop at the PLO tables and held his own there, but he was decimated in 23 hours of play at the FLO8 tables, losing $1.4 million against the likes of Kyle “cottonseed1” Hendon, “SallyWoo”, and Kyle “KPR16” Ray. This came as a big surprise as the “Great Dane” had been up $5.25 million playing FLO8 over the years. Ray was the biggest beneficiary of Hansen's slide, winning $688K (he went on to finish as the day’s biggest winner with $649.3K in profit), while Hendon and “Sallywoo” won $413K and $292.9K, respectively.

In one of Hansen’s biggest PLO losses, action was four-handed when “patpatpanda” ($192,015), who you may know as “patpatman” over on PokerStars, opened for $1,000 on the button and the “Great Dane” ($99,700.50) called from the small blind. Andreas "skjervoy" Torbergsen ($6,955) came along from the big and three players saw a flop of J73, which everyone checked. Hansen then led out for $2,800 on the Q turn, Torbergsen moved all in for $5,955, “patpatpanda” called, and Hansen three-bet to $29,620. “Patpatpanda” called and then fired out $45,600 when Hansen checked the K river. Hansen made the call, creating a $153,793 pot, but both he and Torbergsen mucked when “patpatpanda” rolled over 2AK10 for the nuts.

While Tuesday dealt a crushing blow to Hansen, it was also unkind to Torbergsen, who lost $296K on FTP and $183K on PokerStars. He lost the aforementioned hand on FTP, and it was also there he lost another big hand, this time at a full six-handed table. It happened when “patpatpanda” ($72,802) opened for $1,000 under the gun and Torbergsen ($136,557) three-bet to $3,600 from the button. “Mimimi” ($7,298) then four-bet all in from the big blind, “patpatpanda” five-bet to $26,694, and Torbergsen called, bringing a 9J4 flop. “Patpatpanda” wasted little time in moving all in for $46,108 and Torbergsen called, creating a pot worth $153,099.

Showdown
“patpatpanda”: J987
Torbergsen: 9863
“mimimi”: AAK7

“Patpatpanda” was ahead with jacks and nines, which improved to a full house on the J turn. The 8 river failed to change a thing and “patpatpanda” took down another massive pot at Torbergsen’s expense.

Sulsky Extends Yearly Lead With Big Scores on Sunday and Monday

The $200/$400 PLO tables were going strong on PokerStars on Sunday, November 18, which is when Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky played 1,600 hands over a 4.5 hours and won a healthy $390,600. Other winners on Sunday included “patpatman” (+$300K) and Ronny “1-ronnyr3” Kaiser (+$295K).

In Sulsky’s largest pot, action was three-handed when “Odd_Oddsen” ($63,443) opened for $828 from the button, Rafi “refaelamit” Amit ($121,749.50) three-bet to $2,400 from the small blind, and Sulsky ($203,960.50) four-bet to $8,268. “Odd_Oddsen” got out of the way, Amit made the call, and the flop came down Q7K. Amit led out for $17,599, Sulsky raised to $70,396, Amit moved all in for $113,481.50 and Sulsky called the additional $43,085.50.

Showdown
Sulsky: KK32
Amit: AKQ4

Amit had flopped top two, but was well behind Sulsky's top set. The 8 turn locked up the $244,327 pot for Sulsky, and Amit was left to rebuy after the 9 was put out on the river.

As if Sunday wasn't kind enough, Sulsky returned on Monday and added another $506.8K to his bankroll, making his two-day total nearly $900K. Those came courtesy of some pretty nice pots, including the following:

Hand #1: Action was six-handed when Ronny “1-ronnyr3” Kaiser ($37,160) opened for $900 under the gun and Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies ($174,600.20) called from the button. Sulsky ($247,005) came along from the big blind and then turned right around and led out for $2,400 on the 42Q flop. Not to be outdone, Kaiser raised to $6,000, both Sahamies and Sulsky called, and the 7 hit the turn. This time Sulsky checked, opening the door for Kaiser to bet $21,375. Sahamies made the call, but then Sulsky fired back with a check-raise to $106,875. Kaiser called off his remaining $8,885, Sahamies called, and the J completed the board on the river. Sulsky immediately moved all in, driving Sahamies out of the hand, and tabled QQ25, which bested Kaiser’s AAJ8 for a pot worth $265,305.

Hand #2: Action was once again six-handed when “patpatman” ($100,430) opened for $1,880 from under the gun and was met with a three-bet to $6,720 by Kaiser ($64,805) on the button. Sulsky ($110,246) called from the big blind, “patpatman” came along, and three players saw the 4K8 flop. Sulsky checked, “patpatman” bet $20,835, and Kaiser got out of the way. Sulsky made the call, and then both players checked the J turn, bringing about the 9 on the river. Sulsky took the initiative and led out for $47,200, which “patpatman” called. Sulsky revealed 10586 for a flush, and it was good enough to win the $156,905 pot as “patpatman” mucked.

“1Il|1Il|1il|” vs. Sahamies

Things were relatively slow over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but at the start of this week, a rivalry between Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies and “1Il|1Il|1il|” brewed. Each player had his winning days, “1Il|1Il|1il|” banking $171K on Sunday and Sahamies $227K on Monday, and the two met in a four-hour, 600-hand session of $200/$400 PLO last Tuesday. When the dust settled, Sahamies had lost $285K and “1Il|1Il|1il|” walked away with $273K, enough to make him the day’s biggest winner.
The dynamic duo battled in three pots of more than $200K, all of which went to “1Il|1Il|1il|”.

Hand #1: “1Il|1Il|1il|” ($144,911) opened for $880 on the button only to have Sahamies ($175,200) three-bet to $2,800 from the big blind. “1Il|1Il|1il|” proceeded to four-bet $8,560 and then called when Sahamies five-bet $25,840. The K5Q flop saw Sahamies check-raise all in after “1Il|1Il|1il|” bet $51,838. “1Il|1Il|1il|” called off his remaining $67,233 and the cards were turned up.

The Online Railbird Report: Gus Hansen Loses .5 Million in a Day 102
Ilari \"Ilari FIN\" Sahamies

Showdown
“1Il|1Il|1il|”: A7108
Sahamies: AKK2

Sahamies was ahead with top set, but “1Il|1Il|1il|” was drawing to the nut flush and a gut shot. The 9 completed the flush, but Sahamies could retake the lead if the board paired on the river. Unfortunately for him, the river blanked and he watched the $289,822 pot get shipped to “1Il|1Il|1il|”.

Hand #2: “1Il|1Il|1il|” ($361,503) raised to $880 on the button and then called when Sahamies ($128,003) three-bet to $2,800. The 1032 flop saw Sahamies check-call a bet of $4,400, and then he checked the 8 turn. From there, “1Il|1Il|1il|” bet $12,400, Sahamies check-raised to $51,758, and “1Il|1Il|1il|” three-bet to $182,232. Sahamies called off his remaining $69,045 and the cards were flipped on their backs.

Showdown
“1Il|1Il|1il|”: 2287
Sahamies: AA97

The 5 peeled off on the river and “1Il|1Il|1il|” took down the $256,004 pot with his set of deuces.

Hand #3: Sahamies ($100,000) opened for $1,360 on the button, “1Il|1Il|1il|” ($289,820) three-bet to $4,240, and the Finn four-bet to $12,880. “1Il|1Il|1il|” called, both players checked the 1056 flop, and the J fell on the turn. “1Il|1Il|1il|” led out for $25,918, Sahamies called, and the 9 river completed the board. “1Il|1Il|1il|” ended up check-calling Sahamies’ all-in shove of $61,202 with AQ10J for two pair, which was good enough to beat the Finn’s AK98. “1Il|1Il|1il|” took down the $200,000 pot.

Biggest Winners/Losers from 11/15-11/28

Week’s biggest winners (11/15-11/28): Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (+$760,921), Kyle “KPR16” Ray* (+$682,567), “1Il|1Il|1il|” (+$464,692), Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver* (+$442,274), “kagome kagome”* (+$358,648), “no_Ola”* (+$342,903), Kyle “cottonseed1” Hendon* (+$319,956), Alex Luneau* (+$286,858)

Week’s biggest losers: Gus Hansen* (-$1,829,404), Rafi “refaelamit” Amit (-$461,949), Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies (-$381,191), Andreas "skjervoy" Torbergsen* (-$359,342), “Odd_Oddsen” (-$355,782), Ronny “ronnyr37617” Kaiser* (-$290,454)

Biggest Year-to-date winners: Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (+$3,841,179), Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen (+$2,497,190), Ben “Ben86” Tollerene (+$2,335,286), “EireAbu” (+$2,176,527), “bernard-bb” (+$1,608,184), Niklas “ragen70” Heinecker (+$1,450,256), Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond (+$1,417,998), “longerpig” (+$1,369,333), Alex “Kanu7” Millar (+$1,360,466)

Biggest Year-to-date losers: “Zypherin” (-$3,552,742), Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (-$2,673,899), Gus Hansen* (-$2,070,064), “patpatman” (-$1,705,713), Gus “broksi” Hansen (-$1,093,446), Benny “toweliestar” Spindler (-$1,000,125), “Fake Love888” (-$991,295), Rui “PepperoniF” Cao (-$977,713)

*Indicates Full Tilt Poker

Data, hands and re-player obtained from HighStakesDB.com

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Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager

PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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