The Online Railbird Report: Phil "Polarizing" Ivey Drops $945K; Galfond Wins & More

Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager
4 min read
Phil "Polarizing" Ivey

There was plenty of high-stakes action on Full Tilt Poker this week, and it resulted in four of the biggest names in poker each losing six figures.

The biggest loser (we can’t say that often) turned out to be Phil “Polarizing” Ivey, who lost $945,412 in 7,982 hands over 71 sessions playing primarily 2-7 triple draw and pot-limit Omaha. Then came Dan “jungleman12” Cates, who saw his yearly lead drop by $765,480 over 2,727 hands in 28 sessions. Likewise, both Gus Hansen (-$465,366 in 119 sessions/15,064 hands) and Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (-$268,427 in 140 sessions/14,162 hands) finished in the red.

The week’s biggest winner was Niklas "ragen70" Heinecker, who has opted out of having his long-term results being tracked. Heinecker is up $973,498 in 7,360 hands this week. The next biggest winner was “samrostan,” who profited $464,096 in 8,190 hands over 76 sessions. Additionally, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond righted the ship from last week by winning $268,184 in 6,490 hands over 50 sessions, while Elior “Crazy Elior” Sion ($160,996 in 28 sessions/4,991 hands) and Jens “Ingenious89” Kyllönen ($127,322 in 30 sessions/1,135 hands) also booked solid wins.

Galfond Finishes Out Last Week Strong; Some $300/$600 NLHE Action

On Thursday, March 27, Galfond topped the daily leaderboard for the second day in a row. Galfond started his early-morning sessions winning $597,000 at the 2-7 triple draw tables, but he ended up giving $339,000 of it back a little later on. Even so, he still finished the day $318,200 in the black.

Thursday also saw some $300/$600 no-limit hold’em spread, which saw both “Denoking” and “Trueteller” clean up to the tune of $174,600 and $157,500, respectively. Not surprisingly, the duo took down the two biggest pots of the day. Have a look.

Hand #1: Six players were at the table when action folded to “Rhje” ($186,060.30)) on the button. He promptly raised to $1,200, which “Denoking” ($116,090.30) three-bet to $4,800 from the small blind. Not to be outdone, “Rhje” four-bet to $13,200, “Denoking” five-bet to $28,400, and then “Rhje” moved all in. “Denoking” called off and the two agreed to run it twice.

“Denoking”: AA
“Rhje”: QQ

The KJ10 flop on the first run gave “Rhje” an open-ended straight draw, but of course “Denoking” killed two of his outs. Neither the 7 turn nor 5 river ended up completing it, and “Denoking” locked up half the pot.

The 596 flop on the second run wasn’t nearly as kind to “Rhje,” and the J turn meant he needed a lady on the river. That didn’t happen as the 6 blanked and “Denoking” scooped the $233,378 pot.

Hand #2: Action was once again six handed when “MalACEsia” ($237,614.85) opened for $1,200 from the hijack and was met by a three-bet to $4,200 from “Trueteller” (94,710.30) in the cutoff. Alex “IReadYrSoul” Millar called from the small blind, the big folded, and “MalACEsia” responded by four-betting to $16,000. “Trueteller” five-bet to $28,800, Millar folded, and “MalACEsia” moved all in. “Trueteller” called off and the cards were turned up.

“MalACEsia”: AK
“Trueteller”: KK

“Trueteller” was looking to dodge an ace to win the $194,218, which is exactly what he did when the board ran out a dry 6J793.

Luneau’s Turn to Dominate 2-7

The $2,000/$4,000 2-7 triple draw games from Thursday ran straight into Friday, which is when Alex “Alexonmoon” Luneau cleaned up and finished atop the daily leader board with $529,900 in profit. That said, a couple others did quite well for themselves too including Niklas “ragen70” Heinecker ($214,100) and Sebastian “taktloss47” Ruthenberg ($161,600).

Niklas "ragen70" Heinecker On a Rush

Earlier this week we told you how 2013’s biggest online winner, Germany's Heinecker, won $754,750 in a 48-hour period playing $2,000/$4,000 2-7 triple draw tables. He actually managed to push that closer to $1.4 million in three days as he was down $388,830 on March 30 and then up $976,580 on April 2.

We won’t go into the details as you can read all about it in our dedicated article. As you can see, Heinecker’s graph from the week was quite impressive. Check it out:

The Online Railbird Report: Phil "Polarizing" Ivey Drops 5K; Galfond Wins & More 101

Three Big Winners in Tuesday PLO Action

On Tuesday, April 1, The pot-limit Omaha tables were going strong and saw several players emerge as six-figure winners including Hac “trex313” Dang (+$255,500), Jens “Ingenious89” Kyllönen (+$131,700), and Ola “no_Ola” Amundsgard (+$134,700).

Have a look at the biggest pot of the day:


In the second-biggest pot of the day, which actually took place at a $400/$800 NLHE table, action was heads up between “Sanlker” ($151,547.50) and Viktor “Isildur1” Blom ($128,143.40) when the former opened for $2,400 and the latter three-bet to $8,000. “Sanlker” responded by four-betting to $19,200, Blom called, and the flop came down J48.

Blom check-called a bet of $13,500, the 9 turned, and Blom checked for a second time. “Sanlker” bet $24,000, Blom called, and the 8 completed the board on the river. The Swede checked for a third and final time and ended up folding when “Sanlker” moved all in for $94,847.50. Ship the $113,700 pot to “Sanlker.”

Bonus Hand of the Week

On Thursday, April 3, “Kagome Kagome” finished as the day’s biggest winner after banking $369,300 at the 2-7 triple draw tables; however, the day’s biggest pot came from a $300/$600 NLHE table between “Denoking” and Isaac “luvtheWNBA” Haxton. Have a look:


Biggest Winners/Losers (Full Tilt Poker)

Week's Biggest Winners (3/27-4/3): Niklas "ragen70" Heinecker (+$973,498), “samrostan” (+$464,096), Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (+$268,184), Elior “Crazy Elior” Sion (+$160,996), Jens “Ingenious89” Kyllönen (+$127,322)

Week's Biggest Losers (3/27-4/3): Phil “Polarizing” Ivey (-$945,412), Dan “jungleman12” Cates (-$765,480), Gus Hansen (-$465,366), Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (-$268,427)

Year's Biggest Winners: Dan "jungleman12" Cates (+$858,687), Doug "WCGRider" Polk (+$760,028), “mikki696" (+$549,000), "Tight-Man1" (+$462,119), Elior “Crazy Elior” Sion* (+$379,135), Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (+$356,559)

Year's Biggest Losers: Gus Hansen (-$2,784,306), Phil “Polarizing” Ivey (-$1,069,783), Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (-$874,640), Patrik "FinddaGrind" Antonius (-$587,759), Alex "IReadYrSoul" Millar (-$548,707), “samrostan” (-$476,595)

*Denotes PokerStars

Data, hands and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com

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Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager

PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, host of both the PokerNews Podcast & MPST Podcast Presented By PokerNews, and 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

In this Series

1 The Online Railbird Report: Gus Hansen Suffers $1.4 Million Downswing to Close 20122 The Online Railbird Report: Viktor "Isildur1" Blom Profits $4 Million in Eight Days3 The Online Railbird Report: Galfond & Blom Experience Million-Dollar Swings4 The Online Railbird Report: Kyle “KPR16” Ray Biggest Winner of Week; Robl Drops $357K5 The Online Railbird Report: Alex Kostritsyn Wins $1.2 Million; Gus Hansen Drops $376K6 The Online Railbird Report: Shchemelev Wins $406K; Blom Week's Biggest Loser & Much More7 The Online Railbird Report: Dwan Wins Over $2 Million in Six Days8 The Online Railbird Report: Antonius Extends Lead Against Cao in $1 Million Challenge9 The Online Railbird Report: Kostritsyn Wins $1.1 Million, Ivey Up & More10 The Online Railbird Report: Ben Tollerene and Viktor Blom Win $1 Million in 48 Hours11 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Becomes 2013's Biggest Winner; Ivey Week's Big Loser12 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Over $4 Million for 2013; Huge Week for Hendon13 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Drops $661,949 in Slow Week; $100K PLO Showdown?14 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Wins $1.7 Million from Tollerene in Just Six Hours15 The Online Railbird Report: Tollerene & Haxton Win Big; Blom Drops $1,474,62916 The Online Railbird Report: The Professionals Duke it Out on FTP17 The Online Railbird Report: “jama-dharma” Takes Blom for $786,971 in Limit Hold’em18 The Online Railbird Report: Dwan and Sulsky Win $1M+; Blom's Massive Swings Continue19 The Online Railbird Report: The Professionals Dominate with $1.5M Wins20 The Online Railbird Report: Tollerene & Dang Win $1.4M & $1.2M, Respectively21 The Return of the Online Railbird Report: Six Weeks of High-Stakes Action22 The Online Railbird Report: Viktor "Isildur1" Blom Takes a $1.4 Million Hit23 The Online Railbird Report: Viktor "Isildur1" Blom No Longer the Year's Biggest Winner24 The Online Railbird Report: Phil Ivey Is Week's Biggest Loser, Durrrr Challenge & More25 The Online Railbird Report: "Rhje" Wins Over a Million, Blom/Hansen to Ireland & More26 The Online Railbird Report: Tollerene Week's Biggest Winner; Haxton Drops a Million27 The Online Railbird Report: Heinecker Up $2 Million, Millar Crushes Blom in 10 Minutes28 The Online Railbird Report: Somebody Better “Call_911” as Blom Drops a Million29 The Online Railbird Report: Viktor "Isildur1" Blom & Alex “IReadYrSoul” Millar Win Big30 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Loses $1.3 Million; Haxton Week's Biggest Winner31 The Online Railbird Report: Heinecker Week's Biggest Winner; Polk vs. Sulsky Update32 The Online Railbird Report: Phil Ivey Week's Biggest Winner; Polk vs. Sulsky Update33 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Gets Back on Track; Polk Continues to Dominate Sulsky34 The Online Railbird Report: Viktor Blom Wins Again, Phil Ivey Has a Setback, and More35 The Online Railbird Report: "SallyWoo" Week's Biggest Winner; Tollerene Leads in 201336 The Online Railbird Report: Viktor Blom Up $2 Million37 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Wins $1.3 Million in a Day; Hansen's Fall Continues38 Online Railbird Report: Heinecker Tops Yearly Leader Board; Hansen Loses $1.2 Million39 The Online Railbird Report: Rui Cao Week's Biggest Winner; Heinecker Continues to Roll40 The Online Railbird Report: Heinecker Biggest Winner for Third Week in a Row41 The Online Railbird Report: Heinecker, Blom & Hansen Experience Million-Dollar Swings42 The Online Railbird Report: Antonius & Heinecker Fly High; Cates Fires Off in Chat43 The Online Railbird Report: “samrostan” Wins $912,000; Galfond Drops $620,00044 The Online Railbird Report: "mikki696" Jumps Out to Early Lead in 201445 The Online Railbird Report: Viktor "Isildur1" Blom Wins $800K in Three Days46 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Fuels Action on Way to Top of 2014 Leaderboard47 The Online Railbird Report: Kyle "KPR16" Ray Rebounds; Viktor Blom Wins Again48 The Online Railbird Report: Blom and Polk Continue to Battle Online at Aussie Millions49 The Online Railbird Report: Viktor "Isildur1" Blom Returns to Top of Weekly Leaderboard50 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Week's Biggest Loser Upon Return to Nosebleeds51 The Online Railbird Report: Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Cleans Up on PokerStars52 The Online Railbird Report: Rare Winning Week for Hansen; Tollerene Extends 2014 Lead53 The Online Railbird Report: Dan Cates Wins $1.18 Million; Tollerene Opts Out54 The Online Railbird Report: Galfond and Cates Lose $1.1 Million Each; Blom Capitalizes55 The Online Railbird Report: Hansen Loses a Million; Amundsgard & Cates Finish on Top56 The Online Railbird Report: Phil "Polarizing" Ivey Drops $945K; Galfond Wins & More57 The Online Railbird Report: Niki [Removed:552] Wins $1.1 Million in Return to Full Tilt Poker58 The Online Railbird Report: "Trueteller," [Removed:552], & Antonius Win Big; Ivey Does Not59 The Online Railbird Report: Antonius Week's Biggest Winner, Ivey Loses Again & More60 The Online Railbird Report: Antonius Wins Again, Two Mystery Players Revealed & More61 The Online Railbird Report: Ivey, Galfond, and Hansen All Grace the Loser's List62 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Drops Nearly a Million; Ivey Rebounds & Much More63 The Online Railbird Report: Kostritsyn Wins Big, Hansen Punts, and Dwan Eats Crawfish64 The Online Railbird Report: Winners & Losers of the Summer's High-Stakes Action65 The Online Railbird Report: "Sanlker" Steamrolls His Way to Massive $1.4 Million Win66 The Online Railbird Report: Alex Luneau Wins $1.1 Million; Viktor Blom Drops $976K67 The Online Railbird Report: Mikael “punting-peddler” Thuritz Biggest Winner with $491K68 The Online Railbird Report: Ruthenberg and Blom Win Big; Hansen's Bad Year Continues69 The Online Railbird Report: Antonius, Cates and Thuritz Pulling Away on 2014 Leaderboard70 The Online Railbird Report: Gus Hansen's Disastrous Year Continues71 The Online Railbird Report: Ike Haxton Wins Big; Doug Polk & "Denoking" Feud, and More72 The Online Railbird Report: Polk & "Denoking" Keep Things Interesting During Slow Week73 The Online Railbird Report: Heinecker Returns with a $275,000 Win74 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Drives Action While Kostritsyn Wins On PokerStars75 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Continues to Drive Action; Kostritsyn Big Winner76 The Online Railbird Report: Blom Week's Biggest Winner Despite Losing Sponsorship77 The Online Railbird Report: What's Happened to the High-Stakes Online Action?78 The Online Railbird Report: Phil Ivey Second-Biggest Winner with $472,000 Win79 The Online Railbird Report: Phil Ivey Follows Up Last Week's Big Win by Dropping $357K80 The Online Railbird Report: Phil Ivey Rebounds with $387,000 Win and More81 The Online Railbird Report: Sanlker and Kibler-Melby Battle; Ivey Wins, and More82 The Online Railbird Report: Kibler-Melby Wins Big, Ivey vs. Thuritz, and More83 The Online Railbird Report: Dan Cates Primed to Finish as 2014's Biggest Winner

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