The Online Railbird Report: "Trueteller" vs. "thecortster" for 2-7 Triple Draw Supremacy

Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager

Jan 23, 2015 4 min read

The year is still young, but between Full Tilt and PokerStars, two men are pulling out to early leads at the nosebleed online cash games. Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn is currently 2015's biggest online winner with $729,708 in profit, while Viktor "Isildur1" Blom sits at the opposite end of the spectrum as the year's biggest loser down $425,726.

Kostritsyn got things going last week when he finished as the biggest winner with $447,463 in profit, and he followed that up by winning $264,183 in 1,980 hands spread across 36 sessions from Jan. 15-20. That was enough to make him the biggest winner for the second week in a row, while Blom was the week's biggest loser after dropping $317,812 in 1,587 hands over 16 sessions.

In other news, Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby managed to win $171,129 in 1,706 hands over eight sessions on Full Tilt, but balanced things out by losing $157,644 over on PokerStars. Taking that into account, "LEXER1986" was the week's next biggest winner (+$159,013 in 10 sessions/2,278 hands) on PokerStars, while "Carlooo13" (+$141,446 in 1 sessions/245 hands) took the same honor on Full Tilt.

Joining Blom as losers were Daniel "w00ki3z." Cates (-$213,320 in 28 sessions/1,587 hands) and "ChaoRen160" (-$107,460 in 15 sessions/1,640 hands) on PokerStars, and "Trueteller" (-$168,623 in 6 sessions/1,527 hands) on Full Tilt.

"Trueteller" and "asianflushie" Kick Off Week with Wins

Last weekend, "Trueteller" was busy playing $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw against "Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby over on PokerStars. According to HighStakesDB, Trueteller played nearly 1,300 hands throughout the day, but most of his $180,600 profit — $157,400 to be exact – came off a 199-hand session in the early morning hours in which he took Kibler-Melby for $157,400.

It was also over the weekend that "asianflushie" took Daniel "w00ki3z." Cates for $97,000 after playing $50/$100 no-limit hold'em for three hours. Here's a look at three notable hands from their match.

Hand #1: "asianflushie" ($55,185.75) raised to $200 on the button and then called when Cates ($14,524.50) three-bet to $800 from the big blind. The 5♣J♥3♣ flop saw Cates bet $1,100, "asianflushie" raise to $2,750, and Cates call to see the 9♣ turn. Cates checked, "asianflushie" bet $2,850, and Cates called before checking for a second time on the 3♥ river. A big bet followed from "asianflushie," and Cates called off his last $8,224.50 holding the A♠A♥ for two pair. Unfortunately for him, "asianflushie" rolled over the A♣J♣ to lay claim to the $29,249 pot with a flush.

Hand #2: "asianflushie" ($12,984.50) opened for $250 and then called when Cates ($50,036.50) three-bet to $900. The 10♠9♠Q♣ flop saw "asianflushie" call a bet of $1,200 from Cates, and then he called one of $2,800 on the 4♥ turn. When the A♠ completed the board on the river, Cates bet $9,798 and "asianflushie" wasted little time in calling off his last $8,084.50. Cates tabled the J♥4♠ for a missed straight draw with a pair of fours, which was second best to "asianflushie's" Q♥9♣ two pair. Ship the $25,969 pot to "asianflushie."

Hand #3:

It's also worth noting that Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn won $74,400, the vast majority of which came from 30 minutes of $400/$800 8-game against Mikael "punting-peddler" Thuritz. After winning $63,300 the day before, that brought Kostritsyn's two-day total up $137,000.

Kibler-Melby Gets Some Back in Sunday Action; Good Day for "Carlooo13"

On Sunday, Jan. 18, "Trueteller" and Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby were back at PokerStars' $2,000/$4,000 2-7 triple draw table, and this time Kibler-Melby walked away the winner banking $182,800 in nearly five hours of play.

Meanwhile, "Carlooo13" finished as the second-biggest winner of the day with $141,400, which came from playing Viktor "Isildur1" Blom at the Full Tilt Poker $2,000/$4,000 fixed-limit Omaha hi/lo tables for 245 hands over 70 minutes.

Finally, Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn booked another winning session after profiting $112,200 at the $400/$800 8-game tables on PokerStars. About half came from two heads-up matches against Blom, while the rest came from six-handed games.

Kibler-Melby Continues to Roll

On Monday, Jan 19, the Kibler-Melby/"Trueteller" 2-7 triple draw battle spilled over into a third day. The duo once again played at the $2,000/$4,000 tables, and for the second day in a row Kibler-Melby walked away the winner, this time banking $147,800. The two played 267 hands over two and a half hours, and "Trueteller" actually pulled out to an early $80,000 lead. From there, Kibler-Melby hit a heater and pulled out to a $190,000 lead of his own, though by the time the match came to an end "Trueteller" had won back $40,000.

It was also on Monday that "LEXER1986" won $55,500 playing $50/$100 pot-limit Omaha against "AckmaJin" for three and a half hours. Here's a look at the biggest hand from that match:

Biggest Winners/Losers from Jan. 15-20

Winners	Profit	Losers	Loss
Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn	$264,183	Viktor "Isildur1" Blom	$317,812
Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby	$171,129	Daniel "w00ki3z." Cates	$213,320
"LEXER1986"	$159,013	"Trueteller"	$168,623
"Carlooo13"	$141,446	Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby	$157,644
"Patriktortonius"	$112,088	"ChaoRen160"	$107,460
Rami "arabianight" Boukai	$109,721	"bajskorven87"	$101,586

Year's Biggest Winners/Losers

Winners	Profit	Losers	Loss
Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn	$729,708	Viktor "Isildur1" Blom	$425,726
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies	$303,574	"CoeJassidy"	$255,450
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky	$300,079	Phil "Polarizing" Ivey	$167,853
"Faith#1Virtu"	$276,515	Ami "UhhMee" Barer	$36,025
"Patriktortonius"	$268,520	Mikael "punting-peddler" Thuritz	$28,148
"EireAbu"	$250,431	"ajve_xx"	$19,956