The Online Railbird Report: Galfond and Blom Drive Action; Elior Sion Biggest Winner
It's inevitable that things slow down at the high-stakes cash games whenever an event like a European Poker Tour kicks off. That was certainly the case this week as the EPT Malta got underway. Phil Ivey, who was last week's biggest loser, was nowhere to be found (online nor in Malta), and the year's biggest winner, Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies, only made a brief appearance on the virtual felt.
Even so, there was enough action on both Full Tilt and PokerStars to keep the railbirds satisfied.
Both Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, who lost $174,669 last week, and Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, who won $205,449 last week, were in action. Interestingly, Blom finished as the week's biggest loser after dropping $203,353 in 1,209 hands over seven sessions on FTP, though he mitigated that quite a bit by winning $95,889 in 1,673 hands over 18 sessions.
As for the week's biggest winner, that was Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion. He topped the weekly leaderboard with $172,451 in profit, which came from 1,756 hands over four sessions on PokerStars.
Galfond, Kibler-Melby, and Luneau Win in Friday Foray
On Friday, March 13, Galfond and "Sanlker" squared off at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables on Full Tilt. It started late at night when Galfond won $134,400 in just an hour, and after a break lasting mere minutes, the two returned for nearly four more hours of action.
It was a back-and-forth affair, but neither player developed much of a lead. After 368 hands, Galfond finished a $25,400 winner to end the day with $159,800. That topped the daily leaderboard.
Meanwhile, HighStakesDB also reported that Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby was a winner on Friday, banking $130,100 playing various stakes of 2-7 triple draw on Full Tilt. Nearly half of his profit came off Blom, while the rest came from just 31 hands and 20 minutes at the $2,000/$4,000 stakes against "Trueteller."
Finally, Alexandre "BiatchPeople" Luneau finished as PokerStars' biggest winner on Friday with $66,100 in profit. Nearly all of that came during a midday 90-minute session against Rami "arbianight" Boukai at the $500/$1,000 2-7 triple draw tables.
Galfond Keeps the Ball Rolling
On Saturday, March 14, Galfond topped the daily leaderboard for the second day in a row. His $318,300 in profit came at Full Tilt's $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables, and it started with a heads-up match against Alexander "PostflopAction" Kostritsyn. The duo played for eight hours, and while it was an even affair most of the 956-hand match, Galfond hit a late heater to win $163,100. Later in the evening, Kostritsyn managed to win back a paltry $3,000 in a 90-minute session.
From there, Galfond went on to play against Blom for three hours. Again, things came up rosy for Galfond, who won $158,200. Despite losing that match, Blom turned a profit on Saturday. That's because he won $161,600 on PokerStars. Of that, $39,400 came off Kibler-Melby at the $500/$1,000 2-7 triple draw tables, while the rest came playing both $100/$200 and $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha.
Speaking of that game, which included Sahamies, Ola "Odd_Oddsen" Amundsgard, and Ben "Ben86" Tollerene, that is where the day's biggest pot took place. Have a look:
Galfond Gives Some Back as Kostritsyn Hits an Upswing
After finishing as the biggest winner on both Friday and Saturday, Galfond lost nearly half of what he was up to Kostritsyn on Sunday, March 15. In an early-evening match that lasted five hours, the Russian exacted revenge to the tune of $281,000. Toss in a $62,000 win on PokerStars, and Kostritsyn won over $340,000 to top the daily leaderboard.
A day later, Kostritsyn was back in action, albeit on PokerStars under his "joiso" moniker. The Russian, like many others, flocked to the site after Gus "broksi" Hansen, online poker's all-time biggest loser, returned to the virtual felt for the first time all year. Interestingly, Hansen won on Monday, though it was a mediocre $19,000.
As for Kostritsyn, he was in it for the long haul as he played 1,858 hands over more than 11 hours. The Russian squared off against a who's who of poker pros, and his best showing was $97,200 in 217 hands over three and a half hours at the $500/$1,000 2-7 triple draw tables. Some other wins took Kostritsyn up to $205,100, which made him the day's biggest winner for the second day in a row.
Sion Finishes as Tuesday's Biggest Winner
On Tuesday, March 17, Sion was busy at the $500/$1,000 and $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables on PokerStars. That is where he won $157,300, enough to make him the day's biggest winner.
Elior kicked things off playing 706 hands over nearly four hours against Kibler-Melby. The latter player pulled out to an early lead, but then Sion hit a two-hour heater. All told Sion won $125,700 in the match, while the rest of his profit came off Luneau in 70 minutes at the $500/$1,000 stakes.
A day later, Sion added to his profit by winning $141,400 playing $1,000/$2,000 8-game against Daniel "jungleman12" Cates on Full Tilt. Here's a look at a few notables hands from the match.
Hand #1: In a round of $200/$400 no-limit hold'em, Sion ($85,039.50) raised to $800 on the button and Cates ($40,000) three-bet to $3,200. Sion pushed back with a four-bet to $9,200 and then called when Cates five-bet jammed.
Cates: K♣J♦
Sion: J♥J♠
The two agreed to run it twice, and Cates got lucky on the river after the first run out of 6♣4♥4♠2♠K♠. Fortunately for Sion, his fishhooks held on the second one after the board ran out 5♦A♦3♠3♥Q♣. With that, the two chopped the $80,000 pot.
Hand #2: In a round of $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha, Sion ($25,665.10) raised to $800 and then called when Cates ($107,814.55) three-bet to $2,400, which brought about a flop of 8♥4♦9♦. Cates bet $2,800, Sion raised to $13,200, and Cates made it $44,400 to go. Sion only had $10,065.10 back and wasted little time in calling it off.
Cates: A♠A♦6♦6♣
Sion: 8♣10♠Q♥4♥
Cates held aces with a flush draw, while Sion had flopped two pair with a gutshot. Again the two agreed to run it twice, and Cates secured half the pot after the 9♣ turn appeared on the turn followed by the 3♦ river on the first run. The 5♥ turn and 2♠ river on the second allowed Sion's two pair to hold, meaning the two chopped the $51,330.20 pot.
Hand #3:
Biggest Winners/Losers from March 11-18
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $172,451 |
 Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $203,353 | |
|
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $95,889 |
"Sanlker" | $77,380 | |
|
Ike Haxton | $94,457 |
"SmitjeSmee" | $28,676 | |
|
"flong78" | $72,737 |
"bonuuz929" | $21,820 |
Year's Biggest Winners/Losers
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies | $938,927 |
Phil "Polarizing" Ivey | $1,513,973 | |
|
"JayP-AA" | $$873,150 |
"Sanlker" | $598,888 | |
|
"bbvisbadforme" | $658,604 |
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $568,711 | |
|
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $434,890 |
"Patriktortonius" | $317,274 | |
|
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky | $257,642 |
"CoeJassidy" | $255,450 |
Data, hands, and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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