The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Week's Biggest Loser for Third Time in Four Weeks

Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager

Mar 13, 2015 4 min read

It's been an interesting year for Phil Ivey. In early February, he won the Aussie Millions LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge for the third time in four years (did you know those three scores were the biggest of his career?), and now he's finished as online poker's biggest loser for the third time in four weeks.

Ivey dropped $195,765 in 1,191 hands over nine sessions this week, which brought his losses on the year up to $1,513,973 — nearly three times the next biggest loser.

Another player who finished in the red this week was Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, who dropped $174,669 in 785 hands over two sessions. He lost most of that to this week's biggest winner, "bbvisbadforme," who won $309,825 in 818 hands over eight sessions. All of the aforementioned action happened on Full Tilt, but there was also an equal amount of action on PokerStars.

PokerStars is where Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, who had been absent from the high-stakes games for the better part of two weeks, returned to win $205,449 in 1,054 hands over seven sessions. Likewise, Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky was the week's third-biggest winner after profiting $168,493 in 2,273 hands over 13 sessions.

"Trueteller" and Kostritsyn Book Sunday Wins

On Sunday, March 8, the high-stakes cash games were going strong on both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. It was at the former that "Trueteller" won $112,000 to finish as the day's biggest winner, while Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn wasn't far behind with $102,600 in profit on the other site.

According to HighStakesDB, "Trueteller's" fortune came in just 20 minutes of play against Rui Cao at the $2,000/$4,000 2-7 triple draw tables. Cao, who had won $56,000 from Ivey on Full Tilt earlier in the day, lost all of that and then some in the brief 51-hand match.

Before he played on Full Tilt, Cao took on Kostritsyn at the $1,000/$2,000 triple draw and mixed game tables on PokerStars under his screenname "PepperoniF." That is where he lost $93,000 in 90 minutes. Needless to say, it was a rough day for Cao.

Sulsky and "Carlooo13" Finish as Monday's Biggest Winners

On Monday, March 9, Sulsky finished as the day's biggest winner after banking $126,000 on PokerStars. Of that, the vast majority came off "Ravenswood13," who he faced for two hours and 529 hands at the $400/$800 8-game tables. It was an even match up until the last 30 minutes, which is when Sulsky hit a heater to win $105,600. Toss in a $20,000 win off "flong78" at the $200/$400 2-7 triple draw tables, and it proved a good day on the virtual felt for Sulsky.

Despite losing on PokerStars, "Ravenswood13" actually won on Full Tilt where he plays under the screenname "Carlooo13." Of the $108,600 he won on that site, $100,000 came from Ivey in two heads-up mixed-game sessions.

In one hand, Ivey ($41,378.50) raised to $2,000 on the button and then called when "Carlooo13" ($63,890) three-bet to $3,000. "Carlooo13" drew one, Ivey two, and then the latter called a bet of $1,000 from the former.

"Carlooo13" then stood pat, Ivey drew one, and again "Carlooo13" bet, this time $2,000. Ivey called and then drew one last card after "Carlooo13" stood pat for a second time. "Carlooo13" bet $2,000, Ivey raised to $4,000, and "Carlooo13" kept the pressure on with a three-bet to $6,000. It did the trick as Ivey released his hand, and the $20,000 pot was pushed to "Carlooo13."

"bbvisbadforme" vs. Galfond; Blom vs. Cao

On Tuesday, March 10, "bbvisbadforme" won $268,700 on Full Tilt. The win not only made him the day's biggest winner, but helped him finish atop the weekly leaderboard. "bbvisbadforme's" win came in a seven-hour session against Galfond at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables. Galfond, who had won $94,600 from "Sanlker" earlier in the day, held strong for the first couple of hours, but then hit a five-hour skid that saw all that profit and then some go over into "bbvisbadforme's" coffers.

Likewise, Blom made his return to the virtual felt and got some action from Cao on PokerStars at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables on PokerStars. The Swede managed to win $233,000 in the match, but due to a small loss earlier in the day, he officially won $213,300 on the day.

The only other big winner on Tuesday was "Carlooo13," who won $68,700, most of which came from Kostritsyn at the $100/$200 8-game tables. In one notable hand, which took place in a $250/$500 round of 2-7 triple draw, Kostritsyn ($20,795.50) raised to $1,000 on the button and then called when "Carlooo13" three-bet to $1,500. "Carlooo13" drew two, Kostritsyn double that, and then the former check-called a bet of $500 from the latter.

"Carlooo13" then drew two, Kostritsyn one, and the action repeated itself, albeit for $1,000. On the last draw, both players took one and then "Carlooo13" led out for $1,000. Kostritsyn raised to $2,000 and "Carlooo13" called only to muck when his Russian opponent rolled over the 8♥7♠4♣3♦2♥. Ship the $10,000 pot to Kostritsyn.

Biggest Winners/Losers from March 5-11

Winners	Profit	Losers	Loss
"bbvisbadforme"	$309,825	Phil "Polarizing" Ivey	$195,765
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom	$205,449	Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond	$174,669
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky	$168,493	"Sanlker"	$109,202
Mikael "punting-peddler" Thuritz	$87,435	"ajve_xx"	$43,628

Year's Biggest Winners/Losers

Winners	Profit	Losers	Loss
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies	$954,773	Phil "Polarizing" Ivey	$1,513,973
"JayP-AA"	$820,163	"Sanlker"	$521,508
"bbvisbadforme"	$658,604	Viktor "Isildur1" Blom	$365,358
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky	$286,643	"Patriktortonius"	$317,274
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion	$262,194	"CoeJassidy"	$255,450