The Online Railbird Report: Ivey, Haxton & Blom MIA from WSOP, but Winning Big Online
The 2015 World Series of Poker is upon us! Being that it takes place in Las Vegas – which of course is in the United States – many players are inspired to abandon their PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker pursuits (such sites aren't currently permitted in the States) to chase poker glory.
While online stars such as Alexander "PostflopAction" Kostritsyn and Doug "WCGRider" Polk have been spotted at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, many other online regs have been MIA during the first week of the WSOP. Those players include Phil Ivey, Isaac Haxton, and Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, who all happened to drive the online action this week.
In last week's Online Railbird Report, we reported that Haxton finished atop the weekly leaderboard with $310,463 in profit. Well, he did it again by winning a combined $345,851 between FTP (+$188,487 in three sessions/479 hands) and PokerStars (+$157,364 in 20 sessions/370 hands). Meanwhile, Ivey won $123,674in 5,286 hands over 29 sessions on Full Tilt, but lost $135,555 in 889 hands over seven sessions on PokerStars to finish in the red.
That was slightly worse than Blom, who dropped $111,1757 in 2,022 hands over 21 sessions on PokerStars, but still not as bad the top three losers – "Sanlker" (-$173,837 in six sessions/329 hands), Dan "w00ki3z." Cates (-$158,968 in 32 sessions/5,179 hands), and "bojjo" (-$140,261 in 12 sessions/4,775 hands).
Full Tilt made some major changes to their high-stakes ring games, which you can read all about by clicking here.
Good Friday for Ivey
On Friday, May 22, Phil "Polarizing" Ivey, who was predicted to be one of the 2015 WSOP's biggest disappointments by the PokerNews staff, topped the daily leaderboard with $178,600 in profit, which came off Isaac "luvtheWNBA" Haxton and "HoldemJill9."
Regarding the former, Ivey and Haxton duked it out for 90 minutes at a single table of $250/$500 pot-limit Omaha. Haxton drew first blood by pulling out to a $35,000 lead, but the rest of the match belonged to Ivey, who left the table a $98,200 winner. It was during that match the day's biggest pot took place.
In the hand, Haxton ($50,000) opened for $1,500 and was met by a three-bet to $4,500 from Ivey ($164,203). Haxton made the call and then bet $3,750 after Ivey checked the 8♠3♠4♥ flop. Ivey woke up with a check-raise to $20,250, Haxton moved all in for $45,500 total, and Ivey called.
Ivey: A♠9♠Q♥J♦
Haxton: J♠10♠5♠7♣
Both players flopped a flush draw, but Ivey was best in that department. Haxton had a gutshot straight draw to fall back on, which he needed to hit after the A♦ turn paired Ivey. The 3♥ river wasn't what Haxton was looking for, and he watched the $100,000 pot pushed to his opponent.
From there, Ivey hopped over to the 8-Game tables to relieve "HoldemJill9" of $96,500 in just 20 minutes. Not all came up roses for Ivey though as he went on to lose $21,500 to "Kagome Kagome" in five hands of 2-7 triple draw before sitting down for a rematch with "HoldemJill9," who won $77,000 back over the course of two hours.
Haxton Rebounds By Winning $286,800 at PLO Tables
After being demolished by Phil Ivey the day before, Isaac "luvtheWNBA" Haxton returned to the virtual felt on Saturday, May 23 and destroyed the $250/$500 PLO tables to the tune of $286,800, more than five times the next closest player on the daily leaderboard.
It began when Haxton won a little more than $20,000 from Ivey in just 20 minutes. He then relieved Sam "S3 TRX" Trickett for $105,000 in 19 hands, which was followed by a second match with Ivey, this one lasting three hours.
Things stayed even keeled for most of the match, but Haxton came on strong toward the end and managed to profit $162,000. That included winning the two biggest pots of the day.
Hand #1: Haxton ($210,916.55) limped the button and Ivey ($102,082) exercised his option to raise by making it $1,500 to go. Haxton opted for a three-bet to $4,750, Ivey four-bet to $13,500, and Haxton called to see the 10♦3♦A♥ flop. Ivey bet $27,000, Haxton called, and the K♦ appeared on the turn. Ivey shoved for his last $61,582, and Haxton called to create a hefty $204,414 pot.
Ivey: A♠A♣8♣2♠
Haxton: A♦7♦9♦J♥
Ivey had flopped top set, but Haxton turned the nut flush. The 2♥ river failed to pair the board for Ivey, and Haxton was shipped the pot.
Hand #2: Ivey ($93,024) raised to $1,500 on the button and then called when Haxton ($123,640.55) raised to $4,500. After the flop came down 9♦Q♥6♥, Haxton check-called a bet of $6,500 and then led out for $16,500 after the 10♠ peeled off on the turn. Ivey called and the 9♠ completed the board on the river. Haxton slowed down with a check, but still called when Ivey bet $55,000, leaving himself just $10,524 behind.
Ivey tabled the Q♣10♦4♦8♦ for two pair, but it was no good as Haxton held trips with the 9♣4♣K♠K♥. Ship the $165,000 pot to Haxton.
Ivey Returns to His Winning Ways
On Sunday, May 24, Phil "Polarizing" Ivey squared off against Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby in two 2-7 triple draw matches, both of which proved profitable. In the first, which lasted for a bit over two hours, Ivey won $108,300 in 261 hands. Forty-five minutes later, they were back at it, and over the next 110 minutes and 182 hands, Ivey padded his bankroll by an additional $166,900.
Meanwhile, Ike Haxton was busy winning $129,300 over at PokerStars, all of which came in two hours from 92 hands of $200/$400 PLO. Haxton took on a laundry list of accomplished players including Ivey, Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky, and Ola "Odd_Oddsen" Amundsgard, just to name a few. It was in that game the day's two biggest pots took place.
Hand #1: At a six-handed table, action folded to Sulsky ($142,677.66) in the cutoff and he raised to $1,400. Ivey ($64,119.97) called from the button, "WithColor" ($21,287.50) three-bet to $6,000 from the small blind, and both Sulsky and Ivey called to see the 3♥2♥4♣ flop. "WithColor" bet all in for $15,287.50, Sulsky raised to $64,257.50, and Ivey called off for $58,119.97 to create a side pot.
Ivey: 4♦3♣A♣9♦
Sulsky: A♥7♥8♣6♦
"WithColor": K♥Q♥A♦9♥
Ivey had flopped two pair, which was ahead as both his opponents held flush draws. The 10♠ turn and 6♣ river both blanked, and Ivey's hand held to give him the $149,927.44 pot.
Hand #2: Action was still six-handed when Sulsky ($119,382.69) raised to $1,400 under the gun and Ivey ($69,282.86) three-bet to $4,800 from the hijack. Haxton ($123,388.86) called from the big blind, Sulsky put in the additional chips, and the flop came down Q♣4♥3♠. Two checks saw Ivey bet $10,800, Haxton check-raised to $46,995, and Sulsky folded. Ivey moved all in for $64,482.86, and Haxton called.
Haxton: Q♦Q♥2♥5♠
Ivey: A♠Q♠K♥5♦
Ivey had flopped top pair with a gutshot draw to the wheel, but he was way behind the top set and open-ender of Haxton. The 10♠ turn gave Ivey a lot more outs, but the K♦ river was not one of them. Ship the $143,565.72 pot to Haxton.
To make things even sweeter, Ivey went on to win $92,500 on Wednesday, the result of winning $157,500 off Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby at Full Tilt's 2-7 triple draw tables and losing $65,000 to Steve "Zugwat" Silverman in the same game.
Biggest Winners/Losers from May 21-27
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Isaac "luvtheWNBA" Haxton | $188,487 |
"Sanlker" | $173,837 | |
 Ike Haxton | $157,364 |
Dan "w00ki3z." Cates | $158,968 | |
|
Phil "Polarizing" Ivey | $123,674 |
"bojjo" | $140,261 | |
|
"BROCKLESNARR" | $90,180 |
Phil "RaiseOnce" Ivey | $135,555 | |
|
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $89,508 |
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $111,757 |
Year's Biggest Winners/Losers
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
"bbvisbadforme" | $965,770 |
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $1,618,816 | |
|
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $766,013 |
Phil "Polarizing" Ivey | $1,120,937 | |
|
Ben "Sauce1234" Sulsky | $743,015 |
"Sanlker" | $925,197 | |
|
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $563,592 |
"natalie724" | $508,015 | |
|
Ike Haxton | $479,211 |
Dan "w00ki3z." Cates | $498,062 | |
|
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies | $426,325 |
Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond | $470,721 | |
|
Isaac "luvtheWNBA" Haxton | $341,519 |
"BigNittyBanker" | $459,090 | |
|
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky | $336,673 |
Mikael "ChaoRen160" Thuritz | $353,246 |
Data, hands, and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com
Want to stay atop all the latest from the 2015 WSOP? If so, make sure to get PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
