The Online Railbird Report: Haxton Week's Biggest Winner; "Donger Kim" Plays & More
The 2015 World Series of Poker begins next week, but before the Super Bowl of poker rolls around, players have been busy grinding the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) on PokerStars. There have been plenty of notable winners in series – including Jason Mercier who has won an astounding three titles – but there have also been other big online headlines this week including Chris Moorman capturing his 25th Triple Crown title, and Viktor "Isildur1" Blom's plan to live stream on Twitch for the very first time.
As far as the online nosebleeds go, there were plenty of players in action this week, but none did better than Isaac Haxton, who erased last week's $114,885 loss by winning $310,463 in 1,197 hands over 19 sessions on PokerStars.
Other big winners included Dong "Donger Kim" Kyu (+$217,612 in 6 sessions/1,338 hands), "BERRI SWEET" (+$193,578 in 24 sessions/1,299 hands), and "ringosnuff" (+$167,733 in 18 sessions/534 hands).
On the flip side, Mikael "ChaoRen160" Thuritz was the biggest loser of the week dropping $271,074 in 2,396 hands over a dozen sessions. Others who failed to finish in the black were "natalie724" (-$222,516), Ola "Odd_Oddsen" Amundsgard (-$174,536 in 14 sessions/740 hands), and "JayP-AA" (-$174,389 in 30 sessions/1,536 hands).
Full Tilt made some major changes to their high-stakes ring games, which you can read all about by clicking here.
An Up-and-Down Saturday for Phil Ivey
On Saturday, May 16, Phil "Polarizing" Ivey, last week's biggest winner, took to the 8-Game tables on Full Tilt Poker this week to square off against "HoldemJill9." It proved a disastrous outing for Ivey, who fell behind straight out of the gate and ended up losing $195,100 in just 75 minutes.
Fortunately for Ivey, he went on to win $85,000 back from Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables, and also finished as the biggest winner on PokerStars when he won $77,700 of Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn at the $400/$800 8-Game tables.
Sunday Funday for Haxton and Polk
On Sunday, May 17, Team Online's Isaac Haxton and Doug "WCGRider" Polk finished as the two biggest winners of the day with $106,200 and $101,900 in profit respectively. According to HighStakesDB, the former was spotted at two tables of $100/$200 six-max pot-limit Omaha squaring off against the likes of "Trueteller," "JayP-AA," and "NoelHayes," just to name a few.
Haxton only put in 90 minutes, bit he managed to walk away with $40,700 and $81,000 wins at each table. Surprisingly, Haxton didn't win the biggest pot of the day. That hand happened at a six-handed table when "JayP-AA" ($35,790) opened for $1,400 under the gun and "natalie724" ($45,233.27) called from the hijack. "NoelHayes" ($38,600) came along from the small blind, Haxton folded the big, and three players took a flop of 4♥A♥3♣.
"NoelHayes" led out for $4,000, "JayP-AA" called, and "natalie724" got out of the way. When the 3♠ appeared on the turn, "NoelHayes" bet $8,186.75, "JayP-AA" called, and it was off to the 10♠ river. "NoelHayes" slowed down with a check, but made a quick call when "JayP-AA" shoved all in for his last $22,203.25. "NoelHayes" tabled the A♣4♣J♦8♠ for two pair, but it wasn't good enough to win the $73,380 pot as "JayP-AA" held trips with the 3♦6♠7♠5♦.
Meanwhile, Polk's win on PokerStars began when he took "yiyi01" for $35,300 in just five hands of $200/$400 no-limit hold'em. Polk then jumped over to the $400/$800 8-Game, which is where he took Shaun Deeb for $66,600 in two hours.
Finally, it was a decent day for Phil "Polarizing" Ivey, who was FTP's biggest winner after profiting $47,500 against Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby in 40 minutes at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables.
"Donger Kim" & Sulsky Clean Up in Tuesday Action
On Tuesday, May 19, Dong "Donger Kim" Kyu and Mikael "ChaoRen160" Thuritz clashed at PokerStars' $100/$200 no-limit hold'em tables. The five-hour affair saw things stay even keel for the first half of play, but in the second everything went Kyu's way. Here's a look at two notable hands from the match.
Hand #1: In the biggest pot of the match, Thuritz ($38,659.21) opened for $500 from the button only to have Kyu ($44,796.13) three-bet to $2,300. Not to be outdone, Thuritz four-bet to $4,600, Kyu called, and the flop fell 8♠3♦A♣.
Kyu check-called a bet of $2,575.44 and then check-called one of $5,800 on the 10♥ turn. When the 7♦ completed the board on the river, Kyu opted to moved all in, and Thuritz called off his last $25,683.77 with the 7♥8♦ for a rivered two pair. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't good enough to win the $77,318.42 pot as Kyu had turned a set with the 10♣10♦.
Hand #2: Thuritz ($27,731.80) raised to $500 and then called when Kyu ($132,828.24) three-bet to $2,200, which brought about a flop of 6♦A♠3♣. Both players checked, and then Kyu check-called a bet of $3,200 on the J♠ turn. When the 10♦ completed the board on the river, Kyu checked for a third time, Thuritz bet $6,000, and Kyu sprung to life with an all-in check-raise. Thuritz called off his last $16,331.80 with the A♥9♥ for top pair, but it was no good as Kyu rivered the nuts with the K♣Q♥. Ship the $55,463.60 pot to Kyu.
Meanwhile, over at the $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha tables, Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky won $166,700, which included the day's biggest pot. In it, action was six-handed when "M.O.P." ($68,912.05) opened for $1,800 under the gun and "n0d1ceb4by" ($141,049.99) called from the hijack. Sulsky ($129,698.29) then three-bet to $8,600 from the cutoff, the button and blinds all folded, and the other two players called to see a flop of 5♥5♣A♣.
Two checks saw Sulsky continue for $6,362.50, and only "M.O.P." called to see the 8♣ turn. "M.O.P." check-called a bet of $14,616, and then check-called off for $39,333.58 on the 7♠ river. Sulsky tabled the A♦A♠4♦2♥ for a flopped full house, and it was good enough to win the $147,504.16 pot.
It was at the same PLO tables that "natalie724" won $102,400. Two six-figure pots managed to go "her" way.
Hand #1: Sulsky ($177,410.25) opened for $1,880 and "natalie724" ($129,641.24) called from the button. "WRUUUUM" ($52,994.21) then three-bet to $8,400 from the small blind, both Sulsky and "natalie724" called, and three players saw a flop of 3♠6♥10♦.
"WRUUUUM" led out for $26,075, Sulsky folded, and "natalie724" raised to $104,300. "WRUUUUM" called off his last $18,519.21 and the cards were turned up.
"natalie724": A♦A♥7♥3♣
"WRUUUUM": K♦K♣9♣A♠
It was kings versus aces when the money went in, but the 3♦ turn actually gave "natalie724" trips. The Q♠ river was of no consequence, and "natalie724" was pushed the $115,268.42 pot.
Hand #2: "natalie724" ($57,068) raised to $1,800 under the gun and was met by a three-bet to $6,720 from "M.O.P." ($50,059.49) on the button. The blinds both folded, "natalie724" called, and the flop came down 10♦10♣3♦. "natalie724" bet $14,515, "M.O.P." moved all in for $43,339.49, and "natalie724" called. The 7♥ and 9♥ peeled off on the turn and river respectively, and "natalie724" rolled over the 9♦9♠Q♥2♦ for a rivered full house. It was good enough to win the $101,198.98 pot as "M.O.P." sent his cards to the muck unseen.
Wednesday Winners
On Wednesday, May 20, the $200/$400 PLO tables were going strong on PokerStars, and the top three winners of the day – "ringosnuff" ($194,700), Isaac Haxton ($173,500), and "BERRI SWEET" ($154,900) – all made their profit there. According to HighStakesDB, "ringosnuff" won $1,240 per hand as all his profit came in just 157 hands. Conversely, Haxton took 6.5 hours to amass his fortune.
In other Hump Day news, Phil "Polarizing" Ivey won $147,800 off "HoldemJill9" after three hours at the 8-Game tables on FTP, while Jens "Jean89" Kyllönen won $103,800 in just 78 hands of PLO.
Biggest Winners/Losers from May 15-20
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Isaac Haxton | $310,463 |
Mikael "ChaoRen160" Thuritz | $271,074 | |
|
Dong "Donger Kim" Kyu | $217,612 |
"natalie724" | $222,516 | |
|
"BERRI SWEET" | $193,578 |
Ola "Odd_Oddsen" Amundsgard | $174,536 | |
|
"ringosnuff" | $167,733 |
"JayP-AA" | $174,389 | |
|
Doug "WCGlRider" Polk | $148,359 |
Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn | $105,561 |
Year's Biggest Winners/Losers
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 "bbvisbadforme" | $965,770 |
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $1,547,235 | |
|
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $877,770 |
Phil "Polarizing" Ivey | $1,244,611 | |
|
Ben "Sauce1234" Sulsky | $743,015 |
"Sanlker" | $751,360 | |
|
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies | $479,866 |
"natalie724" | $502,617 | |
|
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $467,225 |
Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond | $470,721 | |
|
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky | $409,903 |
"BigNittyBanker" | $459,090 | |
|
Isaac Haxton | $321,847 |
Mikael "ChaoRen160" Thuritz | $369,998 |
Data, hands, and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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