The Online Railbird Report: Ivey Wins Nearly $500K; No Longer 2015's Biggest Loser
It's that time of year when the biggest names in the game are attracted to the popular Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). There have already been some big winners, such as Jason Mercier (winning two titles) and Calvin Anderson (setting a new SCOOP record), but while online tournaments are all the buzz right now there was plenty of cash-game action on both PokerStars and Full Tilt this week.
This week's biggest winner was Phil Ivey, who won $279,782 (7 sessions/1,476 hands) on Full Tilt and $201,624 (12 sessions/3,293 hands) on PokerStars. It was a welcome win for Ivey, who before that was the year's biggest loser. That's no longer the case, though, as the win, combined with a Viktor "Isildur1" Blom loss of $257,450 (17 sessions/2,580 hands) on PokerStars, saw Ivey get out of the basement and switch spots with the Swede.
The loss for Blom was enough to make him the week's biggest loser for the second consecutive week.
Other big winners on PokerStars were Ben "Ben86" Tollerene, who won $373,086 in 1,800 hands over 12 sessions and Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion, who banked $111,710 in 39 sessions/3,246 hands.
Joining Blom on the loser's list were Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby (-$226,050 in 5 sessions/772 hands on FTP and -$127,734 in 12 sessions/1,853 hands) and Isaac Haxton (-$114,885 in 9 sessions/400 hands).
Full Tilt made some major changes to their high-stakes ring games, which you can read all about by clicking here.
Good Day for Both Ivey and Blom
On Saturday, May 9, Ivey, who plays as "RaiseOnce" on PokerStars, and Blom finished as the two biggest winners of the day. Ivey was the day's biggest winner after winning $87,800 off Kibler-Melby in 90 minutes at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables.
Meanwhile, Blom won $86,300 over on Full Tilt. The Swede dug himself an early hole losing $55,000 to Sebastian "taktloss47" Ruthenberg in just 20 minutes at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables, but after a short break they were back at it and over the course of five hours Blom pulled out to a $100,000 lead before logging off. Toss in a 17-minute 8-game heads-up match against "BigNittyBanker," one in which Blom won $42,000, and Blom ended up finishing the day with $86,300 in profit.
In other Saturday news, Dan "w00ki3z." Cates was the day's third-biggest winner with $59,100 in profit, more than half of which came from the $50/$100 pot-limit Omaha tables against Sami "LrsLzk" Kelopuro.
Ivey Tops Leaderboard Two Days in a Row
On Sunday, May 10, Ivey once again found himself atop the daily leaderboard after a seven-hour stint against Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn at the $400/$800 8-game tables. Both players held the lead at one point — at his high point Kostritsyn was up $44,000 — but in the end it was Ivey who logged off a $56,200 winner after 1,045 hands.
A half hour later, Ivey jumped over to a $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw table to square off against Kibler-Melby and "RaulGonzales," who plays under the "Sanlker" moniker on Full Tilt. They played for nearly seven hours, and in the early going Ivey was down as much as $150,000. Over the next few hours, he hit a $250,000 heater and won $65,700 when it was all said and done to bring his daily total up to $118,000.
Over on Full Tilt, Blom was the biggest winner with $57,800. More than half of that, $36,400 to be exact, came from 40 minutes of $250/$500 pot-limit Omaha against David "POKERBLUFFS" Eldar, while $21,300 came from just 11 hands of 8-game against Ivey.
Blom Wins for Fourth Day in a Row
On Monday, May 11, Blom topped the daily leaderboard with $108,000 in profit on PokerStars, which marked his fourth consecutive winning day and put him up $530,000 during that time period.
Blom's Monday win came after he fired up three $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha tables against Team Online's Haxton. The two played 270 hands, and according to HighStakesDB Blom won at two of the tables, including a $146,700 win in 93 hands at table Hartmut II.
In one hand, Blom ($45,834) opened for $1,360 from the button, and Haxton ($41,706) three-bet to $4,240. Blom called, the flop came down 5♠4♣5♦, and Haxton led out for $1,400. Blom popped it to $7,200, Haxton called, and the 7♣ peeled off on the turn. Haxton check-called a bet of $12,800, and then checked the 4♥ river. Blom bet $21,594, and that proved enough to win the $48,640 pot as Haxton folded.
In another hand, Haxton ($55,229.54) limped the button and then called when Blom ($73,802.66) raised to $1,360. The 10♥2♦5♦ flop saw Haxton call a bet of $2,400 from Blom, and then he called one of $6,400 on the J♣ turn. When the 5♣ completed the board on the river, Blom slowed down with a check, but still called when Haxton bet $13,515.48. Haxton tabled the Q♦Q♠K♣7♥ for two pair, and it was good enough to win the $47,510.96 pot as Blom sent his cards to the muck.
Even though he won on PokerStars, it's worth noting Blom lost $61,000 to Ruthenberg at the $1,000/$2,000 2-7 triple draw tables.
Blom Comes Crashing Down
It never seems to fail that whenever Blom wins big, he follows it up with a massive loss. That was the case on Tuesday, May 12, when the Swede lost more than $700,000.
The biggest beneficiary was Tollerene, who took on Blom for 4.5 hours at three $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha tables. Tollerene was up $270,000 after 50 minutes, but Blom managed to win it all back and then some, pulling out to a $140,000 lead of his own. Still, in the last couple of hours, momentum swung back to Tollerene, who hit a $425,000 rush to end up a $351,000 winner. Here's a look at two hands from that match.
Hand #1: Blom ($41,984.01) opened for $1,360 on the button, Tollerene ($45,495.66) called, and the two watched the flop come down 2♣4♠7♥. Tollerene checked, Blom bet $2,400, and Tollerene woke up with a check-raise to $6,239. Blom called and then called a bet of $10,237.33 from Tollerene on the 6♥ turn.
When the 2♠ completed the board on the river, Tollerene bet $27,659.33 and Blom called off his remaining $24,347.68. Blom tabled the A♠9♠5♦8♣ for a straight, but it was no good as Tollerene tabled the 2♥6♠3♠4♥ for a full house to win the $84,528.02 pot.
Hand #2: Blom ($41,159) raised to $1,360, Tollerene ($64,661.34) called, and the flop fell 10♦J♣10♣. Tollerene check-called a bet of $2,400 and then checked the 6♣ turn. Blom bet $6,400, Tollerene check-raised to $12,800, and Blom called to see the 5♠ river. Tollerene bet $33,278, and Blom called off his last $24,599. Blom held trips with the 10♠A♥4♥4♦, but Tollerene was pushed the $82,478 pot after he showed the J♦10♥K♠9♣ for a flopped full house.
On Full Tilt, Blom met up with Ivey, who plays as "Polarizing," at the 8-game tables for a three-hour affair. Ivey won $256,300 in that match, but after some other losses throughout the day, ended up finishing Tuesday with $159,500. That made him the day's third-biggest winner as Kostritsyn took the second spot after winning $172,300 after two hours playing 8-game.
Biggest Winners/Losers from May 8- 14
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ben "Ben86" Tollerene | $373,086 |
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $257,450 | |
 Phil "Polarizing" Ivey | $279,782 |
Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby | $226,050 | |
|
Phil "Raise Once" Ivey | $201,624 |
Jean-Robert Bellande | $213,755 | |
|
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $111,710 |
Cort "thecortster" Kibler-Melby | $127,734 | |
|
"ringosnuff" | $109,460 |
Isaac Haxton | $114,885 |
Year's Biggest Winners/Losers
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
"bbvisbadforme" | $960,979 |
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $1,494,604 | |
|
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom | $875,806 |
Phil "Polarizing" Ivey | $1,330,470 | |
|
Ben "Sauce1234" Sulsky | $743,015 |
"Sanlker" | $726,621 | |
|
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $501,456 |
Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond | $470,721 | |
|
Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies | $468,081 |
"BigNittyBanker" | $459,090 | |
|
Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky | $395,053 |
Daniel "w00ki3z." Cates | $363,802 |
Data, hands, and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com
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