The Online Railbird Report: The Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond Show
The online high-stakes cash games at Full Tilt Poker this weekend were home to a lot of action. Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond is in the middle of what he calls his worst career downswing but had a profitable few days on the virtual felt at the expense of Scott "URnotINdanger2" Palmer. After that winning session, Galfond and Patrik Antonius battled at $500/$1,000 pot-limit Omaha and they certainly were not afraid to let the chips fly.
A Session Palmer Would Like To Forget
To the point, Galfond really put a beating on Scott "URnotINdanger2" Palmer. They battled at $500/$1,000 capped pot-limit Omaha and Galfond left with about $700,000 of Palmer's money, despite only being able to win a maximum of $40,000 on a given hand.
With the button, Galfond opened to $2,300. Palmer bumped it to $6,900 from the big blind and Galfond came back over the top to $20,700. Palmer called, seeing the flop fall Q?9?2?. A check from Palmer led to Galfond betting $19,300, reaching the cap. Palmer called with A?Q?J?5? for top pair, while Galfond showed A?K?10?9? for middle pair and a straight draw. The key card for Galfond turned out to be his king. They ran it twice to the tune of K? turn 7? river, and a 6? turn K? river. Galfond made kings and nines on each run to win the pot.
In another hand, Galfond limped on the button and Palmer checked his option. The flop came down 6?6?2? and Palmer checked. Galfond bet $1,000, only to see Palmer pop it to $3,000. Galfond fired back an additional $4,000, but Palmer would not back down and made it $14,000 to play. Galfond put an end to the raising and just called, landing the K? on the turn. Palmer bet $9,000 and was quickly called, leading to the 9? river card. Palmer bet $19,000 to reach the cap and was met with a call. Having flopped a full house with Q?6?5?2?, Palmer was run down on the river by Galfond's J?9?6?4?.
Antonius Takes Some Of Galfond's Winnings
Thirteen pots between the two hit the six-figure mark with seven going to Antonius, three to Galfond, and three split.
Antonius raised to $3,000 on the button and Galfond made it $9,000 to go from the big blind. After Antonius called, the flop came down Q?10?6?. Galfond bet $11,500, unable to shake Antonius. The turn brought the 5? and Galfond kept up the heat with a $41,000 bet. Antonius shoved for just shy of $120,000 and Galfond called with J?J?10?9? for second pair, a flush draw, and an open-ended straight draw. Antonius was in the lead with Q?9?8?5? for top and bottom pair, as well as a double-gutshot straight draw. They ran it twice, but Galfond found no help from the 4? and 3? river cards. The $279,992 pot went to Antonius.
Antonius raised to $3,000 on the button and Galfond popped it to $9,000 from the big blind. A four-bet was next from Antonius, making it $27,000. Galfond called and when the flop ran out J?10?6?, he checked. Antonius bet the $54,000 pot and was met with an all-in raise from Galfond. With roughly $44,000 behind, Antonius called all-in with A?A?8?8? for just one pair, and Galfond tabled Q?9?8?7? for the monster wrap.
Despite being nearly 3:2 to win the pot, Galfond came up empty handed on not one, but two runs. The first brought a 6? turn followed by a 6? river, locking up half the pot for Antonius with sixes full of aces. The second again missed Galfond completely again when the 10? turn and J? river kept Antonius' aces in play. The $248,972 pot went Antonius' way once again.
Antonius raised to $3,000 on the button and Galfond made it $9,000 to play from the big blind. A call from Antonius led to a Q?7?2? flop. Galfond bet $11,500, but was quickly met with a pot-sized raise to $52,500 from Antonius. Galfond put the rest of his stack in, about $100,000. Antonius called with K?Q?10?5? for top pair and a flush draw, needing to catch up against Galfond's 8?8?2?2? for bottom set.
They ran it twice, and as was the case much of their session, Antonius escaped with both halves of the pot. The first run brought the 5? turn and Q? river, giving Antonius better full house; the second run delivered the 6? turn followed by the 4? river, making a flush for Antonius. Ship the $217,996 pot to Finland.
Who's Up? Who's Down?
This week��s biggest winners (2/4-2/7): Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond (+$646,000), Gus Hansen (+$185,000), Daniel "jungleman12" Cates (+$88,000)
Week��s biggest losers: Scott "URnotINdanger2" Palmer (-$787,000), Di ��Urindanger�� Dang (-$137,000)
Year-to-date winners: Gus Hansen (+$1.35 million), Patrik Antonius ($919,000), Di "ilvdnfl" Dang (PokerStars - +$806,000), Di ��Urindanger�� Dang (+$726,000)
Year-to-date losers: NEKOTYAN (-$837,000), Phil Ivey (-$682,000), Kpederson (-$543,000)
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