For the third week in a row, Viktor "Isildur1" Blom finished as online poker's biggest winner. After starting the year off dropping more than half a million, Blom has strung together three solid weeks and now sits atop the 2014 leader board with more than $1.6 million in profit.
This week, Blom managed to win $645,471 in 1,463 hands over 17 sessions, which was more than three times his nearest competitor. Meanwhile, other winners included Doug "WCGRider" Polk (+$179,714 in 6 sessions/540 hands) and Kyle "KPR16" Ray, who won $141,559 and $88,980 on Full Tilt Poker, and PokerStars respectively. Even so, it was a far cry from the $753,937 Ray lost the week before.
This week, Alexander "PostflopAction" Kostritsyn finished as the week's biggest loser after dropping $290,153 in 887 hands over eight sessions. Others who finished as weekly losers were "SallyWoo" (-$257,047 in 8 sessions/1,380 hands) and "Tight-Man1" (-$186,455 in 13 sessions/1,201 hands) on Full Tilt, and "wilhasha" (-$114,989 in 15 sessions/1,073 hands) on PokerStars.
Ray Thursday's Biggest Winner on Full Tilt Poker; Loses on PokerStars
On Thursday, Jan. 23, Kyle "KPR16" Ray finished as the day's biggest winner on Full Tilt Poker with $170,000 in profit from the $200/$400 no-limit hold'em tables. Unfortunately, he was also a big loser over at PokerStars where he dropped $92,000 playing fixed limit hold'em.
On Full Tilt, Ray took on "Sanlker" at two tables over two different sessions. In the first, Ray walked away a $74,000 winner, which he followed up with an $80,000 win. It was during this time that Ray took down the day's biggest pot.
It began when Ray ($64,284) opened for $800 and then called a three-bet to $2,8000 from "Sanlker" ($46,790.50). Both players then checked the 10?A?3? flop, the 7? turned, and "Sanlker" led out for $2,800. Ray popped it to $13,200, "Sanlker" called, and the 8? completed the board on the river. "Sanlker" checked and then called off his remaining $30,790.50 after Ray moved all in. Ray tabled the 7?7? for a turned set, and it was good enough to win the $93,581 pot.
From there, Ray took on "Tight-Man1" at the $200/$400 NLHE tables and walked away a modest $16,500 winner. It was during that match that the two played the day's second-biggest pot.
Kyle \"KPR16\" Ray
In that hand, Ray ($46,564.75) opened for $800, "Tight-Man1" ($60,988) three-bet to $2,800, Ray called, and the flop came down 5?K?2?. "Tight-Man1" led out for $3,416, Ray called, and the 8? peeled off on the turn. Again "Tight-Man1" led out, this time for $8,826.70, and again Ray called. When the K? completed the board on the river, "Tight-Man1" wasted little time in moving all in and Ray called off his remaining $31,522.05. "Tight-Man1" tabled the 10?6? for a missed flush, and Ray won the $93,129 with the 2?2? for a full house.
Ray would have booked an extremely profitable day had it not been for a $92,000 loss to "JesusLebtNOT" �C known as "kagome kagome" on FTP �C at the $1,000/$2,000 fixed-limit hold'em tables over at PokerStars.
Ray vs. "Tight-Man1" Round II
On Friday, Jan. 24, Kyle "KPR16" Ray and "Tight-Man1" were back at the $200/$400 NLHE tables, and over the course of three hours the former player managed to win $53,500. Here's a look at two pots from that match, which just so happened to be the two biggest of the day:
Hand #1: Ray ($67,018.90) raised to $800 and then called when "Tight-Man1" ($75,300.90) three-bet to $2,800, which brought about a flop of J?10?6?. "Tight-Man1" proceeded to check-call a bet of $2,240, the K? turned, and "Tight-Man1" check-called a bet of $15,120. When the river blanked, "Tight-Man1" checked for a third time and Ray moved all in for $46,858.90. "Tight-Man1" made the call, but mucked when Ray revealed the A?Q? for the nuts. Ray won a pot worth $134,038.
