The Online Railbird Report: Blom Returns to Virtual Felt, Kuznetsov Wins Big & More
There was a time when the Online Railbird Report focused primarily on Full Tilt, which was home to the high-stakes cash games. However, the landscape has changed, and now PokerStars is where it's at.
That said, Full Tilt is back in the news this week after announcing the return of FTOPS, which you can read about by clicking here.
Now, as far as cash games are concerned, no one did better this week than Timofey "Trueteller" Kuznetsov, who won $221,251 in 3,725 hands spread over 49 sessions. Others who did well were "BERRI SWEET" (+$196,001 in 24 sessions/2,736 hands), Andres "Educa-p0ker" Artinano (+$115,540 in 13 sessions/2,978 hands), and Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion (+$104,892 in 31 sessions/2,918 hands).
On the flip side, Alex "Kanu7" Millar was the biggest loser for the second week in a row, this time down $315,060 in 3,529 hands over 38 sessions.
Kuznetsov Cleans Up at $200/$400 NLH Tables
Last Saturday, the $200/$400 no-limit hold'em games were going strong. According to HighStakesDB, Kuznetsov, Artinano and Millar engaged in a nearly five-hour match across three tables. During that time Kuznetsov won $257,400, which included winning the two biggest pots of the day.
Hand #1: Artinano ($115,898) opened for $1,148 from the button and Millar ($87,851.65) folded the small blind. Kuznetsov ($97,515.57) then three-bet to $5,000 from the big, Artinano four-bet to $12,800, and Kuznetsov five-bet to $28,200. Artinano just called and the two took a flop of 3?9?7?. Kuznetsov led out for $14,148.75 and then called off his remaining $55,166.82 after Artinano moved all in.
Artinano: Q?Q?
Kuznetsov: K?K?
The two agreed to run it twice, but neither the 8?5? on the first nor 8?7? on the second helped Artinano, who watched the entire $195,231.14 pot pushed to Kuznetsov.
Hand #2: Kuznetsov ($175,447.70) opened the button for $1,200, Millar ($61,257) three-bet to $4,560 from the small blind, and Artinano folded the big. Kuznetsov called, the flop came down 9?10?J?, and Millar led out for $2,378.75. Kuznetsov raised to $13,083.11, Millar called, and the A? appeared on the turn.
Millar checked, Kuznetsov moved all in, and Millar called off for $43,613.88.
Millar: A?Q?
Kuznetsov: 8?7?
Kuznetsov had flopped a straight, but Millar was drawing to a bigger one. The river was run twice, and while the Q? on the first gave Millar two pair, it was no good as Kuznetsov locked up half the $122,914 pot. The 2? on the second was a blank, and the Russian scooped the pot.
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom Returns to PokerStars
Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, who was 2015's biggest online winner, had been absent from PokerStars since early January, but he returned on Sunday, when he actually lost a little. However, he was back on Monday, which is when he finished atop the daily leaderboard with $239,000 in profit.
According to HighStakesDB, the Swede began by winning $22,000 from Mike "gordo16" Gorodinsky, and then took Kyle "KPR16" Ray for $16,000. After that, he switched to the pot-limit Omaha tabled, and four hours later he was up $340,000. Obviously he lost some back, which included dropping the biggest pot of the day.
In it, action was five handed when it folded to Blom ($50,140.08) on the button and he raised to $600. The small blind folded and "WRUUUUM" ($71,890) called from the big to see a 4?10?5? flop. "WRUUUUM" check-called a bet of $1,200 and then checked the 7? turn. Blom bet $3,200, "WRUUUUM"check-raised to $13,495, and Blom called to see the 3? river.
"WRUUUUM" returned to checking and then called when Blom bet $30,885. Blom showed a set with the 7?7?J?K?, but it was no good as "WRUUUUM" rivered a flush with the K?8?5?8? to lay claim to the $92,660 pot.
As for the biggest pot Blom won, it happened at a three-handed table when Blom ($34,646.25) raised the button to $600 and "BERRI SWEET" ($46,536.61) three-bet to $2,120 from the small blind. "WRUUUUM" folded the big, Blom called, and the flop fell J?2?3?. "BERRI SWEET" led out for $2,916.25, Blom called, and the 8? appeared on the turn. "BERRI SWEET" bet again, this time $7,790.62, and then called when Blom shoved for $29,610.
"BERRI SWEET": K?9?J?Q?
Blom: J?2?10?Q?
Blom was ahead with two pair, but "BERRI SWEET" was drawing to a ton of outs. The river was run twice, and much to the dismay of "BERRI SWEET," neither the 6? on the first nor 5? on the second helped him. Ship the $69,732.50 pot to Blom.
Blom Gives It Back; "BERRI SWEET" Recovers
On Tuesday, Blom and "BERRI SWEET" were back in action, but this time things went much differently. Blom lost most of what he'd won on Monday, while "BERRI SWEET" recouped his losses and then some with a $272,700, which made him the day's biggest winner. Meanwhile, Sion was the second-biggest winner of the day after winning a more modest $94,900.
Here's a look at the two biggest pots of the day, which saw Blom win one and lose one.
Hand #1: Action was four-handed when Blom ($74,631.62) raised to $1,200 on the button and "BERRI SWEET" ($61,805.72) three-bet to $4,000 from the small blind. After Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky folded the big, Blom pushed back with a four-bet to $12,400, "BERRI SWEET" called, and the flop came down 2?Q?6?.
"BERRI SWEET" checked, Blom bet $25,195, and "BERRI SWEET" check-raised all in for $49,405.72. Blom called and the cards were turned up.
"BERRI SWEET": A?K?J?9?
Blom: A?A?6?Q?
Blom flopped two pair, not to mention his aces in the hole, while "BERRI SWEET" was on the flush draw. Once again the turn and river were run twice, but both the 4?A? on the first and 3?10? on the second came up in Blom's favor to give him the $124,011.44 pot.
Hand #2: At a three-handed $250/$500 table, Blom ($108,857.50) raised the button to $1,500, Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn ($30,187.06) three-bet to $5,000 from the small blind, and Sion ($76,880.12) four-bet to $16,500 from the big. Both Blom and Kostritsyn called and it was three-way action to the Q?K?Q? flop.
Kostritsyn checked, Sion bet $12,500, and Blom raised to $86,995. Kostritsyn called off for a paltry $6,038.12 and then Sion did the same, albeit for $60,380.12. All three agreed to run it twice, which came the 2?10? and K?7? respectively. Sion tabled the K?K?4?2? for kings full or queens on the first run and quads on the second. It was good to win the $183,947.30 pot as both his opponents folded.
Biggest Winners/Losers from Jan. 28 �C Feb. 4
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Timofey "Trueteller" Kuznetsov | $221,251 |
Alex "Kanu7" Millar | $315,060 | |
|
"BERRI SWEET" | $196,001 |
Sami "LrsLzk" Kelopuro | $116,143 | |
|
Andres "Educa-p0ker" Artinano | $115,540 |
Alex "BiatchPeople" Luneau | $105,286 | |
|
Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion | $104,892 |
Daniel "w00ki3z." Cates | $85,590 |
Biggest Winners/Losers of 2016
| Winners | Profit | Losers | Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Andres "Educa-p0ker" Artinano | $833,747 |
Alex "Kanu7" Millar | $722,028 | |
|
"Cobus83" | $300,509 |
"candela2005" | $123,231 | |
|
"dougiedan678" | $98,260 |
"Aron0621" | $122,296 | |
|
"bazzzzzzz" | $87,377 |
"SHARMOOTA" | $118,140 |
Data and hands obtained from HighStakesDB.com
*Lead photo courtesy of globalpokerindex.com.
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