The Online Railbird Report: The 7-Game Renaissance
This week, the high-stakes action on Full Tilt Poker moved away from the regular crowd��s usual haunt at the $500/1,000 pot-limit Omaha tables and onto the $2,000/4,000 7-Game tables. Perhaps in an attempt to exploit some players�� weaknesses at the limit games, Gus Hansen led the charge toward the new format and was able to book some profitable sessions, erasing some of the $1.2 million in losses he accrued during the month of September. Also enjoying a winning week were Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius, who both booked million-dollar wins as well as Brian Townsend, who successfully took on Tom ��durrrr�� Dwan at pot-limit Omaha.
Hansen, Ivey Score in 7-Game
This week��s high-stakes migration to the 7-Game tables proved the most profitable for mixed-games master Phil Ivey, who raked in over $1.1 million in a single night. Though Gus Hansen served as the game catalyst, drawing action from Tom ��durrrr�� Dwan, Phil ��OMGClayAiken�� Galfond, Chau Giang, and David Oppenheim, he was the only player aside from Ivey to score a win, raking in a modest-for-these-stakes $68,000. Giang and Oppenheim sustained losses in the $250,000 range while Galfond and Dwan took the biggest hits, dropping $444,000 and $343,000 respectively.
However, Ivey��s seven-figure surge turned out to be temporary; he dropped about $330,000 of those earnings back into the high-stakes economy the following evening. Picking up most of those crumbs was Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies, who booked a $336,000 win.
Hansen continued to pop on and off the 7-Game tables all weekend, luring in even more notables including John Juanda, Abe ��EasyPeazy�� Mosseri, Patrik Antonius and ��DIN_FRU,�� who is widely believed to be Swedish pro Erik Sagstrom. A few more profitable sessions left the Great Dane with a nearly $220,000 win while DIN_FRU (-$363,000), Juanda (-$193,000) and ��458854�� (-$344,000) ended up deep in the red.
One of the larger (and more peculiar) pots of the day came during the pot-limit Omaha rotation, Ilari Sahamies opening for $3,000 from the button and Hansen three-betting to $9,000 from the big blind. Sahamies called and they saw a flop of J?5?4?. Hansen led out for 18,000 and Sahamies smooth-called. The turn cames the 7? and Hansen moved all-in for his remaining $30,193. It didn��t take long for Sahamies to make the call, his 6?6?4?2? in bad shape against Hansen��s top pair and flush draw with Q?J?10?9?. The river was the 10?, Sahamies missing his straight draw as Hansen raked in $114,385 with two pair.
Townsend Takes $200k off Dwan
After a losing 2008 that saw him drop hundreds of thousands playing high-stakes pot-limit Omaha, Brian Townsend studied up, re-examined his game, and ground his bankroll back up at the $25/50 and $50/100 tables. Now, he��s back taking shots at the nosebleed stakes, sitting in with Tom ��durrrr�� Dwan for a heads-up $200/400 match. The two duked it out for about 200 hands, and though Dwan won the session��s largest hand at $144,000, Townsend pretty much wiped the floor with him, booking a $200,000 win. Townsend��s reads seemed dead-on throughout their battle and were especially keen in this pot where he picked off a double-barrel bluff.
Townsend opened for $1,200 on the button, Dwan three-bet to $3,600, Townsend four-bet to $10,800 and Dwan made the call. Both players checked the 7?5?3? flop. Dwan fired out for $8,400 when the 6? hit the turn and Townsend smooth-called. The river fell the J? and Dwan took one more shot at the pot, moving all-in for $22,995. Townsend snap-called, turning over 8?7?5?4? for the turned straight. Dwan��s A?J?10?5? added up to nothing more than two pair and Townsend took down the $84,391 pot.
Antonius Fleeces Galfond and Sahamies for a Half Million in PLO Battle
Though the vast majority of this week��s action centered on the 7-Game tables, many of the nosebleed regulars still found time for a little pot-limit Omaha. Monday night saw Patrik Antonius, Ilari ��Ziigmund�� Sahamies, and Phil ��OMGClayAiken�� Galfond visit the $300/600 and $500/1,000 PLO tables for some heads-up and three-handed action, Antonius emerging as the night��s big winner with a $538,000 haul. Though they didn��t play for long (only 237 hands) five pots topped the $150,000 mark, the granddaddy of them all coming in at a massive $277,000.
In the aforementioned monsterpotten, Antonius opened for a $2,000 raise, Sahamies popped it to $6,200 and Antonius called. Sahamies led out for $12,600 on the A?10?8? flop, Antonius making the call. The turn came the 3? and Sahamies fired a second bullet for $37,800. Antonius moved all-in for $142,189 and Sahamies made the call, turning over A?K?J?7? for top pair, the nut flush draw and a gutshot straight draw while Antonius showed A?J?10?6? for top two pair. The river blanked out for Sahamies, the 2? falling to give the $276,980 pot to Antonius.
Galfond and Akery Flip for $60k��26 Times
While the $2,000/4,000 7-Game tables filled up on Tuesday night with the likes of Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, and David Benyamine, Phil Galfond and Rob ��Vega_Lion�� Akery decided to gamble it up instead. Sitting at a $500/1,000 no-limit hold��em table with a $60,000 cap, the two decided to take a series of ��flips,�� each player putting in $30,000 before the flop and checking down each street. Galfond and Akery took 26 $60,000 flips in all, Galfond winning 17 of them for a tidy $120,000 profit.
Who's Up? Who's Down?
This week's biggest winners (10/7-10/14): Patrik Antonius (+$1.34 million), Phil Ivey (+$984,000), Brian Townsend (+$362,000).
In the red: Chau Giang (-$551,000), Slick Puppy (-$496,000), David Oppenheim (-$488,000).
Top 5 earners, 2009 to date: Patrik Antonius (+$4.99 million), Ashton ��theASHMAN103�� Griffin (+$3.6 million), Richard Ashby (+$3.18 million), Phil Ivey (+$2.74 million), Cole South (+$2.73 million).
Bottom 5 earners, 2009 to date: Sami ��LarsLuzak�� Kelopuro (-$3.87 million), Gus Hansen (-$3.27 million), David Oppenheim (-$2.01 million), David Benyamine (-$1.32 million), papa ninja (-$1.25 million).
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