The Online Railbird Report: 2009��s High-Stakes Winners and Losers
When the history of online poker is written, 2009 will be remembered as the year the action on Full Tilt Poker��s high-stakes cash tables exploded, as $500/$1,000 pot-limit Omaha became the game of choice and pot sizes soared into the millions for the first time.
While the ��durrrr�� Challenge grabbed headlines during the first half of the year, and Ashton ��theASHMAN103�� Griffin��s $3.6 million run was a summer highlight, the fourth-quarter emergence of ��Isildur1�� at the nosebleed stakes was by far online poker��s dominant 2009 story.
While debate raged on forums regarding his true identity, the mystery Swede��s presence was a huge factor in how many top online pros finished up the year.
Who were the biggest online winners and losers this year? Here is a look at the top five on both ends of the spectrum.
In the black
The honors for the biggest online winner of 2009 go to everyone��s favorite Finnish ex-model Patrik Antonius, who banked $8,973,946 for the year. Antonius was the top earner at the H.A. tables, banking more than $6.7 million, and in H.O.R.S.E., where he pulled in nearly $2.6 million. He was, however, one of the top five losing players at no-limit hold��em, dropping $941,000.
Right behind him at #2 is none other than Phil Ivey, whose 2009 winnings came in at $6,337,702. The vast majority of his money was earned playing pot-limit Omaha where he was the game��s biggest winner, fleecing his opponents for $5.32 million. Ivey also flourished in the high-stakes H.O.R.S.E. games; he was the second-highest earner at those tables, raking in $1.91 million. Ivey posted a minus sign only at the H.A. tables, where he dropped $1.58 million.
Most of the $4,731,848 Brian Hastings took in this year came from his now-legendary $4.2 million session against Isildur1 in early December. Hastings also had a successful year when it came to no-limit hold��em, earning $690,000 but struggled in H.O.R.S.E. (-$491,000) and H.A. (-$215,000).
Unlike his contemporaries Isildur1 and ��martonas,�� Griffin knew when to hit it and quit it. All but busto in April, Griffin accepted a stake and ground up $500,000 playing no higher than $25/$50 NLHE, then won Full Tilt��s $25,000 buy-in Heads-Up Championship for another half million dollars. He took that roll to the nosebleed stakes and, in only two months, won another $2.6 million primarily at pot-limit Omaha before vanishing from the virtual tables.
Rounding out the top five winners is Finnish master of trash-talk Ilari ��Ziigmund�� Sahamies, whose 2009 profits came in at $3,060,680. Sahamies was looking at close to $7 million in profits after booking some seven-figure wins against Isildur1, but lost nearly all of it back. Sahamies fared best at H.A. (+$2.1 million) and pot-limit Omaha (+$1.6 million), but was the third-biggest loser at no-limit hold��em (-$969,000).
Other notable 2009 winners: Hac "trex313" Dang (+$2,641,250), Brian Townsend (+$2,400,819), Rafi "howisitfeellike" Amit (+$2,235,756), Cole South (+$2,128,686), Mark Vos (+$2,101,161), Richard Ashby (+$1,298,904), Luke "_FullFlush1_" Schwartz (+$742,792)
In the red
Eleven months ago, it looked like Gus Hansen was on his way to a banner year, raking in more than $3,000,000 during January and February, but between May and August the Great Dane took an $8.5 million slide, finishing 2009 with $5,575,624 in losses. Hansen lost $1.41 million at pot-limit Omaha, $2.64 million at H.A., $557,000 at Omaha hi/lo and $938,000 in the limit H.O.R.S.E. games.
If not for an extremely profitable December, when he earned nearly $2.5 million, Tom ��durrrr�� Dwan would have taken the crown as the biggest online loser of 2009. Following his multimillion-dollar PLO bloodbath with Isildur1, Dwan��s online losses totaled $6.84 million, but he smartly moved down in stakes and began repairing his bankroll in earnest, ending 2009 $4,345,852 in the red. Although Dwan��s few forays into limit ring games resulted in a $440,000 profit for him at the H.O.R.S.E. and 7-Game tables, and he was a $955,000 winner at H.A., PLO proved to be his kryptonite. Dwan was the year��s biggest donor at the pot-limit Omaha tables, dropping $5.6 million.
Sami ��LarsLuzak�� Kelopuro made over $1.8 million during 2007 and 2008 on U.S.-facing sites alone, but lost all of that hard-earned cash back (and more) in 2009. The 22-year-old posted $4,094,276 in losses this year, $3 million of it coming from the H.A. tables alone. Kelopuro lost another $1.6 million playing straight PLO, but was actually one of the bigger winners at no-limit hold��em, banking $553,000. Perhaps he should stick to two hole cards instead of four.
David Benyamine spent the first half of the year playing under the screen name ��MR B 2 U SON�� before having his red pro status reinstated on Full Tilt during the World Series of Poker. It didn��t matter what name he played under, though, as his combined losses across both accounts totaled $2,973,630. Benyamine posted most of those losses in H.O.R.S.E. and 7-Game (-$1.79 million), the rest coming in pot-limit Omaha.
What more can be written about Isildur1��s wild ride? Once up a stunning $7 million on Full Tilt, he lost all of it back, along with his initial bankroll, finishing 2009 with $2,216,177 in losses. Even more shocking? Isildur1 was actually the year��s biggest winner at no-limit hold��em by far, earning over $2.3 million. It��s the $4.6 million he dropped at pot-limit Omaha that sent his account balance plunging.
Other notables in the red: David Oppenheim (-$1,370,883), Jani "KObyTAPOUT" Vilmunen (-$1,243,985), martonas (-$922,986), DIN_FRU (-$429,017)
The highest-stakes games online all unfold on Full Tilt Poker. Open up an account today and see for yourself.
