The Online Railbird Report: Sulsky Wins $398,000; ��EireAbu�� Atop Yearly Leaderboard

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Apr 27, 2012 7 min read Last updated May 31, 2012

This week��s high-stakes action on PokerStars did not disappoint because pretty much every high-stakes pro turned out to take a shot at the juicy games, including the rarely spread $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha. At stakes that high, there were, obviously, some big winners and losers, including three who banked over $300,000 and three players who lost that much.

Although a lot of players had a good week, no one did better than Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky, who finished as the biggest winner after winning $398,147 in 6,461 hands spread across 55 sessions. Not far behind was Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene, who profited $367,455 in 2,504 hands, and ��EireAbu�� (+$309,688 in 78 sessions/8,703), whose win put him atop the yearly leaderboard in front of ��bernard-bb�� (+$1,270,030) and Sulsky (+$1,202,580).

Like last week, ��Zypherin�� was the biggest loser, dropping a staggering $537,620 in 4,420 hands across 20 sessions, which brought his losses for the past two weeks up to over $1 million. Likewise, it wasn��t a good week for ��RaiseOnce�� (-$347,909 in 14 sessions/754 hands), Andrew "Kanu7�� Millar (-$299,420 in 51 sessions/6,558 hands), ��yiyi01�� (-$292,389 in 57 sessions/5,780 hands), and ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� (-$281,831 in 28 sessions/1,819 hands)

Nearly $400,000 in One Day for Galfond

On Thursday, April 19, Phil ��MrSweets28�� Galfond crushed the high-stakes PLO games for $398,000, erasing his $300,000 loss from earlier that week. The action was at the $100/$200 tables and included the familiar cast of characters.

Hand #1: Action was four handed when Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene ($174,171.39) opened for $600 under the gun. Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies ($150,854.56) was next to act and three-bet to $2,260, which Galfond ($65,142) called from the small blind. Alexey ��LuckyGump�� Makarov ($17,580) then put in a four-bet to $9,800 from the big, Sahamies called, and Galfond five-bet $42,120. Makarov called off his remaining $7,780, Sahamies called, and the flop fell 2?6?K?. Galfond wasted little time in moving all in for $23,022, Sahamies called, and the cards were turned up.

Showdown

Galfond was ahead with aces and held the lead as the 9? turn and 5? river failed to change a thing and the $148,299 pot was sent his way.

Hand #2: With action six handed, ��Zypherin�� ($20,306) opened for $600 and was called by ��Fake Love888�� ($54,791.91) from the cutoff. Galfond ($109,764.50) then three-bet to $2,940 from the button, the blinds got out of the way, the other two players called, and the flop came down 7?K?9?.

��Zypherin�� checked, ��Fake Love888�� bet $7,200, and Galfond raised to $30,955. After ��Zypherin�� got out of the way, ��Fake Love888�� moved all-in for $51,851.91 total and Galfond called the additional $20,896.91.

Showdown

��Fake Love888�� had flopped bottom set but ran it straight into Galfond��s top set. Neither the A? turn nor 10? river changed the lead and Galfond took down the $112,979 pot.

Hand #3: In four-handed action, Sahamies ($53,081.76) opened for $800 on the button, and Galfond ($88,052.63) called from the big blind. On the 9?10?4? flop, Galfond check-raised Sahamies�� $1,855 bet up to $5,400, but Sahamies pushed back to the tune of $18,055. Not to be deterred, Galfond four-bet to $48,400, Sahamies moved all in for $52,281.76 total, and Galfond called the additional $3,811.76.

Showdown

Sahamies was ahead with top set but needed to dodge his opponent's straight and flush draws. He did so on the 3? turn, but couldn��t sweat the river as the 7? spiked to give Galfond the $106,339 pot.

Sahamies ended up being the day��s biggest loser, dropping $260,000, while ��Zypherin�� (-$123,000) and Makarov (-$121,000) followed him on the loser��s list.

Fire Up the $200/$400 PLO

On Friday, April 20, two tables of $200/$400 PLO were in action and attracted pretty much all the high-stakes regulars. The game went through the night, and when all was said and done, Australian pro David ��Deldar182�� Eldar emerged the big winner with $276,000 in profit. On the flip side, ��Zypherin�� was the day��s biggest loser after dropping a staggering $502,000.

In one hand, Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen ($78,570.55) opened for $1,600 from the cutoff and received a call from Eldar ($107,219.11) in the small blind. Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky ($57,408.12) then came in with a three-bet to $6,880 from the big blind, both his opponents called, and the 4?J?J? appeared on the flop.

Eldar checked, Sulsky fired out $8,111, and Kyll?nen raised to $17,200. Eldar then woke up with a check-raise to $26,400, Sulsky moved all-in for $50,528.12, Kyll?nen got out of the way, and Eldar made the call.

Showdown

Both players had flopped trip jacks, but Sulsky��s ace kicker put him in the lead. Much to his dismay, the 9? peeled off on the turn to give Eldar a full house. With the 8? turn of no consequence, Eldar took down the $139,211 pot, his largest of the session.

Although Eldar won that pot, it wasn't even one of the top two biggest of the day. In the biggest, Kyll?nen ($88,023) opened for $1,600 under the gun only to have ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� ($121,750) three-bet $5,880. Both blinds got out of the way, Kyll?nen four-bet $20,320, ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� called, and the flop came out 10?J?5?. Kyll?nen was first to act and led out for $38,515, ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� moved all in for $101,430, and Kyll?nen called off his remaining $29,188.

Showdown
"1Il|1Il|1il|�� | 9?8?6?7?
Kyll?nen |A?K?K?Q?

Both players had flopped straight draws, but Kyll?nen was ahead with pocket kings. The 6? turn gave ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� even more outs, but the 5? river was not one of them and Kyll?nen raked in the $176,961 pot. Despite the win, Kyll?nen went on to lose $168,500 on the day.

In the second biggest hand of the day, Eldar limped under the gun and Sulsky ($86,552.77) put in a raise to $2,200 from the cutoff. ��Yiyi01�� was in the small blind and three-bet to $7,800, clearing out the player in the big blind and Eldar. Sulsky made the call and then bet $8,888 on the 10?3?2? flop after ��yiyi01�� checked. The latter then woke up with a check-raise to $43,459, Sulsky moved all in for $78,672.77 total, and ��yiyi01�� made the call.

Showdown

��Yiyi01�� held a big pocket pair of kings, but Sulsky managed to flop two pair to take the lead. The 7? turn didn��t change a thing and neither did the 5? river, and Sulsky was awarded the $174,141 pot. He went on to profit $208,000 on the day.

��EireAbu�� Moves Atop Yearly Leaderboard

On Monday, ��EireAbu�� booked a $166,000 win, which gave him $1.24 million in earnings thus far in 2012 and surpassing Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen atop the leaderboard. Grimason was far and away the day��s biggest winner, and ��RaiseOnce�� was the biggest loser after dropping $140,000.

In Grimason��s ($47,901.80) biggest pot, he opened for $300 under the gun and was met with a three-bet to $1,170 by Ben ��milkybarkid�� Grundy ($24,410), on the button. Both blinds got out of the way, Grimason called, and the flop fell 8?A?A?. Grimason proceeded to check-call a bet of $2,031.90 and then check-called a bet of $5,201.65 on the 8? turn.

When the 7? appeared on the river, Grimason checked and then called Grundy��s all-in shove for $16,006.44, creating a pot worth $49,045. The latter rolled over A?K?10?2? for trip aces, but it was no good against Grimason��s A?7?10?6? for a full house.

Millar and Sahamies on the ��Sauce123��

On Wednesday, Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky squared off against Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies and Andrew ��Kanu7�� Millar at $100/$200 PLO and NLHE respectively. Sulsky had a great day, winning $159,000 between the two opponents. Meanwhile, Sahamies dropped $168,000 on the day and Millar lost $72,000.

In the biggest pot of the day, Sulsky ($52,145) opened for $600 on the button and Sahamies ($90,086) three-bet to $1,880. From there, Sulsky opted for the four-bet to $5,720, Sahamies called and the flop fell 10?9?K?. Sahamies checked, Sulsky bet $6,666 and Sahamies check-raised to $31,516. Sulsky simply moved all-in for $46,385 total and Sahamies called the additional $14,909.

Showdown

Sahamies had flopped top set, but Sulsky was sitting with the nut straight. That meant Sahamies needed the board to pair in order to win, which didn��t happen as the 3? appeared on the turn followed by the Q? on the river. With that, Sulsky raked in a pot worth $104,288.

Sulsky also won the biggest pot in his match with Millar, lasting less than 300 hands and ending in an hour. In that hand, Millar ($32,798) opened for $500 and Sulsky ($30,788) popped it to $1,888. A call was made and Sulsky led out for $1,777 on the 2?3?2? flop. Millar responded with a raise to $4,200 and Sulsky called before check-calling a bet of $7,500 on the 6? turn.

Once again Sulsky checked on the 8? river but turned right around and called off his stack of $17,200 with 3?2?, which bested Millar��s A?4?. Sulsky was awarded the $61,574 pot.

Biggest Weekly PokerStars Winners/Losers

Week��s biggest winners (4/20-4/26): Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky (+$398,147), Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene (+$367,455), ��EireAbu�� (+$309,688), Alexey ��LuckyGump�� Makarov (+$261,713), David ��Deldar182�� Eldar (+$235,856)

Week��s biggest losers: ��Zypherin�� (-$537,620), ��RaiseOnce�� (-$347,909), Andrew Kanu7�� Millar (-$299,420), ��yiyi01�� (-$292,389), ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� (-$281,831)

Year-to-date winners: ��EireAbu�� (+$1,292,048), ��bernard-bb�� (+$1,270,030), Ben ��Sauce123�� Sulsky (+$1,202,580), Jens ��Jeans89�� Kyll?nen (+$1,154,544), Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene (+$1,123,469), Phil ��MrSweets�� Galfond (+$1,055,988)

Year-to-date losers: ��Zypherin�� (-$1,749,241), ��1Il|1Il|1il|�� (-$766,003), Viktor ��Isilidur1�� Blom (-$628,693), ��VietRussian�� (-$562,061), ��long90110�� (-$557,059), ��julia753�� (-$526,609)

_{Data and hands obtained from HighStakesDB.com}

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