The Online Railbird Report: Antonius Extends Lead Against Cao in $1 Million Challenge

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Feb 22, 2013 6 min read Last updated Nov 16, 2021

Most of the online high-stakes cash-game action has taken place at Full Tilt Poker in 2013, but this week, some big winners were found at PokerStars. Granted, nobody had anything close to a $2-million-plus-in-profit week like Tom ��durrrr�� Dwan had last week, but it was still pretty good for both Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene (+$575,171 in 5,033 hands) and Niki ��RealAndyBeal�� Jedlicka ($558,943 in 4,985 hands). They finished as the week��s two biggest winners across all sites.

Other winners on PokerStars included ��Odd_Oddsen�� (+$243,894 in 39 sessions/2,183 hands) and Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies (+$237,464 in 29 sessions/2,593 hands), while Patrik ��FinddaGrind�� Antonius (+$443,221 in 82 sessions/5,420 hands), Hac ��trex313�� Dang (+$442,648 in 38 sessions/3,056 hands), Erik ��Erik1223�� Sagstr?m (+$429,390 in 101 sessions/8,685 hands) and Phil ��OMGClayAiken�� Galfond (+$342,393 in 52 sessions/5,720 hands) all scored big on Full Tilt.

Galfond managed to recoup the $343,507 he lost a week earlier, Dang added to the $399,730 he had banked during the same period, and Antonius continued to roll by nearly matching the $449,497 he also won a week earlier.

On the flip side, Rui Cao finished as the week��s biggest loser after dropping $864,666 on Full Tilt Poker in 3,509 hands across 26 sessions. The second biggest loser was ��punting-peddler��, who dropped $494,166 in 3,743 hands over 59 sessions, adding to his $638,164 loss last week. Meanwhile, ��VietRussian�� (-$490,431 in 52 sessions/3,935 hands) and Davin ��mTw-DaviN�� Georgi (-$475,578 in 13 sessions/933 hands) were the two biggest losers over at PokerStars.

Lovely Valentine��s Day for Sahamies

On Thursday, Feb. 14, Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies squared off against Davin ��mTw-DaviN�� Georgi at two $100/$200 heads-up pot-limit Omaha tables. The two played for approximately an hour during which Sahamies relieved his opponent of $468,000. Surprisingly, there weren��t any six-figure pots in the match.

The largest occurred when Sahamies ($127,382) opened for $680 only to have Georgi ($50,000) three-bet to $2,120. Sahamies responded with a four-bet to $6,440, Georgi called, and the flop came down Q?8?J?. Both players checked. Georgi then led out for $6,400 on the 7? turn and called when Sahamies raised to $17,400. Georgi checked the 7? turn and then call off his remaining $26,120 after Sahamies bet $47,758. Georgi rolled over A?10?9?6? for a straight, but it was no good as Sahamies revealed A?5?A?9? for a flush. The $99,998 pot went to Sahamies.

The biggest pot on Valentine��s Day occurred in a $200/$400 no-limit hold��em game between Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene and ��wilhasha��. The latter won four of the seven six-figure pots from the match, but Tollerene walked away the $213,000 winner.

In the day��s biggest pot, ��wilhasha�� ($97,750.47) opened for $1,000 and then called when Tollerene ($58,383.50) three-bet to $3,600. The J?7?Q? flop saw Tollerene lead out for $4,800, ��wilhasha�� call, and the 5? turn. Again Tollerene led out, this time for $12,598.50, and again ��wilhasha�� called, bringing about the 2? on the river. Tollerene wasted little time in moving all in for $37,385 and ��wilhasha�� made the call. Tollerene showed K?10? for a missed straight, and ��wilhasha�� turned over Q?9? for a pair of queens to win the $116,765 pot.

While Tollerene lost that pot, he did manage to win a nice won of his own. It happened when ��wilhasha�� ($54,179.98) opened for $1,000 and then called when Tollerene ($211,664.05) three-bet to $3,800. When the flop fell 10?K?2?, Tollerene led out for $4,800 and ��wilhasha�� called. The latter then called a bet of $12,600 on the 3? turn and the 6? completed the board on the river. Tollerene moved all in and ��wilhasha�� called off his last $32,979.98 with K?Q?. Unfortunately for him, Tollerene had went runner-runner for the nuts with 5?4?. Ship the $108,358 pot to Tollerene.

Dang and Antonius Find Success Over the Weekend

It was a good weekend for Hac ��trex313�� Dang. He got off to a nice start Friday by earning $239,700 at the $200/$400 PLO table against Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom.

In the biggest pot between the two, Dang ($61,974.50) opened for $1,200 on the button and then called when Blom ($97,386) three-bet to $3,600 from the big blind, leading to a 6?K?10? flop. Blom led out for $5,600, Dang called, and the 8? came on the turn. Again Dang called a bet from Blom, this time $13,600, and the 6? completed the board on the river. Blom led out with a big bet and Dang called off his remaining $39,174.40 to create a pot worth $123,949. The Swede rolled over A?A?8?7?, but it was no good �� Dang held a full house with 6?K?3?8?.

Blom went on to lose $266,000 on the day. Meanwhile, Friday's two biggest pots took place at the $250/$500 PLO tables on Full Tilt Poker.

Hand #1: Action was three-handed when ��patpatpanda�� ($87,797) opened for $2,050 from the button, Phil ��OMGClayAiken�� Galfond ($167,435.29) called, and Ilari ��Ziigmund�� Sahamies ($94,990.19) three-bet to $8,500. Both called, and the flop fell A?5?8?. Sahamies fired out $15,750 after Galfond checked to him. ��Patpatpanda�� then raised to $73,050, Galfond folded, and Sahamies moved all in. ��Patpatpanda�� called off his remaining $6,247 and the cards were turned up.

Sahamies: A?9?K?7?
��patpatpanda��: 8?A?6?4?

��Patpatpanda�� got it in good with two pair, but the 6? spiked on the turn to complete Sahamies�� gutshot straight draw. The 5? river was of no consequence and the Finn was pushed the $184,193 pot.

Hand #2: Action was heads up between Ben ��Bttech86�� Tollerene ($85,315) and Sahamies ($73,586.30) when the former opened for $1,100 and then called when the latter three-bet to $3,500. The J?9?2? flop saw Sahamies check only to raise to $24,480 after Tollerene bet $5,760. Tollerene responded by moving all in and Sahamies called off for $45,506.30 more.

Sahamies: 10?9?Q?A?
Tollerene: 2?2?8?J?

Tollerene had flopped a set and was up against Sahamies�� open-ended straight draw. The two agreed to run it twice, but neither the 3?/5? on the first run nor the 10?/3? on the second help Sahamies and he watched the $147,172 pot get pushed to his opponent.

Antonius Defeats Cao in the PLO Portion of the $1 Million Challenge

Patrik ��FinddaGrind�� Antonius and Rui Cao have been engaged in an entertaining $1 Million Challenge in which the two agreed to battle in three variants��no-limit hold��em, 2-7 triple draw and pot-limit Omaha. The 2-7 triple draw part was completed weeks ago when Antonius promptly relieved Cao of $300,000. On Saturday, Feb. 16, the two returned to play out the PLO quota at two tables of $200/$400 for a $350,000 freeze-out

The two played nearly 760 hands throughout the day, and Antonius walked away the victor, though he finished Saturday with only $266,300 in profit after losing some back in other games. Still, it was enough to make him the day��s biggest winner.

Despite losing the match, Cao ($60,433) actually won the biggest pot. It happened when he opened for $800 on the button and was met by a three-bet to $2,400 by Antonius ($77,067,50). Cao pushed back with a four-bet to $7,200 and then called when Antonius five-bet to $21,600, bringing about a 7?10?3? flop. Antonius immediately led out with a big bet and Cao called off for $38,833.

Cao: K?Q?J?4?
Antonius: A?A?J?9?

Cao got it in with a flush draw and was looking to crack the aces of Antonius. The turn and river were run twice, and the {9d/J? on the first gave Cao an improbable runner-runner straight for half the pot. It got even worse for Antonius on the second run as the K? turned and gave Cao the flush. Antonius was drawing dead-headed to the river, which came the 3?, and the entire $120,866 pot was pushed to Cao.

Jedlicka Wins $539,000 on PokerStars in Monday Action

We haven��t seen much of Niki ��RealAndyBeal�� Jedlicka in recent months, but on Monday he hit the $200/$400 PLO tables on PokerStars. In about eight hours of play against some stiff competition, he won a healthy $539,000.

Despite the big win, his biggest pot fell short of six figures. In that hand, action was heads up when ��VietRussian�� ($36,438) opened for $800 and then called when Jedlicka ($75,298) three-bet to $2,400. The latter then fired out $2,815 on the 9?4?10? flop, ��VietRussian�� raised to $13,243, and Jedlicka made it $44,527 to go. ��VietRussian�� called off his remaining $20,995 and the cards were turned up.

Jedlicka: A?5?J?4?
��VietRussian��: K?Q?6?3?

Both players were drawing to a flush, but Jedlicka��s was better. The 10? turn changed nothing, and neither did the 2? river. Both players missed their flush, which meant Jedlicka took down the $73,274 pot with two pair.

Biggest Winners/Losers (Full Tilt Poker)

Week��s biggest winners (2/14-2/19): Ben ��Ben86�� Tollerene* (+$575,171), Nikolaus ��RealAndyBeal�� Jedlicka* (+$558,943), Patrik ��FinddaGrind�� Antonius (+$443,221), Hac ��trex313�� Dang (+$442,648), Erik ��Erik1223�� Sagstr?m (+$429,390), Phil ��OMGClayAiken�� (+$342,393), ��Odd_Oddsen��* (+$243,894), Ilari ��Ilari FIN�� Sahamies* (+$237,464)

Week��s biggest losers: Rui Cao (-$864,666), ��punting-peddler�� (-$494,166), ��VietRussian��* (-$490,431), Davin ��mTw-DaviN�� Georgi* (-$475,578), Scott ��mastrblastr�� Seiver (-$386,064)

Year��s biggest winners: Tom ��durrrr�� Dwan (+$1,762,020), ��SallyWoo�� (+$1,585,616), Phil ��OMGClayAiken�� Galfond (+$1,452,083), Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom (+$1,328,680), Alexander ��PostFlopAction�� Kostritsyn (+$1,292,138), Kyle ��KPR16�� Ray (+$1,209,568), Ben ��Bttech86�� Tollerene (+$1,043,787), Patrik ��FinddaGrind�� Antonius (+$892,717), Ronny ��ronnyr37617�� Kaiser (+$873,763)

Year��s biggest losers: Ben ��Sauce1234�� Sulsky (-$2,654,433), ��punting-peddler�� (-$1,332,636), Phil ��Polarizing�� Ivey (-$1,061,631), Alex ��IReadYrSoul�� Millar (-$978,338), Scott ��mastrblastr�� Seiver (-$952,039), ), ��kagome kagome�� (-$865,323), ��CRAIN85�� (-$831,430), ��Johnbest�� (-$793,503), Gus Hansen (-$779,490)

*Denotes PokerStars

_{Data, hands and replayer obtained from HighStakesDB.com}

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