Fri, 09/09/2011 – 06:58 – PokerPages Staff

Phil ‘MrSweets28′ Galfond ended a barren run of form by booking a substantial $368,000 profit in high stakes cash games on the world’s largest poker site, PokerStars, on Wednesday.

Galfond had been in a rut for several days prior to his huge win which saw him thrash the red hot Andreas ‘skjervoy’ Torbergsen at the Heads-Up Pot Limit Omaha tables in mid-week.

The 26 year-old also enjoyed lucrative $200 / $400 PLO sessions against Ilari ‘Ilari FIN’ Sahamies, ‘socutiesf’ and Rafi ‘rafaelamit’ Amit and eventually logged off after 2,236 hands with a notable six figure upswing.

Galfond is now well on the road to recovery after a bleeding a significant chunk of his bankroll during the last ten days. The Vancouver, Canada resident is up $483,000 for the calendar year.

Ilari ‘Ilari FIN’ Sahamies also bounced back after several disappointing sessions. The nosebleed regular crushed the $200 / $400 Six-Max games for an impressive $183,000.

While the Finn continues to live up to his ‘King of ‘Swing’ tag he has now taken down $534,000 on the virtual felt during 2011. ‘socutiesf’ (+$110,000) and ‘VietRussian’ (+$149,000) rounded out the top four winners online.

Torbergsen’s woes against Galfond contributed to one of his worst evenings in months as he donated $470,000 in total. However, ‘skjervoy’ remains the biggest winner on PokerStars this year with profits of $1.49 million.

Rafi ‘rafaelamit’ Amit failed to buck a losing trend on Wednesday as he bled another $219,000. Team PokerStars Pro Viktor ‘Isildur1′ Blom, who only played 105 hands, also dropped $80,000.

Wed, 08/10/2011 – 23:42 – PokerPages Staff

The Poker After Dark high stakes cash game show returned to screens for a brand new set of episodes last week. Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow, Peter Jetten, Michael Mizrachi and Chris Ferguson were among the six ‘non-regulars’ who featured during week one.

Former November Niner Mizrachi paid off Brandon Adams during episode one. Adams fired post-flop bets worth $2,500, $7,000 and $20,000 before tabling a set. Mizrachi, who tanked on the river, mucked his hand as Adams snared the $63,100 spoils.

Matusow then forced Adams off his marginal hand pre-flop with a four bet. Matusow, holding A-9os, was urged to show his hand by fellow pro Jean-Robert Bellande, “Show a hand one time, dog.” Matusow flipped over the 9d, prompting laughter from those seated.

Jetten was the next to make a move with a flopped two pair. Jetten re-raised to $7,500 on the 9-3-4 board and only Ferguson made the call. A turned $16,000 bet from Jetten was met by a shove from Ferguson but the experienced pro’s pocket aces were crushed. The river blanked as Jetten won the $124,200 pot.

Multi WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth then entered the arena as Michael Mizrachi departed due to other commitments. The ‘Poker Brat’ wasted no time in making his presence felt as he locked horns with the active Adams.

Hellmuth called down a five bet from Adams with pocket eights. Adams was ahead with K-K though both players decided to check the 6-Q-5 flop. Hellmuth took the initiative on the turned Ace, firing a $9,200 bet. Adams called before another check-check on the river sent the $69,500 pot his way.