February 18 2011, Chad Holloway

The online high-stakes cash games at Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars were in full swing during the midweek. Many of online poker’s biggest stars were in action including Patrik Antonius, Scott “UrnotINdanger2” Palmer, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, Phil Ivey, and Gus Hansen.

Sahamies Playing on PokerStars

One player we haven’t covered too much in 2011 is Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies. This well-known Finn didn’t have a particularly good year in 2010, and that downswing carried over into the New Year — he is down almost $200,000 on Full Tilt Poker. Well, it appears the online pro has decided to try his luck over at PokerStars where he is playing under the name “Ilari FIN.” Wouldn’t you know it, the change of scenery seems to be working. After playing 1,200 hands of of $25/$50 and $100/$200 pot-limit Omaha against Daniel “w00kie3z” Cates and “LooneyGerbil,” Sahamies notched a nearly $50,000 win.

In Sahamies’ largest hand, LooneyGerbil ($33,090) raised to $400 on the button only to have Sahamies ($54,682) reraise to $1,400 out of the small blind. Cates folded in the big and LooneyGerbil called to see the flop come down . Sahamies led right out with a bet of $2,998, which LooneyGerbil raised to $9,800. Not content, Sahamies popped it to $32,398 and LooneyGerbil called off for $31,690.

Sahamies:
LooneyGerbil:

Sahamies was ahead with a flopped set of kings but LooneyGerbil was drawing to both straight and flush out. That all changed when the spiked on the turn. Sahamies hit quads to lock up the hand and take down the $66,380 pot.

Antonius and Palmer Continue Epic Battle

Our weekend Online Railbird Report reported on an epic heads-up match between Patrik Antonius and Scott “UrnotINdanger2” Palmer over at the Full Tilt Poker $500/$1,000 PLO tables in which nine pots crossed the $200,000 mark. Luckily for online spectators, that match has continued into the midweek. On Wednesday, a hand developed when Palmer ($241,482.50) was on the button and raised to $3,000 and was reraised to $9,000 by Antonius ($350,454.50) in the big blind. After Palmer called, the ran out on the flop, which Antonius checked. Palmer took the opportunity and promptly bet $12,000.

After Antonius called, the appeared on the turn. Once again Antonius check-called a bet, this time to the tune of $32,000, as the spiked on the river. Again it went check, bet $64,000, and call. Palmer flipped over for a full house and Antonius mucked. $234,000 pot to Palmer.

A few minutes later, Antonius took his revenge. It began when Palmer ($165,996) raised to $3,000 on the button, Antonius reraise to $9,000, Palmer made it $27,000, and Antonius called. That led to a flop of , which went check, bet $18,000, and call. When the was put out on the turn, Antonius checked and then called off for his remaining $64,999.50.

Antonius:
Palmer:

Antonius had hit a full house on the turn and was getting maximum value. They ran the river twice but neither the on the first run nor the on the second helped Palmer and the $219,999 pot helped ease Antonius’ earlier beat.

Hansen vs. Ivey

Everyone loves a good Phil Ivey story, especially one involving fellow Full Tilt Pro Gus Hansen. It just so happened the two squared off in the early hours Thursday morning over at the $500/$1,000 CAP PLO tables. In one big hand, Ivey ($73,999.50) raised to $2,000 on the button and was met with a reraise to $6,000 by Hansen ($45,999.50). Not one to be intimidated, Ivey made it $18,000 to go and Hansen called before the flop fell .

Hansen didn’t take long to fire out $22,000, which Ivey called to cap the pot at $80,000. At that point, the cards were turned on their backs.

Ivey:
Hansen:

Ivey was ahead with his pair of aces and even added a flush draw when the hit the turn; however, that same card gave Hansen two pair and the lead. Ivey needed some help on the river and got it when the hit, giving him two pair and counterfeiting Hansen.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down?

Week’s biggest winners (2/15-2/17): Gus Hansen (+$476,186), Matt Hawrilenko (+$336,710), Daniel “jungleman12” Cates (+$326,258), Phil Ivey (+$187,832), “sauce1234” (+$187,114), “bixiu” (+$112,844), Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (+$110,624)

Week’s biggest losers: “fishosaurusREX” (-$489,239), Rui Cao (-$297,616), Jared “harrington25” Bleznick (-$243,492), “rumprammer” (-$208,336), David Benefield (-$179,710)

Year-to-date winners: Gus Hansen (+$3,060,850), “fishosaurusREX” (+$882,479), “EazyPeazy” (+$795,896), Di “ilvdnfl” Dang (-$740,816), Alex Luneau (-$725,545)

Year-to-date losers: Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (-$1,098,097), Tom “durrrr” Dwan (-$1,053,206), “UarePileous” (-$919,543), “kagome kagome” (-$837,004), “Kpederson” (-$543,009), Cole South (-$517,363), “cadillac1944″ (-$478,669)

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March 17 2011, Chad Holloway

Last December, PokerStars took the monumental step of signing an online poker legend to its team roster. We’re speaking, of course, of the then-unknown “Isildur1,” who was revealed a month later as being the long-suspected Viktor Blom of Sweden. While Isildur1′s identity lacked intrigue, why he signed with PokerStars rather than Full Tilt Poker, the site where he literally made his name by playing in the high-stakes cash games, certainly made people curious.

For years, Full Tilt Poker has been known for its high-stakes cash-game selection while PokerStars was the place to go for tournament poker. Many speculated that PokerStars’ signing of Blom, one of the most infamous online cash game players in history, was a move designed to reinvigorate its high-stakes cash-game options and hopefully put it on par with the competition. While the PokerStars high-stakes games may not be on the same level as Full Tilt quite yet, it cannot be denied that the action has increased over the past few months. The question is, can this be attributed to Blom’s arrival on the PokerStars scene?

Given the facts and data, all signs point to “yes” and suggest that there has been an “Isildur1 Effect” indeed. If you look at the numbers from the beginning of the year until mid-March, you can see that two of the top ten cash-game earners have amassed their fortunes on PokerStars – Gavin “gavz101” Cochrane (fourth on the list with +$1,614,987) and Rafael “refaelamit” Amit (ninth on the list with +$717,302). This is in stark contrast to the same period in 2010 when the top ten were all from Full Tilt. In fact, the overall top ten cash-game earners for 2010 came from Full Tilt. PokerStars’ high-stakes traffic has increased so much in the last few months, that to have two players already crack that list is impressive. It is no coincidence that these numbers changed just a few months ago at around the same time Blom arrived.

The Swede’s switch to PokerStars has inspired other online professionals to follow suit, which Blom clearly epitomizes, and as a result the $25/$50, $100/$200, and $200/$400 no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha tables have been going strong. In a recent interview with Pokerisivut.com, Illari Sahamies, who was a regular on Full Tilt under the name “Ziigmund,” explained why he made the switch to PokerStars, where his handle is the ever so appropriate “Ilari FIN.” “The whole Full Tilt software started to give me creeps. It might sound ridiculous, but I am not superstitious. I just thought to give PokerStars a go, and since Isildur1 is also there, it suits better for me at the moment,” he said.

Sahamies is not the only notable player to find action on PokerStars’ high-stakes tables. Since Blom’s arrival, a number of Full Tilt regulars have been spotted playing on the competition’s software including Jared “Harrington10” Bleznick, Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond, Daniel “w00ki3z” Cates, Di “ilvdnfl” Dang, Brian “$tinger88” Hastings, and Scott “urnotindangr” Palmer.

PokerStars was also wise enough to launch a high-stakes challenge with Blom in the form of the SuperStar Showdown. For those who don’t know, the SuperStar Showdown, which conjures up images of Full Tilt’s “durrrr Challenge,” is designed as a one-time high-stakes match where challengers face off against Blom in a heads-up match of 2,500 hands spread across four tables of $50/$100 or higher no-limit hold’em and/or pot-limit Omaha. Thus far the SuperStar Showdown has drawn four challengers, Isaac “philivey2694″ Haxton, Antanas “Tony G” Guoga, Eugene “MyRabbiFoo” Katchalov, and the aforementioned Cates, none of whom were strict PokerStars regulars.

Clearly there are some players gunning for some of that sweet Isildur1 money, and poker fans seem to love it. In fact, there is even a thread on TwoPlusTwo dedicated to Blom and his high-stakes exploits since joining PokerStars. Blom is certainly doing his part, having played 1,177 sessions totaling 138,311 hands so far this year; albeit, at a loss of $324,550. Regardless, his presence seems to be enough to get the money flowing.

PokerStars certainly seems to have a recipe that works in building its high-stakes section to compliment its tournament selection. While the poker boom of 2003 is often referred to as the “Moneymaker Effect,” the recent surge in high-stakes games on PokerStars has been largely, if not completely, due to Blom’s signing with the site. Therefore, if you’ve been playing on the high-stakes games on Pokerstars or simply enjoying the action, it wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to say that you’ve been influenced by the “Isildur1 Effect.”

Top Ten Winners on PokerStars Between January 1 March 15, 2011

Top Ten Losers on PokerStars Between January 1 – March 15, 2011

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