Virtual Felt
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Adam "Snoopy" Goulding snoops around the world of online poker
Lord of the Ring Game
In the world of fantasy literature, Isildur may be one of many chasing the ring, but in poker he's already struck gold under the guise of Swedish prodigy Viktor Blom, with earnings of $4,073,090 million (no, that's not a typo) in just one week.
Many labelled Blom a flash in the pan following his epic rise and fall of 2009, but in subsequent years the 22-year old PokerStars pro has not only become a continual presence at the nosebleed stakes, but has shown a significant level of improvement that has made him a formidable force across all formats of the game.
In the opening week of 2013, Blom shook off the New Year hangover to commence a cyber onslaught that would leave many high stakes pros in his wake, including the likes of Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver and Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky, of whom the latter ended 2012 as the year's biggest cash winner. Winning at a rate of $359.24 per hand, the streak kicked off with a $564,500 win on New Year’s Day, followed by a $1,356,296 session soon after. Although starting off with Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw and Omaha High-Low, Blom’s meatiest pot came in Pot Limit Omaha, and against “Sauce123”.
After some heated pre-flop action, Blom led out for $8,800 and $26,400 on an 8hAcTc2h board, before raising Sulsky's lead of $68,500 on the 6h river for $102,142.50 more. Sulsky called, but immediately mucked after being shown Ah7h8c7c for the backdoor flush. At time of writing, the $428,485 in the middle represented the biggest pot since Black Friday.
Blom exceeded the $5m mark later in the month, but in true Ungar-esque fashion, would become the biggest loser of the week when he leaked back $1,173,536. However, the message was sent: Isildur has started off 2013 with a bang and is quickly reminding players why he's considered one of the most natural talents this game has ever seen.
For those with a need for speed, PokerStars had just the ticket last month with the Turbo Championship of Online Poker. Offering a range of affordable stakes and games across a mere 50 tournaments, the TCOOP saw players create a whopping $24 million in prize pools, a near $5m more than the previous year.
One of the biggest beneficiaries was Sweden’s “frma1103” who enjoyed a payday of $326,880 following a seven-way split in the $665+35 Main Event. The side events once again showcased the global reach of PokerStars, with winners emanating from UAE to Slovakia to the Philippines. Australia was also represented when online titan Jonathan “MONSTER_DONG” Karamalikis topped the $55 hold’em freezeout to take $59,718.60 Down Under.
The British flag was raised on two occasions, courtesy of Thomas “GaggleoKings” Ambler and “khanrava” in events #10 and #28, respectively, while “TheMuppet” also made the podium with a third place finish in the $2,100 High-Roller for $278,130.
It’s Raining Pros!If there’s one man who seems to have survived the aftermath of Black Friday, it's Poker God Phil Ivey. Having boycotted the WSOP in 2011, Ivey returned to the felt in typical fashion nine months later with victory in the Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge, before cashing seven times at the 2012 WSOP and final-tabling the Macau Super High-Roller for $822,941. More recently, he bust 30th in January’s Aussie Millions, but wasted no time wallowing in self pity and spent the rest of the night building a $600K profit at the Full Tilt nosebleed stakes from the comfort of his own hotel room.
But Ivey’s presence hasn’t merely been felt at the poker table; at the tail end of 2012 it was announced that Iveypoker.com would be launching in the New Year, offering players an “innovative social poker game which also includes poker training content from some of the world's top pros”. The site has been in its “final stages” for a suspiciously long period, but in the meantime Ivey has recruited a mere 29 pros to the team, including Brits John Eames, James Dempsey and Mathew Frankland.
Content is scarce on the site, but there are some intriguing quotes on offer from the pro profiles, including, “I eat fear for breakfast,” from Aaron Jones, “Haters gonna hate,” from Christian Harder, and an inspiring, “If you're gonna play, play big,” courtesy of affluent businessman Dan Shak. Thanks for that, Dan. Let’s hope their tips on bankroll management improve when the site finally sees the green light.
Put a Spring in Your Step
The month of March is set to be a slobberknocker on Black Belt Poker, with myriad Easter eggs coming your way. Satellites for iPOPS IV will be up and running, while they’ll also be looking to put a spring in your step with the Spring Sales.
Spanning from March 25 to April 07, Black Belt be slicing and dicing the buy-ins of some their most popular tournaments, with discounts of up to 70 per cent. The best thing: the guarantees will stay exactly the same, with prize pools totaling an amazing $600,000. Check out Blackbeltpoker.com for the full schedule.