The Online Railbird Report: Alex Luneau Wins $1.1 Million; Viktor Blom Drops $976K

Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager

Aug 08, 2014 5 min read

In this edition of the Online Railbird Report, which recaps the week��s high-stakes cash-game action on both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, we take a look at the first week of August, which produced big winners and losers.

Last week��s biggest winner, German online pro ��Sanlker��, actually lost $198,021 this week, though he was far from being the biggest loser. That title went to Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom, who followed up last week��s $397,586 win by losing $976,238 in 8,738 hands spread across 57 sessions.

Likewise, Chun Lei ��samrostan�� Zhou (-$575,149 in 51 sessions/8,818 hands), Phil ��OMGClayAiken�� Galfond (-$475,113 in 22 sessions/3,829 hands), and ��Denoking�� (-$461,402 in 15 sessions/7,806 hands) all had bad weeks on Full Tilt Poker. Meanwhile the biggest loser on PokerStars was ��Aron0621,�� who dropped a modest $81,534 in 166 hands over three sessions.

On the flip side, Vladimir ��GVOZDIKA55�� Shchemelev was PokerStars�� biggest winner after banking $147,847 in 2,030 hands over 10 sessions. However, there were five bigger winners on Full Tilt Poker, includingAlex ��Alexonmoon�� Luneau who raked in a massive $1,123,445 in 5,818 hands over 36 sessions. The other winners include ��Trueteller�� (+$777,686 in 26 sessions/4,157 hands), Dan ��jungleman12�� Cates (+$768,603 in 25 sessions/8,887 hands), Mikael ��punting-peddler�� Thuritz (+$472,972 in 30 sessions/5,330 hands), and ��Carlooo13�� (+$396,474 in 8 sessions/1,590 hands).

��Trueteller�� Cleans Up Playing Triple Draw

On Friday, Aug. 1, ��Trueteller�� was busy playing ��Sanlker,�� Sebastian ��taktloss47�� Ruthenberg, and Chun Lei ��samrostan�� Zhou at the $1,500/$3,000 2-7 triple draw tables. In a morning session, he played against ��Sanlker�� for nearly four hours and won $266,800. He ended up losing $53,300 at another table, but later that afternoon he won $75,000 back to finish as the day��s biggest winner with $288,600 in profit.

Zhou also did well in the game, winning $139,500. He also won over on PokerStars, where he plays under the screenname ��SamRostan.�� He did so at the $100/$200 pot-limit Omaha tables, which is where he won the biggest pot of the day.

The Online Railbird Report: Alex Luneau Wins .1 Million; Viktor Blom Drops 6K 101 — Chun Lei \"samrostan\" Zhou

It happened at a six-handed table when action folded to Zhou ($54,300.31) on the button and he raised to $940. Ike Haxton ($35,195.04) called him from the big blind, and it was heads-up action to the 5?5?J? flop. Haxton checked, Zhou bet $1,300, and Haxton check-raised to $3,300. Zhou called and then called a bet of $5,400 from Haxton on the Q? turn.

When the 8? completed the board on the river, Haxton bet $12,000 and then called off when Zhou shoved all in for $44,660.31. Haxton tabled the 8?8?J?3? for a rivered full house, but it was no good as Zhou rolled over the Q?Q?7?A? for a better full house.

On Saturday, ��Trueteller�� became the day��s biggest winner for the third time in four days after winning $257,700 at the 2-7 triple draw tables. He played both the $1,000/$2,000 and $1,500/$3,000 limits, and took most of his profit off players like Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom and Phil ��OMGClayAiken�� Galfond. The win put ��Trueteller�� up more than $1 million since Tuesday.

Luneau Comes Out on Top

At the beginning of the week, action was going strong over on Full Tilt Poker. It was there that French player Alex ��Alexonmoon�� Luneau won $350,900 playing mixed games for eight hours to finish as the day��s biggest winner. More than half of that �� $180,900 to be exact �C came from 514 hands in an evening session.

Here are some other highlights from the day��s action:

Mikael ��punting-peddler�� Thuritz won $151,900 playing mixed games.
Gus Hansen returned to the virtual felt for the first time since the 2014 World Series of Poker. He played for 12 hours and logged off a $123,200 winner.
Chun Lei ��samrostan�� Zhou made bank for the sixth day in a row, winning $277,300 at the 2-7 triple draw tables.
��Trueteller�� won $32,000, which put him on a six-day winning streak.
��Denoking�� won $96,400 over 4,100 hands of $100/$200 no-limit hold��em against Dan ��jungleman12�� Cates. It was there that the two biggest pots of the day occurred, which you can see below.

Hand #1: Cates ($94,371.75) opened for $2,200 from the small blind and then called when ��Denoking�� ($91,923) three-bet to $6,950, which brought about a flop of 2?3?J?. Cates check-called a bet of $3,825, the 8? appeared on the turn, and Cates checked for a second time. ��Denoking�� took the opportunity to bet $13,605, Cates check-raised to $27,210, and ��Denoking�� called.

When the 6? completed the board on the river, Cates shoved for $56,386.75 and ��Denoking�� wasted little time in calling off his remaining $53,938 to create a pot of $183,846. Cates flipped over the A?K? for nut no pair, but it was no good as ��Denoking�� held a pair of queens with the Q?Q?.

Hand #2:

Cates Gets Revenge on ��Denoking�� with $699K Win

On Tuesday, Aug. 5, Dan ��jungleman12�� Cates and ��Denoking�� were back at it playing $200/$400 no-limit hold��em. The duo played for seven hours across three tables, and Cates managed to dismantle his opponent to the tune of $620,000. During that time the two played 16 six-figure pots.

The Online Railbird Report: Alex Luneau Wins .1 Million; Viktor Blom Drops 6K 102 — Dan \"jungleman12\" Cates

In the largest, ��Denoking�� ($156,235) raised to $1,000, Cates ($163,565.25) called, and the flop came down 10?3?Q?. Cates proceeded to check-call a bet of $1,000 and then check-called a bet of $6,000 on the 5? turn. When the 5? completed the board on the river, Cates checked for a third time and ��Denoking�� bet $35,400. Cates woke up with a check-raise to $97,200, but it didn��t work as ��Denoking�� shoved all in for $148,235. Cates folded and ��Denoking�� won the $210,400 pot without a showdown.

The mixed game tables were also going strong on Tuesday, which is where Alexander ��PostflopAction�� Kostritsyn won a hefty $657,100 over 13 hours of play. Gus Hansen was also at the game, and he actually played for 24 hours straight, during which time he won $287,300. Despite the win, Hansen lost the two biggest pots of the day.

Hand #1: In a hand of $300/$600 pot-limit Omaha, action was five-handed when Chun Lei ��samrostan�� Zhou ($70,079.50) opened for $1,500 from the button only to have Hansen ($167,708.25) three-bet to $5,100 from the small blind. Alex ��Alexonmoon�� Luneau ($173,163) then four-bet to $16,800 from the big, Zhou folded, and Hansen pushed back with a five-bet to $51,900. Not to be outdone, Hansen six-bet to $157,200, Luneau called, and the flop came down 8?2?5?.

Hansen led out with a bet, and Luneau called off his remaining $10,508.25 before both players agreed to run it twice.

Luneau: A?A?9?6?
Hansen: K?10?9?7?

Luneau held pocket aces, while Hansen only held a gutshot straight draw. The 10? turn and Q? river on the first run secured Luneau half the $336,916.50 pot, while the 9? and 5? on the second run gave him the scoop.

Hand #2:

Blom went on to lose $194,000 on the day, while Luneau won $298,100.

Biggest Winners/Losers from August 1-8

Winners	Profit	Losers	Loss
Alex ��Alexonmoon�� Luneau	$1,123,445	Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom	$976,238
��Trueteller��	$777,686	Chun Lei ��samrostan�� Zhou	$575,149
Dan ��jungleman12�� Cates	$768,603	Phil ��OMGClayAiken�� Galfond	$475,113
Mikael ��punting-peddler�� Thuritz	$472,972	��Denoking��	$461,402
��Carlooo13��	$396,474	��kagome kagome��	$245,092

Year's Biggest Winners/Losers

Winners	Profit	Losers	Loss
Dan ��jungleman12�� Cates	$2,123,898	Gus Hansen	$3,783,270
Patrik ��FinddaGrind�� Antonius	$1,183,736	Viktor ��Isildur1�� Blom	$1,868,519
Mikael ��punting-peddler�� Thuritz	$1,095,494	Phil ��Polarizing�� Ivey	$1,815,817
Niki Jedlicka	$1,039,214	Elior ��Crazy Elior�� Sion	$1,048,475
Doug ��WCGRider�� Polk	$755,773	Paul ��MalACEsia�� Phua	$823,325
Christoph ��Tight-Man1�� Vogelsang	$649,240	Phil ��OMGClayAiken�� Galfond	$781,502