The famed "Dogs Playing Poker" painting sold for more than half of a million dollars, inspiring Rich and Donnie to discuss what poker artefacts they would bid on. They also discuss Chris Moneymaker's Hall of Fame prospects before talking with Bellagio Director of Poker Operations Craig Lumpp about the upcoming WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic festival, his career in poker, and more.
There are just hours left of 2015, plenty of time to make resolutions or plans to see in the New Year as it creeps towards the horizon. But alas not when it comes to changing the standings at the top of the PokerStars Tournament Leader Board. In answer to the question posed in the hedline the answer would appear to be "yes".
This isn't the last update from the 2015 TLB race, but between now and bell later today it looks like one player has the race sewn up. Again. Ismo<3seppo won in 2013, and then did so again in 2014. Unless something miraculous happens in the next 12 hours or so he'll make it three in a row. It has been another stupendous year of, well, winning for the Fin.
Here's how the TLB looks with hours left to play.
| Place | User ID | Points | Country | Previous Position | Recent Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ismo<3seppo | 61,859.52 | Finland | 1 | 3rd Hot $7.50, 3549 players, 636.10 points |
| 2 | Sifosis | 58,990.85 | Denmark | 2 | 2nd $27 20K GTD, 1,461 players, 655.92 points |
| 3 | Aguskb | 56,823.30 | Mexico | 3 | 1st $55 8K GTD, 161 players, 393.29 points |
| 4 | MARCIN123 | 54,050.64 | UK | 4 | 3rd $27 20K GTD, 1,039 players, 445.61 points |
| 5 | markovitsus | 53,470.41 | Estonia | 6 | 1st $27 20K GTD, 1,334 players, 889.69 points |
| 6 | Breakchips | 52,261.74 | Netherlands | Outside top 15 | 1st $13.50 Knockout, 964 players, 653.73 points, 6th Big $5.50, 8,574 players, 650.26 points |
| 7 | Xodd | 52,140.71 | Thailand | 5 | |
| 8 | FireFaux | 52,035.75 | Canada | 9 | |
| 9 | eijseijs | 51,693.56 | Sweden | 6 | |
| 10 | iWasDjWtf | 51,595.71 | Switzerland | 13 | |
| 11 | rodrigorpv | 51,536.72 | Brazil | 11 | |
| 12 | girafganger7 | 51,409.36 | Belgium | 10 | |
| 13 | guix2x | 51,343.94 | Brazil | 8 | |
| 14 | AsjBaaaf | 50,803.48 | New Xealand | 12 | |
| 15 | Fabaz | 49,547.02 | United Kingdom | 14 |
The performance of Ismo<3seppo at the top is of course the most obvious story, but there are other remarkable things to note.
For instance the top five players have been in the same positions for weeks, apparently immovable. And while Breakchips has recorded a late run of form to leapfrog into the top ten, having previously been outside the top 15, the names on this list remain largely unchanged.
On top of that you get an idea of the standard of these players by checking their recent results. A third place here, and second place there, and wins for three of the top six. These players win regularly, and do so when it matters. No wonder things at the top have been pretty static.
But as we said, there are still several hours to play. Who knows what could happen. After that the clock will stop and each player can stop checking the results of others, like some nervous twitch. Although after a year of checking it might take a few days for things to return to normal.
Congratulations to all the players at the business end of the TLB. Check back next week for the final results.
For details of the TLB competition, and the prizes involved, check out the TLB homepage.
There are just hours left of 2015, plenty of time to make resolutions or plans to see in the New Year as it creeps towards the horizon. But alas not when it comes to changing the standings at the top of the PokerStars Tournament Leader Board. In answer to the question posed in the hedline the answer would appear to be "yes".
This isn't the last update from the 2015 TLB race, but between now and bell later today it looks like one player has the race sewn up. Again. Ismo won in 2013, and then did so again in 2014. Unless something miraculous happens in the next 12 hours or so he'll make it three in a row. It has been another stupendous year of, well, winning for the Fin.
Here's how the TLB looks with hours left to play.
| Place | User ID | Points | Country | Previous Position | Recent Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ismo | 61,859.52 | Finland | 1 | 3rd Hot $7.50, 3549 players, 636.10 points |
| 2 | Sifosis | 58,990.85 | Denmark | 2 | 2nd $27 20K GTD, 1,461 players, 655.92 points |
| 3 | Aguskb | 56,823.30 | Mexico | 3 | 1st $55 8K GTD, 161 players, 393.29 points |
| 4 | MARCIN123 | 54,050.64 | UK | 4 | 3rd $27 20K GTD, 1,039 players, 445.61 points |
| 5 | markovitsus | 53,470.41 | Estonia | 6 | 1st $27 20K GTD, 1,334 players, 889.69 points |
| 6 | Breakchips | 52,261.74 | Netherlands | Outside top 15 | 1st $13.50 Knockout, 964 players, 653.73 points, 6th Big $5.50, 8,574 players, 650.26 points |
| 7 | Xodd | 52,140.71 | Thailand | 5 | |
| 8 | FireFaux | 52,035.75 | Canada | 9 | |
| 9 | eijseijs | 51,693.56 | Sweden | 6 | |
| 10 | iWasDjWtf | 51,595.71 | Switzerland | 13 | |
| 11 | rodrigorpv | 51,536.72 | Brazil | 11 | |
| 12 | girafganger7 | 51,409.36 | Belgium | 10 | |
| 13 | guix2x | 51,343.94 | Brazil | 8 | |
| 14 | AsjBaaaf | 50,803.48 | New Xealand | 12 | |
| 15 | Fabaz | 49,547.02 | United Kingdom | 14 |
The performance of Ismo
For instance the top five players have been in the same positions for weeks, apparently immovable. And while Breakchips has recorded a late run of form to leapfrog into the top ten, having previously been outside the top 15, the names on this list remain largely unchanged.
On top of that you get an idea of the standard of these players by checking their recent results. A third place here, and second place there, and wins for three of the top six. These players win regularly, and do so when it matters. No wonder things at the top have been pretty static.
But as we said, there are still several hours to play. Who knows what could happen. After that the clock will stop and each player can stop checking the results of others, like some nervous twitch. Although after a year of checking it might take a few days for things to return to normal.
Congratulations to all the players at the business end of the TLB. Check back next week for the final results.
For details of the TLB competition, and the prizes involved, check out the TLB homepage.
Rich and Donnie discuss Wednesday's RAWA hearing and the latest PokerStars press release, and Daniel Weinman joins the program to talk about his first big win, OFC with Michael Jordan and John Smoltz, and more.
Plus, the duo breaks down the first half of the best holiday gifts for poker players for 2015.
The high-stakes action on the Internet in 2015 featured some huge pots, mostly in pot-limit Omaha. Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, who won roughly $2 million this year, was involved in most of them. The Swede indicated yet again that he is willing to take on pretty much anyone on the web.
Blom won the year’s top hand, a pot worth $365,000. That figure was slightly less than 2014’s largest online poker pot, which was roughly $382,000.
Poker pro Phil Ivey was also a player in many of the year’s largest pots, but things didn’t go his way overall. Ivey lost roughly $3.7 million in 2015, dropping him to third place on the all-time list behind Patrik Antonius and Daniel Cates. With more than $19 million in winnings pre-Black Friday, Ivey used to be far and away the biggest winner in online poker history.
Other high-stakes regulars involved in the year’s largest hands include Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky, Ben “Btech86” Tollerene and Sean “WithColor” Rafael.
No. 1: $365,895—Blom at $200-$400 pot-limit Omaha
On Aug. 25, the biggest pot Blom has ever played on PokerStars began on a flop reading 8
According to Card Player’s Omaha Odds Calculator, Blom wins a whopping 91 percent of the time thanks to pretty much coolering his opponent at heads-up PLO. The two elected to run it twice, and Blom’s hand held both times. He raked in the $365,895 pot.
No. 2: $346,422—JayP-AA at $200-$400 pot-limit Omaha
This $346,422 pot at $200-$400 PLO happened between Blom and JayP-AA. The hand featured a bluff gone wrong on the river for Blom. Before we get to the action, here were their cards:
JayP-AA: A
Blom: K
In a three-handed game with Isaac Haxton also sitting, Blom made it $1,600 on the button, and JayP-AA three-bet to $5,300. Blom called, and the flop fell J
The river brought the 5
No. 3: $304,317—Blom/Carlooo13 at $300-$600 pot-limit Omaha
This late March hand began with both players sitting on hefty six-figure stacks, and both were willing to put $16,200 into the middle preflop. The flop came K
Blom: 7
Carlooo13: K
They elected to run it twice. The first run-out was 9
No. 4: $298,285—Ivey at $200-$400 pot-limit Omaha
In October, Ivey and Tollerene battled at some nosebleed PLO and there were fireworks.
Ivey: K
Tollerne: A
WRUUUUM began the action by raising to $1,700 under the gun, Tollerene three-bet to $6,000 on the button, and Ivey four-bet to $20,700. Blom folded his big blind and WRUUUUM folded. Tollerene made the call. The flop fell 3
Ivey fired out $43,000, and Tollerene moved all in for $127,000 in total. Ivey called. According to Card Player’s Omaha odds calculator, Ivey’s hand holds up 61 percent of the time against Tollerene’s drawing hand. They elected to run it once, which is typical for Ivey.
The turn was the 5
No. 5: $296,091—Ivey at $200-$400 no-limit hold’em
The year’s largest no-limit hold’em hand was won by none other than Ivey. In the hand at $200-$400 no-limit hold’em in late May, Ivey had the button and was holding the 9
The flop fell Q
The river was the 10
No. 6: $294,582—Sulsky/Blom at $200-$400 pot-limit Omaha
This early September pot was six-bet preflop, with $38,000 from each player going into the middle before three cards hit the virtual felt. Blom held the A
Blom bet out pot, and Sulsky put him all in for roughly $108,000 in total. Blom called, and they elected to run it twice. The first run-out was the 8
According to Card Player’s Omaha odds calculator, Blom wins about a quarter of the time, as Sulsky had his pair beat and a significantly better drawing hand.
No. 7: $292,452—Blom/Doorbread at $250-$500 pot-limit Omaha
This heads-up hand began with Blom and unknown account “Doorbread” putting $13,500 into the middle preflop. The flop fell Q
Blom held the A
No. 8: $274,698—Blom at $200-$400 pot-limit Omaha
Blom and Rafael were sitting deep and put just $4,000 into the pot preflop. The flop of Q
No. 9: $273,063—Blom/Rafael at $200-$400 pot-limit Omaha
This hand was another big one in their late August session. On a board reading 10
No. 10: $271,632—Rafael at $100-$200 pot-limit Omaha
Unknown grinder JayP-AA raised on the button to $820, and Ivey and Rafeal both called. The flop fell J
The turn was the 2
Their cards:
Ivey: A
Rafeal: A
JayP-AA: A
Ivey and Rafeal both had the nuts, but Rafeal’s hand was far superior with the flush draw. JayP-AA had just two pair, but with a flush draw to go along with it, they had decent equity. According to Card Player’s Omaha Odds Calculator, Ivey and Rafeal split the pot just over 47 percent of the time; Rafeal scoops about 22.2 percent of the time, and JayP-AA wins almost 31 percent of the time. Ivey didn’t have any outs to win the entire pot.
The players elected to run it just once, and the 10
Hands and pot sizes via HighstakesDB.
