The high-stakes world of online poker has received a shot in the arm in the month of November. With online wunderkind Tom “durrrr” Dwan currently taking on fellow high-stakes players in a live Durrrr Challenge in London, the online world also sprung to life this week, with Finnish professional Patrik Antonius capturing the largest pot in online poker history, $879,000.

Earlier this week on the high-stakes tables at Full Tilt Poker, the unknown Swedish newcomer lsildur1 has been taking on several of the top pros in the Full Tilt Poker stable, including Phil Ivey, Dwan, and Antonius. In some cases, lsildur1 has had approximately $4 million dollars in action, sending the railbirds buzzing about a new high-stakes player in the online community. On Monday night playing $500/$1,000 Pot Limit Omaha, Antonius and lsildur1 hooked up in what has become one of the most discussed hands on the internet.

With Antonius sitting behind $439,479 and lsildur1 stacked with $450,494, the hand started with a raise on the button of $3,000 from lsildur1 holding a strong Omaha hand of As-Ks-Qd-Th. Antonius made the call with a respectable Ah-Qc-9s-6h and the duo saw a flop of 5h-7h-Qs. This set the fireworks off, as both had hit top pair-top kicker, but Antonius had the edge with flush and straight draws.

Antonius check-raised to $21,000 and was met with a call from his opponent. The action increased further as the Ad fell on the turn, giving both players two pair, with the edge still tilted towards Antonius, and making for a likelihood that the twosome would split the pot. Known in his short time online for his aggression, lsildur1 pounded the pot with a $192,000 check-raise after Antonius had bet $48,000. Antonius 3bet back at lsildur1 with the remainder of his stack and was called. The resulting river sent a shockwave through the online world.

Although odds favored a split pot, Antonius could win the hand with any heart or an eight. When the 8d fell on the river, Antonius took the massive $878,959 pot by making a miraculous straight. It only furthered a downswing for the Swede who, after earning a great deal of money against arguably some of the toughest opponents in the game in his short online poker career, has recently dropped $2.25 million, according to PokerTableRatings.com.

Some in the online poker world believe that lsildur1 may have been a bit overaggressive with the potential draws available. On the popular TwoPlusTwo forums, there have been discussions of who lsildur1 is and an entire thread has been dedicated to discuss the new online phenomenon. There has also been some discussion of how wise it is to take on such powerful players as Antonius, Dwan, and Ivey. TwoPlusTwo poster “kepatsa” perhaps said it best when he stated, “I don’t think it’s a great strategy to multi-table Ivey, Durrrr, and PA at the same time. That just cannot be a winning proposition. I give Isi credit for balls, maybe not brains.”

At the PocketFives forum, there have been those who echoed the sentiment that it isn’t in lsildur1’s best interest to keep butting heads with some of Full Tilt’s top guns. On the site, “MrH” said, “I still think it’s a horrible decision to play all three,” but after looking at some of the success that lsildur has had against them, added, “I have even more respect for the kid.”

Whether lsildur1 can continue to absorb such losses as the $2.25 million that he has taken this week is difficult to ascertain. Little is known about the Swedish player, who drops $4 million on the table and tackles some of the toughest poker players on the planet today. What is known, however, is that online railbirds will be watching for the next battle to rage across the virtual felt, presumably soon.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *