Monday, Aug. 11, 2008

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Just a little $1 million PLO among friends

Antonius: Doing what most do in the summer: playing a little million-dollar PLO; trying to catch a few innings of the Mets game.

By Christopher Hunt

You know how it is when friends get together in the summer. A few beers; a casual game of cards in the sun. Or, say, a little deep-stacked online Pot-Limit Omaha.

Proving yet again how far removed the lives of high-stakes poker icons are from those of the everyman, a few poker friends sat in for an epic summer session at Full Tilt last night with a little more at stake than a few wet bills on the patio furniture.

The friends in question: famous Finns Patrik Antonius and Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies, and Frenchman David Benyamine, who, it seems, just don't get the same kicks hanging out throwing a Frisbee around.

Instead, they toss their loose coin around on the PLO tables - so much loose coin in fact that they had over $1 million in front of them by the end of the session.

The result, of course: plenty of super big hands and plenty of super huge pots, with at least 10 $170k+ pots changing hands and several over $200k, including the biggest pot online today.

It easily could have been an all-time online record, with both Benyamine and Antonius beginning the hand with roughly $400k in front of them, but in the end it was the two Finns mixing it up and a modest $228k pot ultimately being shoved Antonius' way at showdown.

A scare card on the river or a check-through among friends? Either way, here's the hand history, as tracked by the PokerListings.com MarketPulse section.

7603292338 TABLE: Antonius (deep 6) $200/$400 - Pot-Limit Omaha Hi - Mon Aug 11 2008 - 10:30am ET

Table Setup

Seat 1: howisitfeellike ($40,000), is sitting out
Seat 2: theASHMAN103 ($42,798)
Seat 3: Patrik Antonius ($399,222.50)
Seat 4: Ziigmund ($193,186.50)
Seat 6: David Benyamine ($422,357)
David Benyamine posts the small blind of $200
theASHMAN103 posts the big blind of $400
The button is in seat #4

Pre-Flop

Patrik Antonius raises to $1,400
Ziigmund raises to $4,800
David Benyamine folds
theASHMAN103 folds
Patrik Antonius calls $3,400

Flop: [6 5 K]

Patrik Antonius checks
Ziigmund has 15 seconds left to act
Ziigmund bets $7,600
Patrik Antonius has 15 seconds left to act
Patrik Antonius raises to $33,000
Ziigmund calls $25,400

Turn: [6 5 K][A]

Patrik Antonius has 15 seconds left to act
Patrik Antonius bets $76,200
Ziigmund has 15 seconds left to act
Ziigmund calls $76,200

River: [6 5 K][A][9]

Patrik Antonius has 15 seconds left to act
Patrik Antonius has requested TIME
Patrik Antonius checks
Ziigmund checks

Showdown

Patrik Antonius shows [3 A 4 9] two pair, aces and nines
Ziigmund mucks
Patrik Antonius wins the pot ($228,598) with two pair, aces and nines

Summary

Total pot $228,600 | Rake $2
Board: River [6 5 K] [A][9]
Seat 1: howisitfeellike is sitting out
Seat 2: theASHMAN103 (big blind) folded before the flop
Seat 3: Patrik Antonius collected ($228,598)
Seat 4: Ziigmund (button) mucked
Seat 6: David Benyamine (small blind) folded before the flop

Like all good pals, however, a half-million changing hands doesn't seem to get in the way of the friendship, as the chat between PA and Benyamine at the end of the session seems to suggest:

David Benyamine: nice lesson
David Benyamine: well done my friend
Patrik Antonius: heh
David Benyamine: i still won 500 k
Patrik Antonius: u better hit a bed buddy gotta rest
sometimes too
David Benyamine: yep
Patrik Antonius: i will quit playing u soon since u never lose
anymore
Patrik Antonius: ziig lost pretty big
David Benyamine: gl
Patrik Antonius: i think i beat u 530 for me
David Benyamine: eeya
Patrik Antonius: cya

Ziigmund, on the other hand, may have taken a couple names off his fave five.

Keep yourself busy waiting for the next session with a few games at Full Tilt here, or check out more of the 100 biggest pots won online over the past day, week, month and year over in the PokerListings.com MarketPulse section.

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