The
online poker world has seen many poker players who arrive on
the scene, play some big sessions, go broke and disappear into
obscurity. Earlier this year, the previous resident mystery Swede
“martonas” had a hot run before a big downswing led him to
stop logging so much time on the tables. The skeptics out there may
think Isildur1 is just another person in a long line of
players who took a shot at the nosebleeds and walked away
empty-handed.
Many
within the poker community will tell you that even if Isildur1
were to never play another hand of poker, his presence at the
tables during the fall and winter of 2009 changed online poker
forever thanks to his record-setting moments and memorable sessions
with virtually every major high stakes pro around.
Isildur1
was spotted at the Full Tilt poker tables this past week; far
from his usual nosebleed stakes Isildur1 was playing $50/$100 and
$100/$200 against Jungleman12 and URnotINdanger2.
Despite playing far lower than usual, his mere presence at the Full
Tilt Poker tables was enough to get the high-stakes rail-birds
talking.
In
an uneventful match against Jungleman12, Isildur1 ended
up on the plus side to the tune of around $25k. The big pot came when
Isildur1 made a tough call with second pair on a highly coordinated
board, but won the $50k+ pot when Jungleman12 could only show
an unimproved AK.
The
mystery Swede didn’t fare as well against URnotINdanger2,
where he ended down about $138k. The match saw a number of decent
sized pots going to both players. It’s unknown whether Isildur1’s
bankroll is hurting, or if he just chose to avoid the ultra-high
stakes games that were taking place this past week –$500/$1000 Cap
PLO played short-handed.
It seems Isildur1 far prefers
heads-up games to short-handed or full ring, and may be shying away
from PLO a bit –he definitely is a much stronger No Limit Holdem
player.
While
his No Limit game is generally believed to be stronger, Isildur1 has
made an impact on the game of PLO as well. Andrew “Browndog19”
Brown, one of the high stakes PLO players who logged some hours
with Isildur1, believes his presence on Full Tilt really changed the
game of Omaha.
“He
might not be the best player in the world, but he did things and is
doing things that nobody else was doing in PLO that, in my opinion,
have changed the game, He added an element of aggression in PLO in a
different way than the other high stakes poker players that play PLO
have been aggressive … He has no fear. Some of these guys need
blockers in their hands to go bluffing. Isildur does not need
blockers. He is capable of bluffing any card, any street, any time.”
said
Andrew “Browndog19”
Brown,.
Armed
with fearlessness and a seven-figure bankroll, Isildur1 redefined
the railbirds’ idea of an epic session or a big pot. These huge
pots and big swings are fun to watch, but as durrrr and Isildur1 have
shown us, a bad run of cards can easily destroy a bankroll.
The
debate on whether or not Isildur1’s presence has had a
positive impact rages on, but in the meantime, the more pressing
question is whether or not we’ll see more of this captivating
player in the future. History has shown us that he can rebound from
big losses, and Qureshi and others think he is too much of an action
junkie not to come back for more. Still, after this latest loss, one
begins to wonder if his chosen name of Isildur1 might just be
ominously fitting for the man who changed the face of online poker.
Since
then it has been widely accepted that Isildur1 is actually
Viktor Blom. And most of the, Who is Isildur1? questions have
stopped. This was also helped by the fact he never appeared on Full
Tilt for a month.
However,
this month Isildur1 returned to Full Tilt with a bang,
again having million dollar swings at the cash tables.
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