Phil Galfond Blogs About Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom

August 27th, 2012 | 10:59 pm

One of online poker's most respected players, Phil Galfond, has taken to his blog to discuss the legendary story of Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom.

By Matt Kaufman, Rakeback.com Poker News Editor

Most cultures have their own unique stories which all of the members of that culture are familiar with. For example, if you're an American you're no doubt familiar with the tale of George Washington chopping down a cherry tree.

Although most such folklore likely becomes warped over time, with a subculture as young as online poker it is quite a bit easier to get all of the details right. On the flip side, it's much more difficult for any event to be fantastical enough to be spoken of in that manner at all.

If we were to craft a mythology of online poker, the story of Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom's rapid ascent to the biggest games in the world would be one of the most obvious tales.

Today, Phil 'OMGClayAiken' Galfond ('MrSweets28' on PokerStars) wrote a blog addressing Blom's rise to fame, his game, and who he is as a person. It is appropriately titled "Viktor Blom: The Man, The Myth, The Legend".

We recommend you check it out for yourself, but here's one of the most interesting parts in which Galfond truly shows how unique Blom is:

My friend played in a 3 handed $100/$200 PLO game with Viktor this summer and told me a funny story about a hand from that night. Viktor was facing a large river bet in a medium sized pot, and instantly folded. As the dealer started to pass the chips the other way, Viktor looked confused and reached for his mucked hand. After taking a look at it, un-phased, he said, “I don’t know why I always do that.”

He had folded a full house without noticing when the board paired on the river. Not surprisingly, given the insane speed at which he plays online, this wasn’t the first time it’d happened.

Viktor explained to me over dinner one night that he likes to make his decisions instantly so that he doesn’t question his first instinct. Apparently, folding the nuts every once in a while is a price he has to pay.

Most of us would be upset at misreading a hand. If you’re a pro, it’s not impossible to deal with the swings of poker because they’re out of your control. If you misplay a hand horribly (like accidentally folding a monster), that’s both financially and emotionally damaging, at least for me and most of the players I know- But not for Viktor.

Why? Because what you’re doing with a fold like that is simply throwing away money, and as Viktor says (more believably than all the other players who try to say it), “It’s just money."