Who is the best: Online Poker Power Rankings for December 2009

 

There was a little bit of a shakeup in the rankings as Brian Hastings shot up the standings, and the unfortunate casualty was Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond who has been MIA for most of the latter part of 2009 –and the Online Poker Power Rankings are weighted toward recent results. Additionally, a few players moved up and down, but the top three were able to remain entrenched.

 The monthly Online Poker Power Rankings will judge the 10 best online poker players based on current and career results –emphasizing the past month, year, and career; In that order-- and also a players reputation based on online poker forums, blogs, and their reputation among their peers.

1.        Patrik Antonius (last month #1)

Antonius has continued his torrid 2009, and is now up over $9 million for the year, an absolutely astounding number. Antonius was also one of the first players to find some chinks in Isildur1’s armor.

2.       Phil Ivey (last month #2)

Ivey just continues to win, no matter who the competition is. Again, only Antonius amazing success keeps Ivey out of the #1 spot.

3.       Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies (last month #3)

Sahamies hasn’t been playing as frequently as he did in the past, but Ziigmund seems to playing at a much more steady level, with few of the huge downswings that have marred his career.

4.       Brian Townsend ( last month #9)

Townsend has really rekindled his career in the last half-year, playing an incredibly consistent game. Townsend has also reaped the rewards of Isildur1’s recent downswing and is up $2.5 million for the year.

5.       Brian Hastings (last month not listed)

Hastings may not play the highest stakes games, but he does quite well in the next level or two down –Hastings was up around $800k until recently. And after taking over $4 million off Isildur1 in a single session, Hastings proved he has the chops to play anyone for any stakes. The huge win catapulted Hastings to #3 on this year’s money list with over $5 million in winnings.

6.       Hac “trex313” Dang (last month #6)

Trex313 spent little time at the tables from mid-November until mid-December but he made the most of it, pulling in some $400k, and thus holding on to the #6 spot.

7.       Tom “durrrr” Dwan (last month #5)

Amazingly, “durrrr” has dropped out of the top 5. His struggles have reached such an epic proportion that he has recently been spotted playing $50/$100 trying to rebuild his tattered bankroll.

8.       Di “Urindanger” Dang (last month #7)

URInDanger continues his ho-hum year and is still hovering around break-even. Only his incredible career numbers keep him in the top 10. This was a toss-up pick between Phil Galfond and Di Dang, and I went with Dang because he has at least been active.

9.       Rafi “Howsitfeellike” Amit  (last month #10)

HowsItFeelLike continued his terrific run by posting an almost million dollar upswing since mid November. With all the intense high-stakes action Rafi has been able to fly under the radar despite being up over $2 million for the year.

10.   Isildur1 (last month #8)

Ok, I realize his bankroll has been decimated as of late, but the man has truly taken the online poker game to a whole new level. Playing 8-tables at a time against Ivey, durrrr, and Antonius, while employing a super fast/aggressive style, and somehow managing to avoid tilting is pretty impressive.

All statistics provided by www.highstakesdb.com