XWINK Wins Millions in Nosebleed Games

Over the last few years, there have been several names that have rocked the online poker world with their rapid ascent into the nosebleed games. But perhaps none of these rises to fame has happened faster than one that has taken place in the last week, when a player going by the name of XWINK managed to take a small bankroll and, at one point, turn it into $2 million.

Little is known about XWINK, other than that he appears to be from Canada. He is also suspected to be the same player as XBLINK, who managed to turn $11 into over $800,000 during a month-long span in 2009 on UltimateBet (now UB.com).

This time around, it seems that XWINK started his run with a somewhat larger bankroll. According to posts supposedly made by the player on 2+2, he began his run with $4,000, turning it into $2 million in the incredibly short time period of four days.

By the time XWINK had reached the highest limits – playing $500/$1,000 pot-limit Omaha – he was facing off against some of the best players in the game, including Phil Ivey, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, David Benefield and Patrik Antonius.

But it wasn’t all good news for the anonymous Canadian. XWINK then proceeded to lose about $1.2 million back in a single day, with the biggest hit coming in a $300/$600 pot-limit Omaha heads up battle against Cole South. That session cost him about $500,000 alone, with more losses coming later on Sunday.

Reportedly, most of XWINK’s opponents haven’t been impressed by his play. Instead, several reports say that other nosebleed players are more interested in his style of game selection rather than his play at the table. It seems as though XWINK has only been playing very short sessions – one report says he never played more than 243 hands at a single table – and has only been single-tabling.

While XWINK’s achievements are extraordinary, other top players first exploded on the scene by quickly rising to the nosebleed games. Perhaps the most prominent example is that of Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, who managed to stay anonymous for over a year after winning – and losing – millions in some of the biggest games ever played online.