I just had to check … and sure enough, he’s not driving around Las Vegas with his Full Tilt name on display:

If only I had a collection of cars, I’d name them all … Free Pokerati T-shirt to anyone who outfits they’re vehicle with the above or any of the following pokertastic plates, all of which are available, some surprisingly so:

More…

Sure, we know Isildur1 was like sooo 2009, but couldn’t help starting the new year checking out this breakdown of the biggest online poker hand in history. The video replay (with decent commentary) includes the two hands of Pot-Limit Omaha that led up to $1.3 million going in on the flop between the mystery Swede and Patrik Antonius on Full Tilt:

Instapoker

A few other interesting links of late:

The upcoming LAPC is the best tourney-fest since sliced bread/the WSOP?

A guy who could pass for Phil Ivey’s dad at a Bob Marley concert.

NBAers Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton draw guns in what could be a standoff over poker debts?

Bill Rini has a well-thought-out response to the datamining issues raised by Beanie’s Pokerati op-ed.

A lot of people in the poker industry claim they know who Isildur1 is. I don’t buy any of it (yet) … because when you trace back who said what and how they knew who made who on 2+2, you realize there’s a 50-50 shot that the historic player on Full Tilt was probably in a movie with Kevin Bacon.

But PokerNews ed-honcho Matt Parvis did speak with a heavily accented Isildur1 on the phone recently, for a limited two-part interview:

In Part 1 they address the controversial session against Cardrunners Pro Brian Hastings. And though hardly seeming upset, Isildur does say he intends to file a complaint against presumed datamining violations.

In Part 2 Isildur reveals that he had been playing $200/$400 NL on different sites before coming to Full Tilt in October; he isn’t the other mysterious Swedish nosebleeder Martonas (“Martonas is honestly my enemy in poker”); he learned to play PLO only 8 months ago; durrr is good, Ivey tough; and yes, he’ll be back.

It seems like Beanie from Bluff (the website, not the magazine) isn’t the only one with data mining on his mind these days. Joining Paul in expressing their dismay over this increasingly common trend are the folks over at 2+2 who are starting an online petition to try and convince sites like Stars and Tilt to completely ban the use of TableRatings.

Which brings us to Brian Townsend, a Full Tilt Poker pro and popular CardRunners instructor who has recently learned something about bans and TableRatings. It seems that Townsend, Cole South, and Brian Hastings got together to brainstorm strategies for taking down Isilidur1 shortly before Hastings booked his incredible $4.2 million win against the Swedish phenom.

While their strategizing was in no way a violation of FTP’s Terms of Service, the fact that they poured over a Townsend-supplied database of hand histories in order to decipher Isildur’s playing patterns was — and, as a result, Townsend is now playing without his red status for 30 days. Our buddy Matt Parvis has the full story over at Poker News.

Check it out … Phil Gordon (“dean” of the Full Tilt Academy) sits down with one of Isildur’s key opponents, Patrik Antonius, to discuss what’s really going on in these highest-stakes online games vs. the biggest mystery opponent of 2009/in history.

Part 1 is an 18-minute interview where they discuss the Isildur1 phenomenon, the advantages of playing anonymously, and other matters relevant to those risking six- and seven-figure sums against him.

Part 2 gives nearly 30 minutes of actual hand analysis where Antonius discusses what was going through his mind at the time.

For the past two months, Phil Ivey, Durr, Gus Hansen, Patrik Antonius and the online phenom/enigma known as Isildur1 have been playing some of the most outrageous poker we’ve ever seen at what can only be described as nosebleed-level stakes.

The question is, with millions of dollars being shifted around each session – or hand, as the case may be – how much longer can they keep these remarkable games going without any fresh fish at the table? Our friend Bill Rini thinks the answer is not much longer.

On last week’s episode, we took a deeper look at Jeffrey Pollack’s split with the WSOP, discussed what Joe Cada may or may not mean for poker, speculated wildly on WhoTF this Isildur1 character is … and then they turned to the Wolfman for an update on all things UIGEA, where my take was pretty much: Dec. 1 … I dunno … your guess as good as mine! But could Isildur really be Darvin Moon?

on PokerRoad

The Poker Beat
Huff, Caldwell, Nemeth, Wise, Michalski, Stapleton
11/19/09

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Patrik Antonius and Isildur1 butted heads for some 500/1000 action Saturday night, eventually getting involved in a pot worth over $1.35m, the biggest hand in the history of online poker (for now). To see how it happened, check out the video below: