The Man Behind Isildur1

What you’re about to read is a purely speculative assumption of what a day in Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom’s life looks like. Of course, nobody but the real legend and a few close friends of his know the truth, but we've made some creative guesses using facts found on the web and mixing them together with an enjoyable and easy-to-read story. Most of his life facts are taken from the HighStakesDB series ‘The Making of Viktor Blom,’ Phil Galfond’spost ‘Viktor Blom, the Man, the Myth, the Legend,’ and Bluff Europe’s 2011 interview as well as Viktor’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Enjoy.

In the Beginning

Viktor jumped out of bed sweating and looked around in horror. It was time to go to school. He disliked going to school in the winter and he hated going to school on such awful days after he had been up all night losing his money on some poker sight. Being at school was even worse: he was behind in every subject and every administrator there seemed to threaten him with expulsion. Or at least, that’s what he thought.

Viktor looked around and saw himself in the mirror. He was relieved. No, he wasn’t fifteen anymore, and he wasn’t living in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was now 25, living on his own in London, UK. He didn’t need the $840 his parents gave him in his school days, nor the bloody government tuition. He was a grown man making millions at the poker tables and living life like a boss in the financial capital of Europe. He was the notorious ‘Isildur1,’ the crazy Swede who played poker like a true degenerate.

‘Do I have to get up?’ he thought as he was looking around. He didn’t need to, as the poker games were always there for him at any time of day or night. Nobody was forcing to him to do anything, not when he could make tens of thousands of dollars in the blink of an eye. Viktor Blom was his own boss. Yet, unlike the majority, he couldn’t just sleepwalk through life and make a living. Nobody paid him a weekly wage. He had to make it on his own; every hour away from the poker tables was a hour lost.

Viktor looked out the window from his bed. The sun was high on the horizon. ‘It must be noon,’ he thought and got up on his feet ready to start the day.

The Start

After a much-needed shower, he moved up to the large white attic, grabbed something to eat, and opened his laptop. He sat on the floor like a true yogin getting ready to start his meditation. His meditation, though, didn’t involve reaching a state of Nirvana; his mantra was to crush the souls of opponents souls’ at the poker tables.

He logged in on PokerStars and on a Microgaming site where he played $50/$100 and $100/$200 Pot Limit Omaha as of late. He opened some tables and waited. He knew someone would eventually give him some much-needed action.

god i love action!

— Viktor Blom (ViktorBlom) April 4, 2013

The thing about Viktor is that, unlike most poker pros, he wasn’t worried about studying the game, analyzing hand histories, and watching poker training videos. He didn’t even use a HUD. Blom has never read a book on poker strategy either. He plays based purely on his innate feeling for the game. He loved the game of poker so much that he was willing to play at any time, against any opponent. And the way he adjusted and learned on the go was a thing of beauty that continues to amaze many top players. This approach, however, has also been his nemesis. He has lost millions of dollars at the tables against more disciplined and savvy players like Brian Hastings or Phil Galfond, yet, he was still breathing down everyone’s necks, threatening everybody’s bankrolls with his relentless attitude.

The laptop made a loud sound that resembled a ring. Viktor who was sharing a laugh with his roommate on the side of the room went to see what was happening. An unknown provoked him. The game? 2-7 Triple Draw! The Stakes? $300/$600!

The session was on and he wasn’t planning on losing.

whatever the stakes, i don't play to lose

— Viktor Blom (@ViktorBlom) February 17, 2013

Start of Session: $0

Victor Blom's journey started with him literally playing for pennies he played Heads-Up No Limit Texas Holdem against his brother for spare change. The action moved to school with his friends during breaks where they played $3 to $7 tournaments. With his brother on his side, he deposited $100 online, registered for an $11 tournament and finished fifth winning $300, a huge number for a schoolchild. By 25, $300 though was a trivial small blind.

15 minutes into the session: +$15k

After the $300 win, he continued to play $6 to $11 six-max SNGs and MTTs with his brother but could never get over the hump. He started another account with a school friend of his; the results were the same. That’s when he realized he needed to play on his own and be responsible for his own bankroll. This decision changed his life forever.

30 minutes into the session: -$35k

The Grind

The action at the tables heated up. A regular on MPN was ready to start a heads-up battle with him at $100/$200 PLO tables. On PokerStars, Ilari FIN Sahamies challenged him to a $100/$200 PLO session. Viktor, like always, was ready. He was still hungry though and asked his roommate to order a pizza… or several. He knew this was going to be a long session.

1 Hour into the Session -$275K

At an earlier point in his life, back when he was playing as ‘Blom90’, $275,000 was his whole poker bankroll. After he decided to give it a go on his own, he created the notorious screenname and deposited his whole savings - around $2,000. He started noticing the weaker players, attacking them relentlessly, and in a matter of weeks, he was already playing the highest stakes - $530 ten-man SNGs. No bankroll management, no poker videos, no study groups, only him and nine other opponents and yes...his feeling and passion for the game.

To get to that stage however, Viktor Blom had to grind. There were days when he used to play 15 hours and do nothing else besides playing. And he knew the London grind could very well end up in similar fashion. If he was in the zone, he couldn’t give up, he had to keep grinding, especially as the action at the high stakes got harder and harder to find.

every time i play someone who is the better at one game than me, i am getting better, win or loss

— Viktor Blom (ViktorBlom) March 7, 2013

3 Hours in the Session +$150K

With a slice pizza in his hand and his eyes focused on a handful of virtual poker tables, Viktor seemed to be in his element. He wasn’t worried about gambling tens of thousands of dollars every minute and he wasn’t concerned about playing against some of the best card players in the world. He was certain he was the best poker player in the whole world and nobody could even touch him. For him, the $10K in the pot were merely colourful worthless chips, not real money. With all the battles against his virtual foes, Viktor even had the power to talk and joke with his roommate. In the real world, the relentless aggro Swede was a very likeable person who loved to laugh and smile and enjoy the small things in life. He made his poker decisions in the blink of an eye, never questioning his first instinct while being able to eat and speak with his roommate at the same time. It wasn’t a real deal for him to play against multiple good regulars, at multiple tables, without a HUD. And why would it be? Only several years ago, before Black Friday, he had played heads-up with Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan andPatrik Antonius at the same time! ‘Oh the times,’ he thought. ‘And the swings...’

The Swings

6 Hours in the Session -$553K

Most people couldn’t have handled Viktor Blom’s life because of the major swings in his bank account. For him it was just another day at the office to be at one point $100,000 in the green and after just several hours $500,000 in the red. This was poker he played and poker meant variance and swings especially when you play that high with edges that small

YES, he had won $275,000 early in his career but what Viktor didn’t like to remember was some four months after, when his account said $0. In his nightmares, he’s brought back to his schooldays when he had an empty poker account, debts, and only the prospect of going back home to live with his parents. Yet he kept going, convinced a friend of his to lend him $2,000 and continued to play high-stakes SNG. He even leveled down to some medium-stakes SNGs on PartyPoker but he kept losing over and over. Yet that couldn’t stop him: he tried again, made a decent bankroll but noticed his games - the single table SNGs - were dying out slowly but surely. He had to make a decision.

9 Hours in the Session +$43K

So he chose Heads-Up No-Limit Texas Holdem. He moved his bankroll to iPoker and start grinding and climbing the poker ladder at an never-before-witnessed pace. He started at 200NL, cashed out to pay his debts, moved to 400NL and 600NL and even reached 2000NL. The swings however hit him harder then ever. He was close to busting his whole bankroll in a session against BadBeatPANDA, rebounded, and got his winnings up to $300,000 after a long session. He climbed even higher to 5000NL and 10000NL and after three weeks, he had a $2 million bankroll and no more action. Everyone on the European Poker Network was afraid of ‘Blom90.’

need sleeep :)

— Viktor Blom (@ViktorBlom) March 25, 2013

Viktor was indeed tired but couldn’t just go to sleep. He was still receiving plenty of action on PokerStars since moving to the mixed-games. He couldn’t quit the tables just as he couldn’t have quit poker after busting everybody’s bankrolls on iPoker. He was convinced he was the best No-Limit Heads-Up player in the world so he deposited on Full Tilt and started challenging everyone there from Tom ‘durrr’ Dwan and Phil Ivey to Brian Hastings Patrik Antonius$3 million in three days18-hours longPhil Galfond

The Swede accepted Brian Hastings’ challenge - one of the top PLO players at the time - and lost around $4.2 million in a week against him. Hastings also profited from some well-placed friendships, gathered a 50K hand database and started analyzing Isildur1 poker games with the likes of Brian Townsend and Cole South. Then came Patrik Antonius who crippled Blom even more, and thanks to him, Antonius became the poker player with the largest online profit in one year (almost $9 million in 2009).

Viktor was in very bad shape - not eating healthy, not sleeping much - and tilted. Yet he knew one thing.

in some sick way, down swings are good because they force me to try even harder to outrun them. still sick tho :)

— Viktor Blom (@ViktorBlom) September 11, 2013

12 Hours in the Session +$429K

The End?

Yes, this wasn’t the end of the story by any means. It was just another beginning. The Swede started thinking more about his health and learned to control his emotional side. He came back after Full Tilt reopened and moved his game on PokerStars and other European poker networks when Full Tilt rebranded itself. He had come a long way, becoming one of the best players at PLO and trying several other poker games like 2-7 Triple Draw and Omaha-8-or-Better and the mixed games.

He didn’t change his thinking process and learned new games on the go without watching videos or reading books. He knew knowledge came with experience.

been playing chinese poker with @tomdwan and @gushansen these past few days. i think i should learn how to play soon :)

— Viktor Blom (@ViktorBlom) January 22, 2013

Viktor was finally ready to call it quits. He knew he needed sleep in order to recharge his batteries. The days when nothing counted but poker were over. He was much more balanced in life and as a result, his poker life became less and less swingy. But at the same time, his play style never changed: agressive long sessions and crushing his foes at the tables.

15 Hours in the Session +$223K

The session was over, far from his goal of winning $1 million for the day but still profitable. As was his whole year: over $2 million in the green.

It was time to sleep, for the next day was indeed a big day...a non-poker day, just plain ol’ fun and socializing with friends.

The lights in the white attic went out, the laptop was only half-closed once more and silence filled the downtown flat. From the window, a ray of sunlight emerged announcing the dawn of a new day. Viktor was deep in sleep dreaming about chips and cards and poker tables.

In his mind, his grind session wasn’t over. It was just beginning.