The first month of 2016 is coming to a close, and in this week's edition of the Online Railbird Report, which examines the high-stakes cash game action on PokerStars, we highlight the rise of Spain's Andres "Educa-p0ker" Artinano, who has established himself as the early frontrunner on the yearly leaderboard.

Artinano is up $718,207 in 15,148 hands over 67 sessions on the year, which is more than twice as much as his next closest competitor. Last week, we reported Artinano won $366,366, and he followed that up this week by winning $351,841 in just 1,626 hands over nine sessions. That comes out to an impressive average win of $216.38 per hand.

Meanwhile, "WRUUUUM" came in second on the weekly leaderboard after winning $141,986 in 2,799 hands over 34 sessions, while "Cobus83" was close behind in third, up $136,763 in 2,432 hands spread across 15 sessions.

On the other end of the spectrum, Alex "Kanu7" Millar was the week's biggest loser dropping $329,789 in 4,772 hands over 18 sessions. That puts Millar down more than $400,000 on the year, more than double any other player.

It was also a rough week for Ronny "1-ronnyr3" Kaiser, who lost $257,704 in 1,999 hands over 38 sessions.

A Bad Day for Kaiser

On Friday, January 22, Timofey "Trueteller" Kuznetsov finished as the day's biggest winner with $149,000 in profit, which all came off Kaiser playing pot-limit Omaha. The win helped mitigate a $161,100 loss Kuznetsov suffered to Kaiser the day before.

Timofey "Trueteller" Kuznetsov

In the Friday match, the two played for three hours at both the $100/$200 and $200/$400 tables, and nothing went right for Kaiser. In fact, after his losing session against Kuznetsov, he decided to play "d2themfi" at three different $200/$400 PLO tables. It took the latter just 35 minutes to win $96,000, which included the biggest pot of the day.

It began when Kaiser ($51,848.66) opened for $1,360 from the button and was met by a three-bet to $4,240 by "d2themfi" ($74,056.96). Kaiser pushed back with a four-bet to $12,880, "d2themfi" called, and the flop came down . "d2themfi" checked, Kaiser bet $25,918, and "d2themfi" check-raised all in. Kaiser called off his remaining $13,050.66 and a $104,017.32 pot was created.

"d2themfi":
Kaiser:

"d2themfi" had flopped a set to crack Kaiser's aces, and they held as the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.

Millar and "wilhasha" Create Big NLH Action

On Saturday, January 23, a $100/$200 no-limit hold'em match broke out between Millar and "wilhasha," and over the course of seven hours "wilhasha" took his opponent for $94,300. That included winning the two biggest pots of the day.

Hand #1: Millar ($112,796.46) raised to $460 from the button holding the and then called when "wilhasha" ($54,820.15) three-bet to $2,000 with the . When the flop came down , "wilhasha" led out for $1,900 with his double gutter, Millar raised to $5,019.20 with his set, and "wilhasha" three-bet to $14,200.

Millar just called and then bet $9,437.34 after "wilhasha" checked his straight on the turn. "wilhasha" check-raised all in for $40,520.15 and Millar called to create a $109,640.30 pot. The two agreed to run the river twice, but unfortunately for Millar neither the on the first nor on the river paired the board.

Alex "Kanu7" Millar

Hand #2: "wilhasha" ($52,195.41) opened for $600 from the button with the and Millar ($89,113.03) popped it to $1,680 with the . "wilhasha" four-bet to $5,000, Millar five-bet to $10,000, and "wilhasha" just called to see the flop.

Millar bet $4,999.50, "wilhasha" called, and the appeared on the turn. Millar check-called a bet of $9,100 and then checked the river. "wilhasha" shoved all in for $28,095.91 and Millar paid him off. Ship the $104,390.82 pot to "wilhasha."

Meanwhile, HighStakesDB reports that "Cobus83" was Saturday's biggest winner after banking $159,000 playing $50/$100 pot-limit Omaha against "TILTMENOT."

One-Hour $108K Hit & Run for "BERRI SWEET"

On Tuesday, "BERRI SWEET" won $108,300 after playing Kaiser for just one hour at the $100/$200 PLO tables. In the biggest pot of the match, Kaiser ($53,241) raised to $1,200 and then called when "BERRI SWEET" ($22,286.42) three-bet to $3,600. Both players checked the flop, and then "BERRI SWEET" led out for $3,599 on the turn.

Kaiser not only called that bet, but called one of $14,396 on the river as well. "BERRI SWEET" rolled over the for a straight, and it was good enough to win the $43,190 pot as Kaiser sent his hand to the muck.

How Artinano Got His Money

On Wednesday, January 27, Andres "Educa-p0ker" Artinano was busy at the $200/$400 no-limit hold'em tables, which is where he relived Millar and Kuznetsov of a combined $383,800 over the course of four hours. According to HighStakesDB, Artinano won four of five six-figure pots during the match, including the biggest two.

Hand #1: Millar ($40,200) folded the button and Kuznetsov ($118,166) raised to $1,400 from the small blind with the . Artinano ($97,808.25) then three-bet to $4,600 from the big holding the , Kuznetsov called, and the flop came down .

Kuznetsov check-called a bet of $11,034 and then check-called one of $25,010.40 on the turn. When the completed the board on the river, Kuznetsov checked for a third time and then called when Artinano moved all in for $57,163.85. With that, Artinano won a $195,616.50 pot.

Hand #2: Artinano ($80,655.04) raised to $1,148 holding the on the button and Kuznetsov ($202,562.74), who held the in the small blind, three-bet to $4,800. Millar ($40,700) folded from the big, Artinano called, and the flop came down to give both players a set.

Kuznetsov led out for $4,997.50, Artinano called, and the peeled off on the turn. Artinano called another bet, this time $20,000, and then Kuznetsov shoved all in on the river. Artinano called off for $50,857.54 and was awarded the massive $161,710.08 pot!

Biggest Winners/Losers from Jan. 21-27

Winners	Profit		Losers	Loss
Andres "Educa-p0ker" Artinano	$351,841		Alex "Kanu7" Millar	$329,789
"WRUUUUM"	$141,986		Ronny "1-ronnyr3" Kaiser	$257,704
"Cobus83"	$136,763		"TILTMENOT"	$183,125
"d2themfi"	$99,247		"donthnrmepls"	$78,301
"wilhasha"	$94,301		"Ravenswood13"	$44,184

Biggest Winners/Losers of 2016

Winners	Profit		Losers	Loss
Andres "Educa-p0ker" Artinano	$718,207		Alex "Kanu7" Millar	$406,968
"Cobus83"	$300,509		"Aron0621"	$160,594
"dougiedan678"	$98,260		"SHARMOOTA"	$118,140
"bazzzzzzz"	$87,377		Viktor "Isildur1" Blom	$115,592

_{Data and hands obtained from HighStakesDB.com}

_{*Lead photo courtesy of globalpokerindex.com.}

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