CARDRUNNERS
What's Your Edge
Brian Townsend : Poker Blog
I have decided to move down in limits for the rest of the month. I am not going to play above 500/1k limit or 100/200 big bet until the month is over. This is unfortunate as it will effect the possible games I am able to play but hopefully it will help me get through this downswing. I have noticed as this downswing gets worse and worse its starting to effect my life outside of poker which I really hate.
This is my 2nd largest downswing and my largest in terms of time. I don't think I have ever had 2.5 months of this type of brutal losing. I am hopefully dropping down for the rest of the month will help me refocus.
Feb 8, 10 10:06:47
Keep your head up man. No doubt that things will turnaround. Best of luck!
Feb 8, 10 11:28:58
Best wishes your blog posts are always inspiring and I have no doubt you will kill the games very soon. Especially when you're feeling up to it.
Feb 8, 10 15:05:28
GL Brian, we all know you're a winner at these games. It's just a matter of time till results come in. If you haven't watched all of Jared Tendler's videos on tilt control(or anything else for that matter) they might be helpful.
Enjoy life.
Feb 8, 10 17:11:36
Hey Brian,
I lost half my BR over Xmas break (not a scratch on your loss obv.), spent an entire month without finishing a session +EV. I was stressed everytime I sat at the table. I ended up dropping 3 levels for a 2 weeks just to try an regains ome confidence in my game. At first it bored me a little but after I booked a few decent +BI sessions I just started to have a lot of fun.
I'm back playing my regular games again now and playing well but it was nice to play for fun for a few weeks. I think sometime we lose track of why we started playing in the first place and need to get back to that playing for fun to rekindle the love for the game.
To take a positive from a negative situation, when this all passes which I'm sure it will, perhaps you could put together a nice article on how you got past this.
I'm trying to word this correctly so its nots taken badly, but its kind of encouraging for some of us to see that even a super man of the game can lose it occasionally.
Rhys
Feb 8, 10 18:00:36
I feel kind of stupid giving advice to Brian Townsend because, what the hell am I gonna say? But, here's my attempt to cheer you up. Below are a few selected posts from early last year:
-I hate poker (The heater is over) January 22, 2009
-poor 50/100 results January 28, 2009
-Bad start... February 08, 2009
-More 100/200 PLO, more frustration... March 06, 2009
And of course:
-A great year January 04, 2010
My point is just that you will do what you have to do to get better and the variance will work itself out like it always does and hopefully a year from now this stretch will just be a little dip in an otherwise great year. Good luck.
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The past two months have been incredibly frustrating for me. Below are my PLO results from the past two months.
As you can see I played 36k hands and in terms of all in EV I should be up 440k but instead I am stuck 2.75 million dollars. I noticed this yesterday and was feeling pretty sorry for myself. In theory I would like it to not bother me, but it does bother me and effects my life out side of poker.
After wallowing in my own self pity yesterday for a few hours I finally got control of my emotions and realized that this isn't something in my control and something I shouldn't let effect me or my life. That helped and I was feeling better again until I sat down today and lost about 500k in 250 hands. Again the losses were in the big bet games and primarily my best game PLO.
What I find most frustrating is how the game I am by far best in, PLO, I can lose so much and games that I have just learned within a few months I am having good winning results in. After all this time one would think these things wouldn't bother me and that I would be unphased by these blips in variance. That's great in theory but in practice these blips that last month at such huge stakes take a toll.
To counter my run at PLO here are my results at Stud since I started learning the game in August. My winrate is a bit messed up because of the antes on stars but looking just at FTP I have a .5 bb/100 and have won more in less hands on stars. I would estimate my bb/100 should be between .75 and 1.
In my life I have played 17,420 hands of Stud and done very little analysis on the game. I have been focusing on Stud 8, razz and O8. I only recently got a coach in Stud and have only worked with him for one session. Stud is by far my worst game yet I am still doing very very well in it, while getting crushed in PLO.
I think what I am facing is what makes poker and in particular PLO such a beautiful game. I think games with variance built into them are so much better than games with no variance modifier. In chess there is always an optimum move. In the same way poker has an optimum move or decision as well, but its often much much harder to see that or even think about that correct decision as there is so much fluctuation that its tough to tell if that move is correct. To learn by trail and error is incredibly time consuming in poker and takes years to master a game.
I have two apps on my iphone, a chess app and a backgammon one. I find myself almost never playing the chess one and constantly playing the backgammon one. When I was a young boy I was very good at chess and it was the first game I loved. I played it constantly and not to brag to much won a small scholarship to college by winning a chess tournament :). I had never played backgammon until I got the app on my phone.
So why do I almost exclusively play backgammon and almost never play chess on my iphone? I believe its because I never win in chess. The program I play gets tougher each time you play it and I have reached the point where I just never beat it. In backgammon my skill is much much less than in chess but I win about 40%-45% of games because of luck revolving around rolling the die.
When I lose in chess there is no one to blame but myself. I can't say I somehow got unlucky, I have to admit I was out played. In backgammon I can always say the die went against me or that the computer cheated and rolled what it needed. I like to think of myself as an analytical person who would realize that the computer was making better decisions than me in backgammon. But the reality is its far easier to say that I am just rolling poorly and losing because I am getting unlucky.
I guess the point I am trying to make is (I know my blog gets a bit preachy at times) that I shouldn't be incredibly frustrated by this terrible run, but should appreciate it. Its this variance that creates the illusion to people that they are winning poker players. Its this variance that has given action and made millions of dollars for me over the years. As Phil Helmuth says "If there weren't luck I would win everyone." and although this may be the case its this luck or variance that makes poker such an amazing game and why weaker opponents continue to play strong ones. Without this luck I would still be in grad school in a dark lab or office working on my PhD a much unhappier person than I am today. I hope for the rest of today I can appreciate my downswing and what these downswings have brought me.
Feb 1, 10 15:52:30
lol I still remember that game where I was crushing you until I realized there was a clock
Feb 1, 10 16:46:10
>I am stuck 2.75 million dollars
and you can call that a blip in variance. You do have your head screwed on properly
Feb 1, 10 19:06:12
+1 on your philosophical view on variance, also, dont underestimate its limits.
Feb 1, 10 19:12:11
31 buy-ins EV down in 36 000 k hands?
Fuck, i wont play omaha ever.
Seriously.
Feb 1, 10 19:31:34
Mindsight by Daniel J Siegel is pretty good read. Addresses how the brain works and creates the kind of emotions that ruins your happiness outside poker as a result of your unfortunate results.
Feb 1, 10 21:36:01
only a few bloggers , internetpokers also, are so honest and freshesing...thanks for bringing the emotionsl aspect of game into play so much...
Feb 1, 10 23:24:17
good insight.. I think its important to keep in mind how crucial a steady mindset is and how, in the end, it may be what distinguishes the few from the pack. Learn and become stronger through your hardships, not just in poker but in life.
Feb 2, 10 07:42:25
It sounds like the "man" has separated himself from the "boys." keep up the good (tough) work!
Feb 2, 10 13:49:39
I have played very little poker the last 3 or 4 months as I am really busy in school finishing up my Econ/ Operations Research double major. I have been reading backgammon and also playing it on my blackberry. It's a great game. I would love for cash games to become popular again with backgammon.
Good luck Brian and keep your head up.
Feb 2, 10 14:24:47
"Its this variance that creates the illusion to people that they are winning poker players."
u just described durrrr
Feb 3, 10 12:11:37
so at what point would an omaha player conclude that a site is rigged? would that even be possible?
Feb 3, 10 12:12:00
so at what point would an omaha player conclude that a site is rigged? would that even be possible?
Feb 3, 10 12:12:22
so at what point would an omaha player conclude that a site is rigged? would that even be possible?
Feb 4, 10 12:21:17
I was just telling Shana yesterday, I don't control how much money I make, all I really control is how much time I put in.
Feb 5, 10 02:19:10
the developers at HEM need to add commas to the \$ won/lost so I can more easily read BT's results.
I was feeling sorry for myself about running a mere 6 BI below EV today until I read this. gl Brian
Feb 5, 10 02:19:37
the developers at HEM need to add commas to the \$ won/lost so I can more easily read BT's results.
I was feeling sorry for myself about running a mere 6 BI below EV today until I read this. gl Brian
Feb 5, 10 13:36:49
Very simple reason for your downswing....Bad Karma due to lack of integrity!!!
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I have been doing amazing in Holdem this year, in both NLH and LHE. I have been doing better in LHE though and I have been very very happy with my play.
O8 has been going poorly for me and I think I still have lots more work to do their, particularly shorthanded. I think I overvalue some hands and need to not fight so hard
Stud games have been going well so far. I am winning big at razz this year and breaking even at stud hi. Unfortunately I am losing pretty badly at Stud 8 so I am stuck about 45k on the year in the stud games. I think this is a very good result all things considered. I feel comfortable in ring stud games, but when play is HU or 3 handed my inexperience really begins to show. I think this will just take some time and practice to become stronger in short handed play.
The game I am stuck the most in this year is PLO. So far I have played 10k hands and am down 425k in every single limit I have played. Thats pretty depressing but I am confident things will turn around. PLO is a very sick game.
Jan 27, 10 21:32:10
Hi Brian,i wish you good luck for this year.I think you are a hard worker and you will win alot this year because of that.Im new to cardrunners and i think its fantastic.I want to improve my game and subscribe to cardrunners but is it possible to succeed in poker these day with the games getting tougher than ever??This year i want to put a lot of work and succed is it possible?Or poker is dead a lot of the pro are now playing other game now because their edge arent that big as it was.Does holdem no limit is dead?Gl
Jan 27, 10 23:19:20
I am going to try to put half the effort that I think you put in and see how it works for me. I am trying to analyze every hand I play, and study as much as I can, watch videos. I am keeping a weekly blog just to get my ideas out and try to make sure I am noticing everything. Hopefully I can run good and stay motivated. Good luck to you as well
Jan 28, 10 03:12:19
That was a nice way to serve your 1 month red pro suspension.
Good luck.
Jan 29, 10 10:14:07
Sick hand that AQ vs J7, you´re joking about lky to fade the flush right? He´s making a checkraise with a non nut fd on a paired board where ur likely to have an A or at least just as strong of a draw and his FE is very bad. I dont get that play.
Jan 29, 10 10:14:19
Sick hand that AQ vs J7, you´re joking about lky to fade the flush right? He´s making a checkraise with a non nut fd on a paired board where ur likely to have an A or at least just as strong of a draw and his FE is very bad. I dont get that play.
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Sorry I haven't been blogging much recently. I have been playing lots of poker and unfortunatley, I have been losing alot. The promising thing is that I have been winning in Stud and O8 games and losing in my best game, PLO. Not much to say really just frustrating that I am on such a downswing. Considering the stakes its not to big of a loss (about 500k or 600k), I just HATE losing. I am very competitive and it really bugs me when I am not winning.
I think this latest downswing has been due to a few factors. I have been traveling so I don't think I have played my best as there have been many discractions. I am looking forward to getting home and properly focusing once again. I think I have also run pretty poorly in this time and been on the bad side of some coolers. That said my play has been far from perfect and I have lots of room to improve.
I now have a coach in every game I play which is very helpful. I was stuck alot in each stud game but I am now almost even in razz (-20k), and stud 8 (-40k) and only down only 60k in stud hi. This is a big improvement as I was stuck 250k+ in each of these games. I am almost even in O8 as well being stuck only 11k. These numbers may seem big but when you play 2k/4k they are very very small as its only a few bets. Anyways I hope I keep improving as I now feel I am a breakeven player at in the Stud games and O8 in the nose bleed games. If I were to rate my games right now I think they would be as follows:
1) PLO
2) LHE
3) NLH
4) Razz
5) Stud 8
6) 2-7
7) O8
8) stud hi
Hopefully with some hard work things will turn around.
Jan 22, 10 16:53:28
how many people you know that LOVE losing? i don't get why people say i am competitive person and i hate losing....i am sure every one hates losing.
Jan 22, 10 23:21:44
No one likes losing but some people despise it so much that it gets under their skin until they turn it around. This usually fuels them to work 100x harder than before to right the ship.
gl brian, i am sure it will turn around. I'm on a similar frustrating period and it's a good test for sure.
Jan 23, 10 02:44:37
One of the things I really like about your blog is that you are willing to address the bad with the good. I wish you all the best as you come out of this funk.
Jan 24, 10 12:34:08
I am surprised that you ranked LHE before NLHE. Did you make that ranking relatively to ypur mixed game opponents or according to your absolute competence at those games?
Jan 24, 10 14:20:36
I don't think I've ever seen a high stakes pro who seems to misunderstand variance so much, at least from your blog. News flash: when you win 500K, its not always because you outplayed everyone and when you lose 500K, its not always because you played bad and need 7 separate coaches. Suck it up, play hundreds of thousands of hands, then look at how your doing in these games. imho.
Jan 24, 10 19:23:45
Well, we can say DURRRR is Townsed´s oppostie. He said he lost 60 buy-ins to isildur1 due to variance.
LOL
Jan 25, 10 10:21:47
agree with jeff - awesome that you blog even when things aren't going well.
too bad you had to go to tahoe, stupid trips messing up your games.
see you in LA? :)
Jan 26, 10 01:16:11
U the best !!! humble and very good
i never post comments but U re one
of people that i respect the most in poker
plz can U own PA for me?
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So I have been spending a ton of time on poker the past few days. My family took off for a few days so I was all alone in the cabin. It really helped my focus as well as analyzing a bunch of hands and watching some videos I had been meaning to get to. All in all it has been a very productive few days with me winning over 100k.
I have hit that point where my mix game learning curve is slowly improving. in the past four months I have learned so much and improved very very quickly. I have gone from barely knowing the rules to being break even in some of the toughest stud games that run. I even think I am a winner in Stud 8, thanks to my coach Eric "Chipsahoya" Rodawig. I feel pretty good about this as I am feeling good about the work I have put in and my improvements.
Unfortunately the easy work is done and the next step is much tougher. To become a winner in the stud games and O8 is going to require even more work than I have already put in. Sadly my Stud, O8, and razz coaches have not worked out. If you are a top player or know someone who is in those games and willing looking to put in many hours shoot me a PM here or on 2p2. I want someone willing to review videos I make and answer hands a few times a week. I think I am at the point where I need someone very savvy in the game to help me improve further.
On another happy note today we saw some much needed snow in Tahoe. The only problem is that it rained in the afternoon! I was at the cabin by myself with Maybe and my Mom's dog Bailey. We got up at about 8AM while it was still snowing and went for a long walk. Unfortunately by the afternoon it was to hot and has rained though the evening. Its sad to see all that fresh snow disappear in the rain, but at least the dogs and I got one walk in. Tomorrow I am going check out the resorts and see if its worth trying to ski. Hopefully they were high enough up and got snow in the afternoon.
Jan 13, 10 09:17:50
i'm sure you could learn quite a bit from her ghost in your razz and stud 8 games.
Jan 14, 10 00:29:52
Nice, I just got back from Tahoe today. I rode squaw and the conditions were great!
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I was planning on doing a bunch of skiing while I am here but the snow has been terrible. Today it rained and ever day its been over 40 degrees. I think I will have to go to Heavenly or Squaw to get to some higher elevations. I usually ski at the smaller resorts because I don't need anything tougher than a black diamond but with the poor conditions I may have to seek out some of the higher resorts.
Cole and David (ThatPFunk) got into town today and we are headed out to dinner tomorrow night. I may go skiing with them but I am a bit worried as Cole is a great snowboarder. Anyways it will be nice to catch a great meal. Whenever I am in Tahoe I stay in cabins with my family and they aren't really fancy. Cole has a great restaurant picked out for tomorrow and I am looking forward to nice meal out.
Jan 9, 10 17:33:36
You're right, take some time off. Have a nice, relaxing r&r with your family and just enjoy. No need to feel the pressure to play every day. You had a great -09 and obviously worked very hard to get where you're at, so you've definitely earned a good vacation. Poker does NOT equal vacation...
Jan 10, 10 01:29:16
same thing happened to my brother last week in the Alps, only managed to hit the slopes two days out of seven.
hope your back in the grove again soon.
Jan 11, 10 01:00:09
brian,
if you like sushi, please make sure to hit up "off the hook" in south lake - best sushi i've ever had in my life.
shane
Jan 13, 10 07:58:20
If your DSL blows, get Clearwire or satellite internet like ussatellite.com if you're in a particularly rural area.
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http://weaktight.com/1858011
I think I had an amazing year because I was really focused on improving my game. I spent countless hours working on improving my game. I tend to get very lazy and complacent when things go well for me. I tend to lose my focus and stop practicing good game selection. In 2010 I plan on working as hard as I did in 2009. I really want to put in the effort and have anther amazing year. I think its going to be very hard to repeat this years results as I have run very well this year and the complacency issues will be very hard to overcome.
I haven't been playing much in the past week as I have been traveling. From Canada we went to SF for New Years and are now at Lake Tahoe for three weeks relaxing and getting some more skiing in. Unfortunately the weather isn't great in Tahoe and all the snow is melting. I loved how cold it was in Canada. Tahoe gets very icy since its so much warmer and the snow sometimes melts in the afternoons and freezes overnight. When we got in yesterday it was 45 degrees. Hopefully it cools off and we get some more snow but its not looking very likely.
Jan 4, 10 12:36:33
how do you study the game? i need to start doing that. any pointers will help. thanks!
Jan 5, 10 12:05:39
Just giving you a hard time. Congrats on the great year.
I've also been wondering the same thing as Franky. I think a great video for you to make would be about your study habits.
Jan 6, 10 13:50:31
I just left Tahoe, now in SF and heading down to LA soon. Congrats on the good year. I wish I had the work ethic you do, perhaps I will find it this next year.
Jan 6, 10 19:47:18
I think Dolimiti superski is the best place in the alpes..or maybe Verbier. I have a friend down in Verbier who competes in back-country and he loves the place. Personally I want to go to dolimiti superski tho, biggest ski-system in the world i guess.
Jan 6, 10 19:47:30
I think Dolimiti superski is the best place in the alpes..or maybe Verbier. I have a friend down in Verbier who competes in back-country and he loves the place. Personally I want to go to dolimiti superski tho, biggest ski-system in the world i guess.
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I haven't been playing any poker for the past few days as I have been traveling in Canada for Christmas. I am staying in a small town called Radium which has some great natural hot springs. Its about an hour away from Bannf, a well known ski town. Yesterday I spent all day Skiing at Panorama which is in a town called Inveremere. The snow as great and I pushed myself harder than I usually do. I usually only ski once a year. I even took a 5 year break for skiing but the past 4 years I have gone at least once a year. I have finally started to improve and can do all the terrain at most ski resorts. I haven't done some of the off trail stuff buy anything that's groomed I can get down, but not always that well.
I have rented gear as I never have gone skiing consistently enough, but I think this year will be different. I am in Canada for a few more days then I head to Tahoe for three weeks. I think I will buy some nice gear as renting really isn't that great. By the end of the day my feet are always killing from the boots that don't fit well. I also want to get a big ski trip in February some time. I have always wanted to ski in the French and Swiss alps but have never made it out. I hope to put together a trip but it may not happen. I have also heard Austria is amazing for skiing so I may go there instead.
For Christmas today I learned how to make home made pasta. I got a pasta roller and made some sundried tomato pasta as well as just plan noodles for a lasagna we are making for dinner. I make a great bolgnese sauce and can't wait to put that together with the homemade noodles.
After Tahoe I should get back to playing more but even in Tahoe I think I will be playing every other day or so for a few hours.
Dec 25, 09 17:31:29
You're not far from Lake Louise which is also an excellent ski resort - usually great snow and many runs. Not too busy this time of year (will be after Christmas though), was just there a few days ago. Should try Zermatt, Switzerland if you're headed to Europe at some point. I can recommend good lodging as well if you're interested. Cheers and Merry Christmas.
Dec 25, 09 20:12:59
Banff is awesome if you've never been. Go see Lake Louise if you get the opportunity. It's glorious.
Dec 25, 09 22:06:57
if your ever in canada again brian come to montreal hit me up ill show you the city
Dec 26, 09 08:35:14
Austria:
Famous for Apres ski, got the best places for that (Ischgl, Obertauern, Saalbach, St. Anton, Soelden), great resorts as well, overall a good pick for young people.
Switzerland:
Good ski resorts overall, I would say on average 125km ski slopes. Flims-Laax is the biggest in switzerland with 220km, great ski resort.
France:
Been only there once. But they got really big ski resorts. Trois Vallées is the biggest ski resort in the world having 600km of ski slopes.
There are a few others. I've been to Tignes, small town on the mountain, pretty cool, ski resort is semi-big I'd say.
If you got any more questions, hit me up on 2+2 (same name) or here (dunno if you can send private messages here).
Dec 26, 09 10:01:58
So why did Brian get his FTP account suspended Jeff? We all know they colluded and shared histories. Give me a fking break
Dec 26, 09 12:18:52
but cant you swim and ski in teh same day in CA? you gotta do that!
Dec 26, 09 12:49:43
I'm from Calgary, Alberta about an hour's drive from Banff. You should check out the Chateau Lake Louise and the nearby Moraine Lake:
http://www.fairmont.com/lakelouise/
A picture of Moraine Lake is the view on the back of the older \$20 CDN bills:
http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/banknotes/general/character/1969-79_20.html
Dec 27, 09 05:01:20
Check out Ischgl in the Tyrol. The Concord is supposed to be opening there shortly and the place will be crawling with Russians who will be looking to play PLO apart from that its a crazy party place.I think there will be a reasonable number of Oligarch kids there to make it worthwhile.Skiing yes there is that as well.....
Dec 31, 09 11:43:29
I live in Calgary 1 hour away from Banff. Definitily, if you get a chance check out Lake louise.
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I wanted to clear up some allegations about Brian Hastings, Cole South and myself. First Brian H. Cole S and myself never colluded. Collusion is nearly impossible HU but there was always one person playing and never any ghosting occurring. In fact the only person to break the T&C of FullTilt Poker was myself. I had about 20k hands of play on Isildur and I acquired another 30k hands. This is against the T&C of FullTilt Poker and because of this violation I am going to have my red pro status suspended for one month.
Dec 19, 09 13:10:21
It's obviously ridiculous that your suspended for doing something that EVERY half decent player has done a thousand times. Your rep is untarnished on this one. Hard to feel too bad for you when u get a chance to win a toaster though.
Dec 19, 09 14:29:59
i can understand fulltilt suspending you for technically going against their code, but i don't think your actions were in any way immoral. poker players do this all the time and i can't believe so many of them are ridiculing you for this.
the thing that bothers me the most is that i can guarantee you that this wouldn't have been an issue if brian would've lost money to isildur. the fact that he won 4M shouldn't be relevant.
Dec 19, 09 15:17:02
If this were anyone else, you would be banned permanantly from FTP. I could send an email to FTP now and say I shared HH with someone else to gain an advantage against another player, and they would ban me for good. However, I do not agree that anyone should be banned for this reason. I just think it's silly that this would even be enforced, it's a risk you take online. Isildur knew what he was up against, and took the risk anyway with you, stinger and cs having the edge. I'm dissapointed that FTP will not treat it's paying customers like myself and 100k others the same that they will do you sir. That is my issue here.
Dec 19, 09 16:18:49
PokerTableRatings provides hands histories by the millions for anyone to buy. I see nothing wrong with acquiring such hand histories, as if everyone is full pprepared it still comes down to a game of skill.
If fish are stupid enough not to acquire readily available data then they get what they deserve.
I fully support you acquiring hand histories. Isildor us cabable of buying anyones HH provately from PTR too
Dec 19, 09 17:27:32
I don't think that what you did was unethical at all -- unfortunately since it's stirred up some controversy and it's technically against the rules, Full Tilt has to do something to appease the people who are complaining. Bad luck for you, but no reasonable person thinks any worse of you for it.
Dec 19, 09 17:32:09
All -
It should be pointed out that Brian, nor any of those involved, shared their hand histories or databases. Stating that they did is factually incorrect.
All comments need to be kept civil, regardless of how we feel about the situation. We will not allow flaming of members, instructors, employees, or otherwise within these comments or anywhere else on CardRunners.
Your cooperation is appreciated.
Regards,
Jeff Miller
Corporate Support Manager
CardRunners/StoxPoker
support@cardrunners.com
Dec 19, 09 20:16:23
Brian, Thanks for posting and clearing this up. It is unfortunate that you have to be a martyr for the NVG crowd but you've handled it professionally and represented CardRunners well in this matter, all things considered.
Best of luck.
Dec 19, 09 21:14:50
a lot of 2+2s are just jealous douches. What was done was standard imo, happens live games. Regs often talk about new players that come to the table and how to beat them, just how it is even in the casinos and share hands/reads they have against an player.
Dec 20, 09 11:01:52
However, if you feel any need to make amends by giving something back to the community, I will reluctantly accept free coaching.
Dec 20, 09 12:56:09
Instead of starting off your post with " i want to clear up some allegations" you should start with " I want to CONFIRM the allegations....again"
Dec 20, 09 17:23:02
don't worry about it too much Brian.. it's a typical internet witch hunt that will boil over in no time. You guys did nothing out of the ordinary imo (from what we know)
Dec 20, 09 20:56:49
It appears, according to Hastings, that your analysis of the HHs you acquired was what really made way for you guys to destroy Isl. I think the decent thing to do would be to give back your winnings.
Dec 20, 09 23:15:52
It's the slap on the wrist that's to be expected for what has to be the most routine violation of their terms and conditions out there and because you are high profile they have to do something so this is what they came up with. I'm rather surprised they have some sort of definitive proof unless you somehow said something incriminating.
Dec 21, 09 12:18:19
I will be severely disappointed if you don't end your deal with FTP asap. They just make you look bad instead of backing you up and taking care of tableratings, which is the real problem.
Dec 21, 09 12:37:16
You guys are the goods! I and so many have your back!!!
Dec 21, 09 13:43:10
For what it's worth I don't think you owe any justification to anyone.
Dec 21, 09 13:58:23
I totally agree! You guys don't own anything to anyone. You guys are the reason so many poker players are even still playing today!
Any how, keep us posed on the latest news please??
Thanks,
Dec 21, 09 15:58:29
like someone else posted,its not the things youve done-and i dont see them as a problem- the thing is that ftp is banning your average 0.5/1 grinder and taking their whole money when doing something against their t&c. ppl got their accounts closed for surfing tableratings or sitting with a friend in a 1\$ sng 3 years ago...thats just bs,and even more sad when their "stolen" money is a bigger part of their net-worth than from any of u guys.
again...its nothing against any of you,just how ftp handles things WAY different when any of their pros is involved.
Dec 21, 09 17:34:48
The important qestion is who supplied you with the other 30,000 hands, because they surely broke the TOC's as well? Its very noble of you to take all the blame considering the amount of money involved. Did you win 4 mill of Isildur?
Dec 21, 09 17:39:56
Yeah, Brian only got in trouble because he is more famous than everyone else that is doing the same thing.
Dec 22, 09 02:51:13
Brian,
I just saw your video with David Ben. from about a year ago. You guys did a good job at analyzing spots and showing us how each of you would approach the same hand in different ways. More of those videos please! It just shows that good players have different opinions in the same situation. So much more educational than other videos
Dec 22, 09 16:01:58
Isildur said in an interview that he wont play on FTP before FTP takes som action against the scandale because he felt that he had an bigg disadvantage in the hastings match.
Dec 22, 09 22:15:40
Could Isildur watch you on Cardrunners? Would that be an unfair advantage? Here send this to Islidur1 http://www.pokertableratings.com/fulltilt-player-search/brian+hastings, 48k in hands for him
Dec 25, 09 14:09:10
I'd like to re-post my previous statement, since I see several comments did not bother to read it:
All -
It should be pointed out that Brian, nor any of those involved, shared their hand histories or databases. Stating that they did is factually incorrect.
All comments need to be kept civil, regardless of how we feel about the situation. We will not allow flaming of members, instructors, employees, or otherwise within these comments or anywhere else on CardRunners.
Your cooperation is appreciated.
Regards,
Jeff Miller
Corporate Support Manager
CardRunners/StoxPoker
support@cardrunners.com
Dec 26, 09 17:20:55
Jeff Miller, the "Corporate Support Manager" states: "It should be pointed out that Brian, nor any of those involved, shared their hand histories or databases. Stating that they did is factually incorrect."
What the Corporate Support Manager is doing by repeating this statement is merely fumbling around with syntax in a feeble and I would hope futile effort to try to avert perfectly legitimate concern some have about the playing integrity of some of the Cardrunner pros. The statement intentionally and blatantly attempts to hide the main point of this scandal, which is that one or more of the Cardrunner pros have broken the very rules and terms and conditions of the very site they play on, FullTiltPoker.com, to cheat an unsuspecting player out of no less than millions of dollars.
The Corporate Support Manager states that they didn't "share" the hand histories, but the fact is that Brian Townsend has admitted that he ACQUIRED 30K hand histories involving Isildur1's hands of games not involving himself with the intent of using the information against him in play. Indeed, whether or not it is syntactically stated that no "sharing" of hand histories occurred makes no difference as far as the indisputable fact is that a very serious violation has been committed by at least one of the Cardrunner pros which resulted in one of his Cardrunner pro colleagues winning millions of dollars from an unsuspecting player. The point is that he is at least as guilty by acquiring the hands from some source in order to use that information (in violation of FTP terms and conditions) as he would be by "sharing" hand histories. Both actions are clearly in violation of FullTiltPoker terms and conditions of play.
Though the Corporate Support Manager's statement syntactically claims that "sharing" of hands did not take place (and even if it didn't, there is no way to hide the other serious violation that has taken place, as I've already explained), the following was reported by Brian Hastings about Brian Townsend during an ESPN.com (posted from http://www.pokerlistings.com/full-tilt-suspends-brian-townsend-14503 )
"He analyzed a database of heads-up hands that Isildur1 had played and constructed ranges of what Isildur1 was doing in certain spots. The three of us discussed a ton of hands and the reports that Brian made, so I'm very thankful to him and to Cole as well."
Gee, sort of sounds a lot like sharing of hand histories to me.
In Brian Hastings own blog here on this website, he states "And here I am, winning a record $4.18 million in one day (well not exactly - no I didn't have 100% of my own action, and no I am not going into any further detail about this) playing online poker." Gee, I wonder who had some of his action involving his play against Isildur1?? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to suspect it was none other than Brian Townsend himself, among others perhaps. If this is indeed the case, it is no wonder Brian Townsend has come out vehemently trying to avert attention from Brian Hastings in this scandal by trying to take all the blame himself. After all, he must be sitting on quite a nice slice of the Isildur1 booty from that 4.18 million dollar night himself, if my suspicions are correct. And what better way to secure his slice of the action by taking all the blame, hoping Brian Hastings gets off scott free.
The Corporate Support Manager should be ashamed of himself for trying to avert legitimate and honest concern by repeating this statement which does nothing at all to change the fact (and indeed one could argue dishonestly attempts to obscure it) that a serious violation of FullTiltPoker.com's terms and conditions has taken place involving at least one of the Cardrunner pros, and indeed involving millions of dollars changing hands as a result.
Dec 29, 09 10:26:26
So what is the Hand history tool that you supply?<BR>Shame on you and your Corporate Support manager.
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Today I played a very aggressive HU match against Isildur and finally came out with a win. I had been getting crushed by him the past few days and finally got a great result winning $432k. For the 4th session in a row I ran under all in EV, this time I was $130k under expectation. Although this doesn't mean everything I think its a pretty good indication of how I have been running. I also feel like I have been on the bad side of coolers, as it always felt like I was getting underset and never undersetting him. This may not be the case as I am more likely to remember the times I am underset and forget the times I underset him. I think this is common thing that poker players do.
I have to admit the past ten days has been incredible frustrating for me. Over this time I have run horrible to the tune of 2.4 million dollars under all in expectation. I was the main reason, along with Durrr and Ziigmund, that Isildur was able to turn 60k into 4+ million in that time frame. Its pretty incredible the run he had over this time. To make so much money so quickly with such a small amount to start with is such a rare occurrence. I would be very surprised to see him to it again, not because I don't think hes a great player but rather that its alot of money to win so quickly vs very tough competition.
Anyways the intent of this blog post wasn't to discuss how poorly I have been running because I have run very very well this year. I should be the last person to complain about a slight downswing. Rather it was just to illustrate how frustrating poker and in particular HU PLO can be. There were countless times where I was just in aw of the sickness that would happen. I think of myself as a very level headed analytical player and I just felt as though I was going to get sucked out on. I just felt like every time before the cards were dealt I would know I was going to lose and my flush draw would brick out, or my set would get sucked out on by a draw. I usually don't let beats get to me as I realize they are a good part of the game, but there were countless times I found myself not just muttering about them but yelling at my monitor about the grossness of it all.
For one of the first times in my poker career I wasn't able to walk away easily. I found myself totally consumed by our matches and would think about them way to much. When out to dinner I would be replaying hands in my head. Usually when I am done with poker and close the computer I don't give another thought to it and can focus on my personal relationships or other activities. This has not been the case the past ten days as I have been a bit consumed by the play.
Anyways here are some hands from today...
This one caused me to cuss at my monitor, something I rarely do.
http://weaktight.com/1787933
I was surprised how much equity he had here.
http://weaktight.com/1787934
As irrational as it may sound I just felt the club coming...
http://weaktight.com/1787936
A cooler for me.
http://weaktight.com/1787938
And another cooler for me. Its very easy to forget these and just remember when they happen to you.
http://weaktight.com/1787940/>
Dec 14, 09 06:17:08
aba, u play really good plo and i think u have good reads fwiw. I think u can go up against the best of them and still be a pretty big favorite. Even though the results dont show i think ur play of PLO is one of the best for sure. keep up the good work
Dec 14, 09 08:56:53
I railed a lot of those hands and you arent remembering it wrong imo, The guy runs WAY too hot but you own him on the felt. Its cool that you are so humble about it. I'm sure it helps your game. Glad you are finally getting a decent run. Someone needs to stake Isildur1 so we can keep this up. Its better that the Superbowl and final 4 put together lol. Grats to you and Stinger!
Dec 14, 09 11:56:41
hey Brian thanks for the update! Keep it up man. You'll own him for a big score eventually.
gl
Dec 14, 09 13:33:28
Isildur is decent, but its almost like he has found the seed to the algorthym with some of the hands he has won, lol.
Thanks for the updates!
Dec 16, 09 21:08:39
Brian, in the \$50/\$100 game last night you were playing harrydebeng, an obvious fish (calling a preflop raise with 6652 OOP)
I want to know how come the table wasnt full?
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