A solemn looking Townsend
A few days ago we alerted you to the possibility of Isildur1 reclaiming his money, after revelations made by Brian Hastings in his blog indicted fellow Cardrunners member Brian Townsend in the sharing of hand histories.
Isildur1 endured a nightmare session, dropping $4 million to the burly Cardrunners pro to end his nosebleed stakes crusade. It has since been mooted amongst forum circles that the enigmatic Swede, who won all the plaudits for his fearless 8-tabling of Antonius, Dwan and Antonius, was a victim of foul play. Talking to Gary Wise on ESPN.com, Hastings said he had Townsend to thank for supplying 30,000 hands on Isildur1, helping him to decipher betting patterns.
Hastings exclaimed, ‘Honestly, I give most of the credit to Brian Townsend here. I mean, Brian is honestly the hardest worker I know in poker. He analyzed a database of heads-up hands that Isildur1 had played and constructed ranges of what Isildur1 was doing in certain spots'.
This admission attracted widespread criticism, for it seemed to break Full Tilt Poker’s terms and conditions on player confidentiality and collusion. Item 8 from the FT T&C dictates, ‘Full Tilt Poker defines an unfair advantage as a user accessing or compiling information on other players beyond that which the user has personally observed through his or her own game play’.
Full Tilt has now suspended Townsend’s red pro status for a month. This means he is excluded from the benefit of 100% rakeback, but presumably means he can continue playing on the site. It may symbolise a slap on the wrist for the rugged looking millionaire, but it may leave the door open for Isildur1 to pursue a claim for the return of his money.
Townsend’s infringement was considered a relatively minor one, given the fact all information shared between the TC members can be found on the High Stakes Database / Marketpulse. It is an offence committed daily by high stakes regulars, but has come under the spotlight due to the staggering amount lost by Isildur1.
Townsend has since admitted culpability in his blog, noting: ‘Of the three I was the sole one to break the T&C of Full Tilt. The three of us never shared hands where mucked hands were shown besides a few hands I posted on weaktight.org, and in fact all the information I received could be taken from watching the game’.
The incident isn’t Townsend’s first run in with the Full Tilt Poker law, after he was banned for six months in 2008 for playing under a secondary name, Stellarnebula. In an act of redemption, he donated $25,000 to charity. Townsend, or 'sbrugby' / 'aba20' to railbirds, was amongst the first generation of internet hotshots, winning acclaim for his comprehensive instructional videos.
Townsend has ravaged the Swede for $1.5 million in total, leaving him stuck over $2 million for the year and playing stakes as low as $10/$20. This is despite taking millions from Tom Dwan when he first burst on to the high stakes arena.