När Viktor Blom hade sin storhetstid på Full Tilt som Isildur1 körde han över de flesta amerikanska proffsen, något de inte såg med blida ögon på. Två av dessa proffs, Brian Townsend och Cole South gick så långt att de köpte handhistorik och tillsammans med Hastings la de sig i bakhåll och vann 4 miljoner dollar av Isildur1.

 

Det var mycket diskussion om huruvida detta var ok, då Hastings var den som spelade, medan det var Townsend som tydligen stod för handhistoriken. Naturligtvis var det inte ok och tycker att vad Isildur1 sa i en intervju var ganska talande:

 

"-I think they were angle-shooting, and cowards. One time I remember playing Cole South in a 300-600 game and I was so tilted that I was 3-betting every hand. And he was up and suddenly he quits! I said, “wtf?” He says sorry, he has to go. I thought to myself wtf is he doing? Then, seconds later, Hastings sits down (laughs). They were probably sitting next to each other! Then he beat me for $4.5 million."

 

Nu har Brian Hatings återigen visat att han inte är att lita på. Han har tydligen köpt ett irländskt konto "NoelHayes" och spelat på det via VPN från Florida, bl.a mot Viktor Blom. Han tog sig dessutom till ett finalbord under SCOOP med det nicket, vilket avslöjades av David Baker på twitter.

 

"So after I FT’d the SCOOP 2k a bunch of well known pros messaged me telling me @brianchastings was behind the NoelHayes account on Stars"

 

— David Baker (@DMBakes) June 21, 2015

Det visar sig många proffs kände till att Hastings spelade på detta konto, men hållit detta för sig själva, antagligen för att behålla informationsövertaget och för att även i fortsättningen anses "pålitliga" nog att få ta del av sådan information. Flera av dessa proffs är med i Pokerstars stall.

 

Det som är märkligt är att Hastings själv inte riktigt tycker att han gjort något fel, det här skriver han på 2+2:

 

"All,

 

I have been following the thread some but been very busy this summer playing the WSOP. I’m aware of the allegations, but at this time I have nothing to add to the conversation publicly. I stopped caring what strangers on the internet said or thought about me many years ago; otherwise I probably would’ve jumped off the deep end by now. What I do care about is something like this being a major story in the poker world at a time in which the WSOP is in full force and we should be trying to promote and grow the game of poker, rather than drag it through the mud. Think what you want about me, but one thing I have in common with most people reading this is that we love the game of poker and want to be able to play it freely in the comfort of our own homes. I’m moving back to PA soon to play 400/800 mix live and be closer to Sonya’s and my parents, and state regulation of online poker would be a nice cherry on top.

 

I think especially those of us who are professional poker players should be taking steps to try to promote and grow the game, rather than feeling sorry for themselves because Cardrunners was founded, Black Friday happened, everybody is too good now, etc. With enough hard work, I truly believe that just about anyone (at least anyone smart enough to be browsing 2+2) can make a living playing poker in 2015. I think it’s unfortunate that certain people have been on bad runs and choose to take their frustrations out outwardly rather than by trying to self improve, but I get it, it’s certainly not always easy. I did not turn a profit in 2 of the previous 3 years, but with an improved mindset, an amazing woman in my life, and a strong work ethic, I’ve gotten my game back to where it needs to be.

 

This will be my last post in this thread. If you’d like to discuss further with me I’m just a PM away.

 

Brian"

 

Som man direkt förstår, att när någon skriver att det är hans eller hennes absolut sista inlägg i tråden, så är det sällan det. Han skriver senare:

 

“I find it ironic that so many of you have such a strong opinion of me yet not a single one of you have shot me a PM yet. We can debate morality all you want, but there’s a real sociopathic element of posting nasty things to the world while at the same time being unwilling to have a real conversation about the topic. I get the mob mentality to pile on and hate on one who is more successful than the mobsters, but just realize that in an adult world more problems are solved through real conversation than by blind hatred.

 

I’ve tried to give back to the 2+2 community and the poker community for many years, I’ve never turned someone down when they’ve asked for advice about poker strategy or whatever. It’s unfortunate that many of you don’t really understand or care about that. I’ve been on 2+2 for many years now, and I’ve learned a lot from this site, but I can’t imagine myself continuing to try to give back publicly to a group of people who just don’t get it (not talking about all of you, but seemingly the majority). Those who have made a real effort to get to know me are aware of who I am, and that’s what matters. So from my perspective, it makes more sense to give back by helping these people than to post strategy advice on a forum. And like I said, I’m very good at replying to PMs.”

 

Lite av en Åsa Romson eller?

 

Sedan är han arg på Baker för att han avslöjat honom, det här skrivs i ett privat meddelande till Baker:

 

“The path you’re going on by making this a big public ordeal hurts many parties more than it hurts me. On a macro level, you’re creating a ton of awful PR for the game of poker, which we both love and would love to be able to play in the comfort of our own homes in the country we were born in. This kind of PR is very bad for the future regulation in the USA in the online poker industry, it just adds to the shady rep of online poker.

 

“Making this the biggest story of WSOP at a time when the WSOP itself is losing its way and poker in America is at a crucial tipping point is just bad for the future of the game.”

 

Så det är bättre att mörka fusk så att onlinepoker inte får dåligt rykte? Ett rykte som den verkar förtjäna, åtminstone på högre nivåer bland proffs. Den killen är verkligen ute och cyklar.