$4 Million game on tilt
From Pokernews
PokerNews Exclusive: Isildur1 Speaks About his $4 Million Loss to Brian Hastings
December 22, 2009, Matthew Parvis
"Isildur1" has been silent and anonymous since he broke into the high-stakes games on Full Tilt Poker back in October. Since then, he has been on a wild ride, filled with million-dollar swings that saw both the largest online poker hand ever played, as well as the biggest online poker win during a single session, achieved by Brian Hastings.
Just two weeks ago, Hastings won over $4 million from Isildur1 in a session that is now being scrutinized because it has been discovered that Hastings obtained advice on hands from a database of hand histories collected by Brian Townsend. Such colluding, conspiring or whatever you want to call it is a violation of the Full Tilt Poker Terms of Service.
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Through a series of sources, PokerNews tracked down Isildur1, who agreed for the first time to go on record about the session with Hastings. Isildur1 has not, however, revealed his identity, nor does he plan to do so in the near future. While this interview only discusses the session against Hastings, Isildur1 has promised to give PokerNews more time in the coming week to discuss his ride on the high-stakes roller coaster.
There has been a lot of controversy regarding your match versus Brian Hastings. Were you aware before reading it on ESPN that Hastings had been able to study hand histories from matches you had played with others?
I had no clue about this, as I don't follow the forums or many poker sites. I had no idea. A few poker friends told me about it, and then I finally decided to see for myself and read it on the site.
Had you played Brian Hastings prior to the $4 million session?
I had played him before at no-limit hold'em, as well as a little pot-limit Omaha, so this was not the first time we played together; however, we also did not play very much.
We're sure you've thought back on the losing session quite a bit. Was there anything that was strange about the session when you look back?
In the days leading up to the session with Hastings, I played with Brian Townsend and Cole South a lot. They were always waiting for me. The last session where Hastings won all the money, it just felt like something was wrong. Everything that could go wrong for me did. Every time I tried to pull off a bluff of some kind, it felt as if it was being picked off. At the time, I just thought it was crazy luck, but now, knowing they shared a lot of their analysis of hand histories with each other, it makes a lot more sense. I feel like Hastings, and even South and Townsend when we played the last few times, had an advantage over me.
Since the session, have you had any conversations with Brian Hastings?
No, nothing.
Have you reached out to Full Tilt Poker at all?
Not at this time, no I have not.
Were you aware of the Full Tilt rule that states: "The use of shared hand histories provides detailed information on opponents a player has little or no personal experience playing against, and is deemed to be an unfair advantage. Violating this policy is subject to the maximum penalties for prohibited software use?"
I was not aware of the exact rule that you just mentioned, but since seeing that it is in fact a rule at Full Tilt Poker, I think I am going to put through a formal complaint, as I think this is a case where the sharing of hand histories directly affected the match I played with Brian [Hastings].
Now that Brian Townsend has come out in his blog and admitted to compiling a database of about 50,000 hands he and others played against you to analyze your play, do you feel like you deserve to get a portion or all of your money back from the session?
Yes, I do feel like I deserve to get something back. I feel that Hastings had a big edge over me due to the hand history database. They were able to dissect the exact way I was playing because they analyzed the hands so precisely, and it was impossible for me to adjust, as I had no idea they were doing it.
Even though this information is not out there, since they admitted to sharing hand histories, how can I be sure that all three of them did not have input on the hands while we were playing?
Have you ever discussed hand histories with friends, or peers about any of the players you played in the big games on Full Tilt, or against any opponent for that matter?
I have never in my life studied hand histories. I have never studied books, or watched videos. I always have just played poker and played with every player who wanted to play me. To be honest, I never even studied my own hand histories.
What's next for Isildur1? Do you plan on getting back into the action?
Well, honestly I am going to stay quiet for a while now. I am planning on putting in the request to Full Tilt to look into this further, and until I hear back, I don't plan on playing much poker on the site.
The $4 Million Controversy: Townsend Admits to Violations of Full Tilt Poker's Terms
December 21, 2009, Matthew Parvis
Brian Townsend
It was almost too good to be true. Brian Hastings stepped up to the plate against "Isildur1" and walked away a $4 million winner, in the process possibly busting the mystery Swede's Full Tilt Poker account. However, a sticky situation began to unravel after a story was penned by Gary Wise on ESPN.com about the big session. In the story, Hastings rather nonchalantly revealed that he and two other CardRunners and Team Full Tilt pros, Brian Townsend and Cole South, who all played Isildur1 at one time, shared their individual hand histories to study the Swede's tendencies.
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In the interview with Wise on ESPN.com, Hastings said "we've done quite a bit of studying of his habits. 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. In a way, I feel bad that it wasn't Brian who got this win instead of me. Obviously I'm happy and I'll take it, but Brian did a ton of work. 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."
The admission to sharing a database of hands is a direct violation of the Full Tilt terms of service, which states the following: “Shared hand history databases and “data mining” software, including subscription services and the exchange of personal databases: The use of shared hand histories provides detailed information on opponents a player has little or no personal experience playing against, and is deemed to be an unfair advantage. Violating this policy is subject to the maximum penalties for prohibited software use."
“Players are not permitted to use the hand histories for hands that they have not personally participated in. Software designed to collect hand history information from games that the player did not participate in is prohibited.”
As the thread on TwoPlusTwo.com grew this weekend, PokerNews' own Tony G weighed in on the situation in his blog, claiming he has heard that Isildur1 either has, or is in the process of issuing a formal complaint with Full Tilt Poker. Tony G also posted some comments that Cole South wrote on TwoPlusTwo, and South has denied any wrong doing stating, "I did not breach the site's rules in any way."
While there has been no official comment from Hastings yet, Brian Townsend has also taken to his blog to discuss the situation. Townsend admits to taking 20,000 hands of his play with Isildur1 and merging them with another 30,000 hands he acquired. He then analyzed and shared his thoughts on Isildur1's play with Hastings and South. Townsend, in his blog, informs us that his Full Tilt Poker Red Pro status has been suspended for one month.
There is speculation that Hastings has been suspended as well, but that has not been confirmed by PokerNews.
At this point, we also understand that none of the $4 million that Isildur1 lost has been returned, and it's unclear at the moment whether or not any financial restitution will be made.
