But before I did I browsed the net and found out that Brian Hastings is under the shady spotlight again.
I almost always root for a person who goes all-in against the world.
Hastings had, according to himself, worked really hard on his poker game over the past few months.
He expected such results at the WSOP that he bet big money on himself to win a bracelet.
He's in a good relationship and oozed harmony in his tweets, and I sure wouldn't like to book against that kind of a player.
Succeed He Did
Succeed he did. He has won two bracelets already and is probably aiming for a third to join this elite company.
I'm sure he really wants to win WSOP Player of the Year also, but the harmony could be gone.
I almost rooted for him pre-WSOP when I read about his goals. But Hastings is not all-in; he is rich as hell. And it wasn't exactly against-the-world in this case.
Now, all of a sudden it is. Hastings is accused of playing from another player’s account, which is against PokerStars' rules, and playing from the US, which is against the law.
Hastings was one of the first superstars of online poker. I never liked that young new breed that took over the game.
Probably because I was envious, for I discovered poker at the wrong time. Had I discovered it six years later I probably would have enjoyed online poker as much as they do and could have found the energy and focus to put in the hours they did.
We Have Our Own Robin Hood
I have always rooted for the little guy. I was always fascinated by, rooting for, and playing as "the Indians."
But Hastings is not the little guy; he is more like Phil Hellmuth than some idiot from Northern Europe.
We have our own Robin Hood (sort of ...) from Sweden in the form of Isildur1.
Viktor Blom took on the best players in the world, for the highest stakes in the world, at the same time Hastings rose to prominence.
In reality fairy tales don't have the same success rates as in Disney's world. Hastings took Blom for $4.2 million in one famous session and mopped up the rest and last $1.5 million in the next session.
Later we found out that Hastings had cooperated with his brain trust of Brian Townsend and Cole South.
How much and to what extent we never found out, but they did share hand histories with each other and they did discuss strategy together.
Townsend was found in violation of Full Tilt’s rules but in the end Blom remained cleaned out. Perhaps it helped the trio that the instructional site they were involved with, Cardrunners, had a close business partnership in place with Full Tilt Poker.
I'm not the only one that believes they got away with something there – and the $5.7 million.
This is the Part That Disturbs Me
This time Hastings, if guilty, will not get away with it.
According to many reports Hastings is accused of playing under another player's account with the handle of “NoelHayes."
He has, it seems, admitted to it in a private message to another player, and more or less that he also played within the US borders -- although things at this point are still just allegations.
If he did do it he knew it was against the rules, and against the law, but according to the message apparently not that it was wrong.
That is the part that really disturbs me.
The defense is the same as for any online star that got caught with his hands in the cookie jar. That "everybody else does it." That disturbs me most of all.
A lot of people also apparently knew it was Hastings playing as “NoelHayes." When playing the SCOOP and getting to a final table the pro who received the private message, David Baker, got multiple messages from friends telling him who was playing the “NoelHayes” account.
So most players in the know are informed, but the rest of the world has no clue who is playing? How disturbing can it get?
His Harmony is Gone
PokerStars is fully focused on getting back into the US market. They need to show that they are serious and willing to play ball with the US government.
What better way to show that than to punish Hastings to the fullest for his, if proven, clear violations?
I'm sure some politician will come after Hastings as well; someone from the other side who wants to ban online gaming forever.
I don't think Hastings will win a third bracelet because I think his harmony is gone.
And what about all the players he may have won money from in false representation and against the rules?
If I was one of them I would definitely try to get my money back and I would put pressure on PokerStars to make it happen.
If I owned PokerStars I would make Hastings pay. It's bigger than Hastings; it's about what PokerStars wants to stand for.
Their actions in this matter will define them.
An Opportunity to Put Action Behind Words
What about all the guys who lost a ton of money on bracelet bets to Hastings not knowing he was grinding a ton before WSOP?
I wouldn't want to be in his shoes now because I think he can fall a lot deeper than he understands at the moment.
Hastings, so far, is not denying anything.
Instead, in that private message to Baker, he attacked him for making this mess public, claiming that this will ruin a lot for poker on a macro level.
I agree, but it's not Baker's fault. It's Hastings' own fault. Baker is the victim here, or perhaps even the hero for spilling the beans.
Hastings seems to think it's Baker "ruining poker," as that's what he claimed in his DM. You could make an interesting psychological profile on that statement
Life is not about what you take but what you give. Now Hastings has a perfect opportunity to put his action and money behind his words.
Will he take it? Will he give back?
About Ken Lennaárd:
Sweden's most controversial poker blogger Ken Lennaárd has been around the professional poker circuit for almost 20 years. Among his numerous accomplishments are Swedish Championships both live and online, three WSOP final tables and over $1.5m in live earnings. He's now bringing his singular poker voice to the English world via PokerListings.com. Look for new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Note: Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not represent the views of PokerListings.com.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com