Conspiracy Theory????

[Robbie Robb]

Let me don my tinfoil hat for a moment then direct your attention here:


Back? Read it? Good! Let's discuss.

Now, I'm a FIRM believer in the whole online poker is NOT rigged camp. I understand number generation and statistics and probability and the whole enchillada. But that story has to make even the most die-hard anti-rigged campers raise their eyebrows a bit.

As we all know, Annie Duke is a "Endorsed Pro" of UB, according to their website, but it really seems as if she is much more than that. If any of you were watching the webcast of the final table of the Stone Cold Nuts II, there were many questions and suggestions about the operation of the site to which Annie addressed with authority. When a different type of tourney was suggested Annie was quick to go "Done! You just need to talk to the right person. It'll be online within a couple weeks". It really seems as if she has some serious power behind the scenes as well. Which is perfectly fine. More power to her! But then when her boyfriend wins the event and big prize (granted, there was a chop) it becomes one of those things that make you go hmmmm....

That said, I enjoy playing at UB and this will NOT change my playing there at all. I really do believe it to be nothing more than a decent player having received some KICK-ASS one-on-one training/mentoring outplaying the field. I don't recall at any point during the webcast that I listened to (I didn't listen to the whole thing, we went to bed about 2.5 hours before the end) that Annie ever mentioned that hhumbert was her boyfriend. But that certainly doesn't mean she didn't. There was plenty of broadcast that I missed. I do remember one conversation where they were talking about 'what kind of person would take on the username hhumbert?' and nothing was mentioned then.

I now remove my tinfoil hat and pass it along to the next person...