The response to my criticism of the PPA has been overwhelming. I would say just as in the poll we did, 80+ percent of the people agree with and or support me. And regardless of which side you most sympathize with , you cannot deny the PPA has some serious work to do in regards to its credibility these days.

Some of you might be interested that the PPA has supposedly removed all references to “ensuring the integrity of the game” from its website.

——

I want to talk a little bit about what I feel is another major problem for poker. That is overall general attitude of your average internet poker player. Barry Greenstein had an excellent audio blog the other day in which he compares Internet players to monkeys. I couldn’t agree with him more.

There is an overall lack of respect for the game and I have started to think this is the real reason I can’t get anyone motivated to call for a boycott of Absolute or UB.

Online players seem to seriously lack that sense of basic poker comradery. You know the kind that says even though we are all trying to take each other’s money, we stick up for each other and together for the love of the game. The idea in which a poker player’s word and honor is paramount. It makes forming life long friendships with those you play poker with day in and day out even possible.

So when I look at the reason why knowledgeable people are still playing on Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, maybe it boils down to simple integrity or lack of. It has to. You see because those who play on those sites after knowing of the scandals are no different than people who cross picket lines.

The deal with Absolute wasn’t some isolated rogue member cheating. A super user account (seeing hole cards) was specifically designed into their software! That means it came from the very top. Then you have UB which is owned and operate by the same company involved in their own scandal that we have yet to scratch the real surface of.

So why are people still playing there? Even when they know what happened? I am convinced now that even if I had the help of the PPA or the poker media in calling for a boycott. It would not matter. There is not enough honor or unity to make a difference. It would be a drop in the bucket.

Get this… FCP (Full Contact Poker) is considered to be frequented by smart players. (Those in the know.) A recent 24 hour poll conducted by Matt Waldron had 48 percent of the people (who voted) with money STILL on one of the cheating sites. This to me is crazy.

People really don’t care.

It also doesn’t help when the various leadership takes public positions such as,

IMHO - The marketplace will take care of bad actors. Ultimatebet will pay the price if their customers don’t trust their system. I play there and am not deterred because I see this as an isolated incident.

But let’s look at what happened to a bad actor in the online horse betting arena. IRG was an extremely profitable online horse betting portal doing hundreds of millions each year in handle. They too had some shenanigans internally that got so bad that some customers went to the Feds and the site was shut down, $1.5 million was confiscated, and the parent company of IRG took a severe stock price beatdown as the result.

Customers have to be satisfied with the sites where they play. If they are not, then they should play elsewhere, or seek other remedies.

The PPA hasn’t sent anything out on this, yet most people know about it and can make decisions based on their trust of the site.

Now - a word on “trolls”. In any open forum, trolls (haters that only want to stir up problems) abound. I think Lifesabluff is a troll. Perhaps he’s an employee of casinos or others that want to see the PPA or online poker fail. I think he should be blocked from posting.
_________________
Steve Brubaker
PPA Illinois Director

———————–

WOW…. some nerve huh? That was a reply to a post I made a few weeks ago on the PPA forums. It’s nice to see the PPA choosing quality informed professional people to represent entire states. Here is a guy fighting for your right to play online poker and yet has no problem playing on a site that doesn’t protect its customers. He also doesn’t seem to have a problem insulting one of the game’s hardest working (free) contributors.

I suggest you all go over and read my entries in that post because it is clear Mr. Brubaker did not. If he did he would have seen this statement by me first: “I am the creator of Life’s A Bluff and those that know me know I have been a long time supporter of the PPA.”

Do the people (PPA members) of Illinois really want a guy who can’t even take the time to read what he is criticizing, representing them?

And how he could think that the UB thing is an isolated incident when the same company owns Absolute is beyond me.

I won’t say it enough, the PPA does not have your best interests in mind.

—–

BTW. I sent in my email today to the PPA requesting termination of my membership. I asked for proof by email that it was done so we will see what happens. I again ask all of you to do the same. And those of you who have a membership card and can record yourself cutting it up and send it to me to add to my video, will receive a deck of Copag Playing Cards (until I run out) - If you are also interested in adding your name to a group withdrawal list than contact me via

As to what you can do to stay involved, there are other alternatives. Although I have not yet looked into it yet I at least know (and trust) some of the people involved personally; the World Poker Association (WPA) might be an option. I plan on giving it a second look. I did sign up at the Rio Trade show in 2006 and never received any information but I think they may have gone through a re-launch since then. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt for now. Will update you when I come to some sort of opinion.
———–

LaB Hats & T-Shirts coming very soon!

We have a new sponsor Hat Zone. These guys will be handling the official LaB gear very soon. I am wearing the prototype LaB hat and it is really nice. No cheap stuff here either. The hats will be embroidered and will be Flex-Fit. I have been wearing baseball hats since I was a little kid and Flex-Fits are by far my favorites. They are very similar to New Era but much more comfortable. We will be able to offer them to you at a very great price.

There will be a couple different designs of t-shirts to choose from too. Hopefully we can steer clear of your typical lame poker shirt and give you unique and not yet seen before. First 10 hat orders will get special gifts. So stay tuned!

It’s not often I really believe in product or company. And it’s not because they advertise here. But these guys are top notch. The customer service is very personal and the final products will knock your socks off. I was very impressed with how they treated me. Those of you who run your own sites and thought about having some hats made up need to check them first. You can order 1 or 1000 and the price is right on. Best I found and I have been looking for a while. So do me and them a favor… go check out their website and tell em LaB sent ya. http://www.hatzoneonline.com/

—-

That’s all for now. Have a great weekend!

Tune in Monday for back to back RQ episodes. John Robert Bellande & Jennifer Harman.

- Frank

Possibly Related Posts:

• Blanks Family Curse - pt 2
• 5 friends.
• The Blanks Family Curse
• It’s worse than bestiality…
• Personal Blogs