Flop like shit, turn like gold - My nominee for Biggest Douche In The Poker Universe
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11:27 am
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My nominee for Biggest Douche In The Poker Universe
For a very long time I've suspected that Bill Rini has ulterior motives for the things he writes. Bill is a somewhat notable (in the poker blogging world) and definitely hackish poker news blogger that has been banging the drum of the death of online poker since the passage of the UIGEA. His writings in his blogs and on message boards make ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) rcfox look like Glenda, the Good Witch.
rcfox
He writes as if the sky has been continually falling since UIGEA, and when it doesn't he readjusts timelines and moves the goalposts. He blatantly ignores facts and reality and argues with some really strong predisposition to some end. I haven't been able to figure out his angle, but I know that he has some fucked-up reasoning for the twisted truths and half-lies that he writes. Now, more than ever, I am convinced that someone is pushing him to do this. I was loath to link to link to his blog previously because I didn't want extra eyeballs on his blog bringing him extra dollars. I also didn't want to draw unwitting people to him blog and accidentally panic anyone. With the terrible slant to his writing, it's not a stretch that anyone unaware of what's actually going on would be extremely worried and go off the deep end.
Having read the latest entry, I couldn't go without comment any longer.
Sites like UB used to average peak player numbers of about 2900 – 3200 as recently as Nov 2006 (well after the UIGEA). Now they can barely break 2300 one day a week with many days falling short of the 2000 barrier.
Funny. He takes the ONE site that hasn't pulled out of the US and has lost some player base. Interestingly enough, UB is the ONE site that has had a litany of customer service issues in the last six months and changed the way that they calculate rake and changed the way that players accrue points towards bonus clearing. But that obviously has NOTHING to do with it, this ONE example is dead nuts proof that the US market is in the middle of a collapse. Sure.
As I’ve predicted previously, I think some sites will drip, drip, drip market share until they pass some magical threshold of liquidity and then it’ll be like a 1929 run on banks as players bolt for other sites adding to the consolidation effect.
Except, BDPU, looking at the sites that still serve the US, they've GAINED players since UIGEA passed! Stars, Full Tilt, Absolute, Bodog and Microgaming have INCREASING player counts! He's been predicting this same thing for months now. The sites will dry up and everyone will panic. Except, of course, that it's not true as shown in detail by the numbers above. But BDPU has repeated it so many times that I think he now believes it.
Click once on BDPU's blog entry. Read it, point, laugh and move on. Until he reveals his true agenda, don't give him the time of day.
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SNOW SHOE, Pa. -- Missing: A 48-foot refrigerated trailer stocked with 23,000 pounds of cheese. The load was stolen sometime between early Monday morning and yesterday afternoon from a rest stop off Interstate 80 in rural Centre County, state police said. The truck driver had unhooked the trailer and left it at the rest stop to take his tractor to a repair shop. The trailer -- and the cheese -- were gone when he returned, police said.
Current Music: Buckcherry - Crazy Bitch
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Interestingly enough, UB is the ONE site that has had a litany of customer service issues in the last six months and changed the way that they calculate rake and changed the way that players accrue points towards bonus clearing.
Well, and also Absolute, which has small gains in spite of it. And also OnGame, which left the US as well as those things, and still gained. And also Prima/Migrogaming, which left part of the US in addition to those things, and still gained.
UB, of course, started off pretty shitty, lost a lot of players last spring because of software problems, and just kept getting worse. They've been a picture of a dying poker site for two years or so now. They gained a little bit from staying in the US, then lost it back in the recent ripoffs.
I oculdn't get past the first clause of his post: "As we begin approaching the six month marker since the Neteller crackdown in January"
1+6 = how much now?
I am just typoman today. "Couldn't" and "Microgaming" even.
| | From: | pb9617 |
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| Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:23 pm (UTC) |
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"As we begin approaching the six month marker since the Neteller crackdown in January"
1+6 = how much now?
The guy is a hack.
I don't know. Adding is a key skill for a hack.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/81329581/1250758) | | From: | prock |
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| Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:38 pm (UTC) |
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Note the qualifiers: "begin approaching"
Heck, you could begin approaching Moscow by stepping out my front door.
| | From: | pb9617 |
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| Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:39 pm (UTC) |
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Moscow, Idaho or Moscow, Russia?
| | From: | pb9617 |
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| Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:25 pm (UTC) |
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Well, and also Absolute, which has small gains in spite of it. And also OnGame, which left the US as well as those things, and still gained. And also Prima/Migrogaming, which left part of the US in addition to those things, and still gained.
Like I said - facts don't mean much to him.
I knew there was some reason that I didn't like that guy.
I stopped reading him a long time ago.
| | From: | pb9617 |
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| Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:25 pm (UTC) |
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Good for you. I want to stop, but part of me feels like if someone doesn't point out what a jackass he is, his stuff will start circulating and just be taken as truth.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/83793401/4361372) | | From: | rcfox |
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| Date: | May 25th, 2007 02:29 am (UTC) |
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I agree with pb9617 here. Yes, blasphemy from the good witch Russ.
Seriously, I'm honest enough to state that I don't know what will happen. I do know that if I had anything to do with a sports betting site, I wouldn't board a plane that made any stops in the U.S., a U.S. territory, or any key US allies with extradition treaties to the U.S. Although online sports betting continues in the US today, it's clear that any company/executive stupid enough to set foot in the U.S. will soon find himself at ClubFed.Bill believes very strongly that the difficulties people are having depositing will cause online poker to vanish. The new law (and the Neteller fiasco) has made it much harder for some individuals to get money to the sites (I'm in that group because my debit cards don't work, but I don't need to get more money onto the sites). But others, yourself included, have had no problem depositing. I remain a pessimist because if the government really wants to stop online poker, they can stop 90% of the action. That's enough to make the games uneconomical for everyone ( if that happens). But I disagree with Bill that there's a 100% chance of that happening. I do think, though, there's a significant nonzero risk of that taking place. UB's customer service reminds me of Paradise Poker's last year -- tournaments crashing, server crashing, inept reps, etc. Maybe they stole the cheese. They're certainly doing everything in their power to fail as a poker site so they're looking for a new profession -- cheese thievery.
| | From: | pb9617 |
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| Date: | May 25th, 2007 02:08 pm (UTC) |
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In all of the disagreements we've had on the issue, I've known that you are at least honest in stating your position and the limitations of your position. I also know that you are making your arguments in good faith, something that I'm CERTAIN that BDPU is not.
UB's customer service reminds me of Paradise Poker's last year -- tournaments crashing, server crashing, inept reps, etc. Maybe they stole the cheese. They're certainly doing everything in their power to fail as a poker site so they're looking for a new profession -- cheese thievery.
Exactly, and the BDPU ignores all of this to make a point while ignoring all other relevant data. Everyone can see what's been happening at UB - the cash games are dead and the only thing still running are the SNGs and the $200k guaranteed.
I remain a pessimist because if the government really wants to stop online poker, they can stop 90% of the action.
I still believe in the people's desire to do "illegal" things, you don't. We shall see.
| | From: | rcfox |
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| Date: | May 25th, 2007 02:18 pm (UTC) |
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"I remain a pessimist because if the government really wants to stop online poker, they can stop 90% of the action.
I still believe in the people's desire to do "illegal" things, you don't. We shall see."
And on how this all plays out over the next few months (I think we'll see the government acting this year if they decide to act against online poker) I hope you end up being right. I'll be quite happy to eat crow on 1/1/08.
Russ
"I am convinced that someone is pushing him to do this."
I may be mistaken, but isn't Rini employed by a particular large poker site that does not accept U.S. players anymore? |
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