tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-198755372024-03-07T14:58:38.333-08:00Haley's Poker BlogNo bad beats, but still a poker blog... hence the anguish.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger407125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-43619652337660727492021-01-27T07:42:00.002-08:002021-01-27T07:53:11.695-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 11: THE SILLY POKERNEWS INTERVIEW(Author's note: This 11th entry in the series on Ben Mezrich's fraudulent take on the Absolute Poker scandal wasn't part of the original series. Instead, I wrote this after Mezrich decided that doing an interview with PokerNews, which had at least some idea of the truth behind AP's corruption and theft, would still somehow be a good idea. It didn't go well. -- hh)14th September 2013Ben Mezrich’s Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-42945351570748239182021-01-27T07:16:00.001-08:002021-01-27T07:16:36.618-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 10: ASSORTED HILARITIES, LINKS AND REVIEWS19th June 2013Ben Mezrich’s latest literary fraud, Straight Flush, continues to amaze the poker world with its blatant rewriting of history regarding Absolute Poker and the crooked college frat boys who ran the company. The first nine parts of this series detailed some of the worst literary sins Mezrich committed in this book, and it’d be easy to go on in the same vein through Part 25 or Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-27601735685093014232021-01-27T07:01:00.002-08:002021-01-27T07:01:36.237-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 9: RESELLING A FAKED CORPORATE SALE13th June 2013Among the core lies served up by Ben Mezrich in Straight Flush, which is easily the biggest literary fraud of this decade, is that the primary members of the University of Montana SAE fraternity group that founded Absolute Poker left the company soon after AP became embroiled in troubles. The troubles themselves are clear: First came the legal difficulties presented by the UIGEA’s Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-52689709684704588442021-01-27T06:48:00.003-08:002021-01-27T06:48:25.261-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 8: THE RIDICULOUS LIFESTYLE JUSTIFICATIONS10th June 2013This time out, let’s veer away from the tedious but factual evidence presented in this lengthy series’ previous posts, all of which reveals the massive literary fraud of author Ben Mezrich in his faked “true story” of the rise and fall of Absolute Poker, Straight Flush.Instead, let’s share a little bit of insight into what makes Ben the Writer tick — the way he manipulates his Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-68200876192038666752021-01-26T14:41:00.000-08:002021-01-26T14:41:43.769-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 7: THE PAYMENT-PROCESSING AND BANKING FALSIFICATIONS10th June 2013If you haven’t checked in on the story of the massive literary fraud perpetrated upon the reading public by Ben Mezrich in Straight Flush, then there’s no time like the present. Mezrich’s printed lies about the Absolute Poker scandal story run the entire gamut of writerly misdeeds, from falsification of his story’s timeline to the disregarding of visual factual evidence that proves Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-62051315905741449162021-01-26T14:30:00.000-08:002021-01-26T14:30:14.664-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 6: IGNORING SCOTT TOM’S FUNDS-TRANSFER INCRIMINATION5th June 2013Here’s more visual evidence for those souls who still might not be convinced that Ben Mezrich’s new book, Straight Flush, is a gigantic literary fraud. As I’ve previously detailed, the book is a celebration of the criminal antics of the University of the Montana frat boys who oversaw the rise and fall of online-poker site Absolute Poker.Swaths of Straight Flush‘s later pages are Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-69563949925193498192021-01-26T13:27:00.001-08:002021-01-26T14:11:06.887-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 5: THE CHEATING SCANDAL TIMELINE FALSIFICATION4th June 2013There may be no more greater literary sin than intentionally falsifying the sequence in which events occur in order to pass off lies as truth in the eyes and minds of the readers. It’s an abomination of a practice, and in Straight Flush, the new “true story” as penned by Ben Mezrich of the rise and fall of online-poker site Absolute Poker, it’s been carried to the extreme.What’s evenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-37881393162028849032021-01-26T09:05:00.003-08:002021-01-26T09:10:57.789-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 4: THE RETURN OF THE UNNAMED LOW-LEVEL EMPLOYEE3rd June 2013@AllenPrep @brettrichey @kevinphwap gotta write the story based on actual evidence, not hearsay. Scandal is presented fairly.— Ben Mezrich, (@benmezrich on Twitter), 6/3/2013So who was responsible for the insider cheating at Absolute Poker, in which millions of dollars were taken from players? Ben Mezrich’s new and gigantic literary fraud, Straight Flush, provides no answers, except Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-48866464451920008202021-01-26T08:43:00.006-08:002021-01-27T07:48:15.368-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 3: THE BIGGEST LIE ABOUT THE PLANE-CRASH STORY2nd June 2013Understanding the depths of authorial fraud committed by Ben Mezrich in his latest book, Straight Flush, requires nothing more complex than a simple comparison of the story as Mezrich tells it against the facts as they actually occurred.One of the key elements to the Absolute Poker story is a plane crash that occurred at Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaria Airport on September 3, 2007. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-20782300180527868432021-01-25T20:23:00.001-08:002021-01-25T20:23:40.903-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 2: THE IMPERATIVE BLACKJACK OMISSION31st May 2013Of all the underlying themes in Ben Mezrich’s new narrative non-fiction book, Straight Flush, none are more important than its insistence that the University of Montana SAE frat boys who founded Absolute Poker were idealistic, pure-hearted dreamers whose love of poker — and poker only — was the company’s sole purpose and guiding light.It’s an important fallacy to propagate. The book Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-78007241755248221672021-01-25T19:23:00.002-08:002021-01-25T19:23:53.864-08:00BEN MEZRICH’S “STRAIGHT FLUSH” LITERARY FRAUD, PART 1: THE ELEMENTS OF DECEPTION30th May 2013Tuesday’s release of Ben Mezrich’s Straight Flush, the supposed “true story” of the University of Montana frat boys who founded Absolute Poker, represents a new nadir in the history of poker “story” books — that is, the recounting of real-life tales connected primarily to the poker world.Poker has been blessed with a small handful of captivating inside-story tales, but this isn’t oneUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-71403868528082709142013-07-24T21:57:00.000-07:002013-07-25T12:27:44.911-07:00The Plagiarism Shuffle: PokerUpdate's SLAPP C&D at PokerAddict
Author's note: I've moved this from its original posting location at FlushDraw. Neither Ian or Paudie had anything to do with the publication of the piece there; it was mine and mine alone. I've subsequently learned of additional legal threats, so I'm willfully moving this piece here, where it will stay up approximately until hell freezes over. If Jamie and PokerUpdate want to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-81041767151858212102013-06-29T13:34:00.002-07:002013-06-29T13:34:31.309-07:00Just Conjecturin', Volume 51: The Fraudulent Mezrich Book, Straight FlushPeople who haven't checked out yet Ben Mezrich's laughably fraudulent "true story" of Absolute Poker, Straight Flush, have probably missed the thorough bashing its getting within the poker world, along with a few other select outlets, such as the review page for the farce over at Amazon. I'm among the many who've reviewed it to to date, and I'll reprint my review here -- and fix a couple ofUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-47384367927721940042013-06-29T11:43:00.002-07:002013-06-29T11:43:45.777-07:00Just Conjecturin', Volume 50: Updated Index of EntriesAt long last, time for some housekeeping. Things are gearing up again, and it's a good time to get the old stuff in order. Therefore, for easy access, here's a list of all 49-plus "Just Conjecturin'" posts, dealing with the UltimateBet and Absolute Poker insider cheating scandals, that have been published here to date.
Just Conjecturin', Volume 1
Just Conjecturin', Volume 2: Sebok Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-6802509229878637872013-01-28T18:12:00.001-08:002013-02-02T09:59:45.890-08:00Just Conjecturin', Vol. 49: The Names Behind Seven More Russ Hamilton UltimateBet Cheating AccountsPicking up where we left off this morning, this post provides the actual account information attached to seven more accounts used in the UltimateBet cheating which were known to be used by Russ Hamilton in his long-running cheating scheme at that site.
This morning, I provided the real names as listed for four new cheating accounts, whose screen names had been listed within a photo dump by Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-57427929610124339642013-01-28T08:40:00.001-08:002013-01-28T08:40:34.475-08:00Just Conjecturin', Vol. 48: Real Names Behind the New Hamilton / Makar UB Cheating AccountsAs we mentioned last tine out, a release of data by Russ Hamilton's former computer guy, Travis Makar, has led to the confirmation of eleven new known accounts used by Hamiilton in the UltimateBet insider cheating scandal.
Those familiar with the scandal may remember than four years back, when the Kahnawake Gaming Commission issued its report publicly blaming Hamilton, they also released a list Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-33068716014119983722013-01-27T07:51:00.000-08:002013-01-27T07:52:01.745-08:00Just Conjecturin', Vol. 47: New Russ Hamilton Cheating Accounts RevealedWelcome back, friends and neighbors, to the blog series that never ends. This time out, we'll toss out a few more accounts that have been linked to Russ Hamilton's cheating at UltimateBet.
The information released today is either included in or derived from a handful of photos that Hamilton's long-time computer guy, Travis Makar, has released to Bryan Micon over at Donkdown. You can find Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-75632202482744832812012-08-16T08:02:00.000-07:002012-08-28T19:04:26.895-07:00Just Conjecturin', Volume 46: Ultimate BurgerBack today with a new and lighthearted JC installment, a bit of a break from the heavy stuff in many previous posts. This time out it's a look at a tangential tale from the greater UB world, about a Costa Rican burger joint with a heckuva big UB connection, and a story shared just because it's entertaining.
Our protagonist this time is Tommy Percell, UltimateBet's one-time UB Customer RelationsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-13880153808799240132012-08-15T18:54:00.000-07:002012-08-16T07:39:35.910-07:00Just Conjecturin', Volume 45: The Mezrich BookI've noticed today a couple of new news items referring to Ben Mezrich's upcoming effort on Absolute Poker. Mezrich's the one-time member of the fabled MIT blackjack team who wrote about that experience in the book Bringing Down the House (which I own), which later became the movie 21, which I've never watched.
This paragraph from a news story made me chortle:
When asked what he was working onUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-49318752282285037392012-06-18T16:10:00.000-07:002012-06-18T16:23:42.216-07:00Just Conjecturin', Volume 44: The Dirty Birds"You seem to be in some distress," said the kindly judge to the witness. "Is anything the matter?"
"Well, your Honor," said the witness, "I swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but every time I try, some lawyer objects." -- classic lawyer joke
I love me some lawyer jokes, as do most sane people, even as I know that most funny jokes have roots in reality. This Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-73858674307293105102012-06-02T17:37:00.002-07:002012-06-02T17:47:55.942-07:00Just Conjecturin', Volume 43: AP's Chairman Janusz Targeted by Norwegian Bankruptcy Attorneys; $250 Million Corporate Theft AllegedBack to the Just Conjecturin' grind, with a hat tip this time out to an anonymous commenter who alerted me to a unfolding legal action in US District Court, right here in my home state. This involves the former chairman, Ron Janusz, of Absolute Poker's one-time parent/holding company, Norwegian Fjord Madeira Fjord AS.
Madeira Fjord declared bankruptcy last year, and was Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-54636716526894086722012-05-29T15:51:00.000-07:002012-05-29T15:51:54.575-07:00Major Links OverhaulSpring cleaning time at the ol' Haley's Poker Blog corral, which meant going through the link pile at lower left and getting rid of some of the old and expired blogs. Sadly, there were quite a few entries down there that needed to go away, even as I discovered a couple of blogs that should have been there that somehow weren't.
While a lot of the old standbys of the poker-blog world remain Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-45138542986638240482012-03-06T16:36:00.000-08:002012-03-11T23:17:09.769-07:00Just Conjecturin', Vol. 42: The Troublesome, Off-Topic RecordBack with a tale from the development of back stories for the upcoming book, and this time it's with a mostly unconnected piece that really won't fit into the book's greater monologue in any meaningful way. It might get a mention, but it's off on such a tangent, and it's such a troubling thing, that it just needs to be published and dealt with, for better or for worse.
The last coupleUnknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-33366187395028881792012-02-14T13:25:00.000-08:002012-02-14T14:27:14.399-08:00Just Conjecturin', Volume 41: The Episode in which I Discover I'd Moved to AfghanistanI've been watching, with some interest, these recent developments regarding "Yukon" Brad Booth, amid the posting of links to a cryptic video by Booth on a prominent poker forum. What's Booth up to? I can't say for sure, though I am aware of tales from multiple channels that Booth had received one payment categorized as a "special refund" not too many months ago, and then a second payment didn'tUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19875537.post-90907602757687873992012-02-08T14:46:00.001-08:002012-02-08T15:29:21.317-08:00Just Conjecturin', Volume 40: Three RecordsFor various reasons, I'm going to release three records culled from the roughly three million UB records accidentally leaked a couple of months ago by whom I believe to be an Israeli spammer. Before getting down to the records themselves, I'd like to reaffirm a few things about the more than 200 data files that were leaked.1) The files were not Cereus Network databases specifically, but the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6