The Tilt Debacle

"I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself." - D.H. Lawrence

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We can complain, moan or cry as much as we want. Our Full Tilt bankrolls are not coming back. Accept the loss and move on. That's the only way to go. The Full Tilt days are forever gone. Fuck the money. Write if off as a loss. Yeah, it sucks but there's nothing that can be done.

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For three years I've been bonus whoring and rakeback grinding. Putting in long, boring hours almost every single day. Sometimes I wondered why. There must be more interesting and satisfying ways to spend my time.

Once you get stuck in the Full Tilt Iron Man Challenge it's hard to leave. I got reeled in by this never-ending promotions machine. There's always more free money just around the corner. Just a few more hands to play, just a few more points needed to unlock the next cash prize...

Fuck this, I've lived at the bottom of the poker food chain for years. Just one tiny step above the fish who fund this volatile, flawed, bullshit poker economy.

*

Full Tilt has been down for about twenty-four hours now. Somehow it doesn't feel all that bad. It's almost like I'm on an (expensive) holiday. No need to hurry through my days to get to grinding, no more Full Tilt Points to gain, no more Happy Hours or other exhaustive bonus schemes. No more playing poker above everything else for just some extra cash.

My money's gone. My rigid playing schedule' s gone.  But, hey, I'm free!

I can do whatever I want. That's a glorious thought. I've been caught up in this shit way too long. Finally freed of the rakeback schackles . Time to move on to bigger and better things, but before we go...

There's only one thing left to do:
Turn up your speakers, play this clip and sing along one final time:

Say it loud and say it proud:

Fuck you, Mr. Lederer!

I'm out.

RIP Full Tilt Poker

Game Over.

The Alderny Gaming Control Comission, which supplies FTP's license to offer poker games, has suspended Full Tilt Poker's license today. As from now Full Tilt can no longer:

• Register new customers
• Accept deposits from existing customers
• Allow existing customer to withdraw funds that are held in their account
• Permit customers to participate in any form of poker game or gambling transaction

All players worldwide are unable to launch the Full Tilt client. On the website the following notice is displayed:

I've said it before and I say it again: 

if you have (had!?!?) money on Full Tilt, you're screwed.

Twitter and Two Plus Two have been buzzing with comments and opinions all afternoon but there's really not that much to say. 

Full Tilt is gone. 

That's the only fact we have for now.

After Black Friday, I found it very hard to leave. I was planning to but... The games were good. Easy money is hard to resist. Still had some bonuses to unlock, some fish to stack. There was always a reason to keep playing. I made a few cash outs but not enough. Not everything. The rakeback, the bonuses, the smooth software... I really didn't want to leave. It's sad to say but Full Tilt Poker has been one of the few constants in my life over the last few years. Something that was always there. Something I could count on. Deep down I believed everything would turn out allright. It turned out I was wrong.

Sometimes I wonder why 

I have to learn everything the hard way.

RIP Full Tilt Poker/ Bye bye $$$...

Sunday Link Dump: Poker & Other Topics

What can I say? I feel like a Full Tilt spokesman. We'll get back to you when we've got anything to say. In the meantime, all I got to offer are just a few links:

• The WSOP 2011 has started but the biggest news so far is Phil Ivey not playing. Tao of Poker has an excellent piece on Ivey's Titanium Balls

• In related news: Howard Lederer, only a few months ago chosen by Bluff Magazine as the most powerful man in poker, is still nowhere to be seen. There are rumors that he's spending his time (and our money) hanging out with his homey Kim Jong Il... Check QuadJacks.com for more on this.
• WSOP.com broadcasts all final tables of this year's events on a 5 min delayed live-stream. Perfect stoner TV.

• Unrelated and somewhat irrelevant: I've got nothing to say so I shoot pictures instead, they can be found on Flickr...

• Lastly, this life needs a 'Quick Fold'-button... "You wake up in the night with a fear so real.
  You spend your life waiting for a moment that just don't come" - Badlands:

Anyway, have a great week everyone!