Joe Sebok Signing up with UltimateBet – this has topic been talked about, argued about, debated about, examined from all angles, turned topsy-turvy and back again. It caused a rage in poker forums when people first caught a whiff of it, and it’s still causing a rage now as the issue takes a more solid form.
What’s so special about it, you ask? Simple; Joe Sebok is like a small underground band that suddenly went mainstream. People love him, true. But then he’s given himself to the bigger fish, a move that will undoubtedly make his own life much better. And they hate this. They feel betrayed. And ultimately, this raises the question: is it right for them to feel betrayed? Well, read on, and judge for yourself.
Joe Sebok: For the People
Much of the issue revolves around Sebok being a player who is “for the people”. His role at PokerRoad.com earned him a very stellar reputation. Furthermore, he was one of the big names in poker who avoided signing with any particular site for as long as he could. He’s one of the “good guys” in the world of poker – a shining beacon of light in these otherwise dark days.
And dark days they are, indeed, especially for UltimateBet. Many of their players jumped ship after the atrocious cheating scandal. And even more were dismayed when, after the whole fiasco, UltimateBet still remained tight-lipped and unmoving. What they lacked was a representative, someone who was “for the people”; an insider in UB who would side with them and not with the big corporate goons. And who better to take this role than Joe Sebok himself, the good guy of poker?
For the People? Truly?
However, as Joe Sebok and UB signed contracts, shook hands, and smiled for the cameras, the people had to ask this one small but very weighty question: “What about us?”
UB players only want two things: that their hand histories are released and that the names of those involved in the cheating scheme are released.
But then, people ask, if Sebok’s so determined to help, why didn’t he just ask for these things in his contract?
Doubts were born, they lingered, and they festered, especially since there still was no visible change in the UB’s methods and policies, no movement on the corporate side.
And people were left to wonder if everything – Sebok, his promises, the UB – were all for the money after all, and not for them, the people.
Further making matters more complicated was the allusion that Sebok was paid an incredibly huge sum by UB. And certainly, it had to be big. After all, how much money would it take to get someone to jump back into a sinking ship?
Whether or not Sebok is really “for the people”, though, is something that will only be revealed with time. At the very least, people should give him the benefit of doubt and continue to lend him their support.
Related posts:
