World Poker Tour Signs Joe Sebok

[BuSTMeANuT]

From Jeanine Deeb's twitter:

Look who has joined the @WorldPokerTour teaaam!!!! @joesebok WOOHOO!! ❤ pic.twitter.com/t3yvzA7k

[SpewArtist]

[Rollo Tomasi]

any confirmation or press release

[Steve-O]

Jeanine Deeb is a pretty good confirmation (Freddy's daughter btw) since she works for the WPT

[shortbuspoker]

Not really that bad of a decision when it comes to the recreational and non-professional players that he can attract. The general public likes Sebok from his escapades with Gavin Smith at the WSOP during the poker boom. I think that overall he will influence more players to play than the number of players playing now that would quit due to him being with the company.

[Pooh]

Not really that bad of a decision when it comes to the recreational and non-professional players that he can attract. The general public likes Sebok from his escapades with Gavin Smith at the WSOP during the poker boom. I think that overall he will influence more players to play than the number of players playing now that would quit due to him being with the company.

That's what a million twitter followers will do for you.

[Steve-O]

Not really that bad of a decision when it comes to the recreational and non-professional players that he can attract. The general public likes Sebok from his escapades with Gavin Smith at the WSOP during the poker boom. I think that overall he will influence more players to play than the number of players playing now that would quit due to him being with the company.

I'm pretty sure the WPT would welcome the loss of 10-20 fairly anonymous but really good online poker players (the ones who seem the most upset with Joe) if they are replaced by even the same amount of recreational players. None of the games really big names care that he aligned with UB, so it doesn't hurt them on that end. Sebok's (and the Negreanu's, Reynold's, Stapes and Huff's types) attitude and personality are what poker needs right now. instead we get Twitter assholes, mute online grinders, and Euro angle-shooters.

FWIW, I've spoken with Joe several times (interviewed him a couple of times and have talked to him via PM's) and he really is a very likable guy. I have nothing bad to say about the guy other than he took on an impossible job and overpromised what he could/would do.

***EDIT**** Here is something on wrote on Joe Sebok after Black Friday which pretty much sums up my opinion of his time at UB http://burbspoker.blogspot.com/2011/...ins-of-ub.html

[JoeSeboksMicropenis]

The guy knowingly took dirty money to pimp a cheat site. IMO he lost all poker cred when he did that.

[Texter]

I didn't even realize the wpt was still around

[shortbuspoker]

Hopefully they will foot the bill to bring Pokerroad Radio back. A podcast that actually travels the circuit is always interesting. Plus I miss Shirtroad

[Sloppy Joe]

I always thought he seemed like a nice guy, albeit douchey, when I would listen to his show with Gavin Smith way back then. Crowd pleaser with an ego type.

Surprised the UB affiliation wasn't enough to hold him back.

What the fuck is wrong with the poker industry?

[Boots2yas]

Did Sebok play any World Series events thsi year?

[chinamaniac]

Did Sebok play any World Series events thsi year?

heard he played main

1.4 markup on 5 of it too. Pretty good for a guy with 0 cashes this year and no scores in 3 or 4 yrs

[JUSTIFIEDhomicide]

Why is Joe Seabok bad?

[Belly Buster]

Why is Joe Seabok bad?

He has a micropenis?

[Crowe Diddly]

Why is Joe Seabok bad?

Isaac Haxton summed it up pretty well on 4.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29.../#post33849159

It's not like he was an investigative journalist who tried his best to dig up a story and failed. He was a paid representative of UB, spun that role as some sort of "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this!" bull****, learned nothing, and then turned around and assured people that it was safe to play on UB.

The people who believed him lost every dime they had on the site when the **** hit the fan. He continues to tweet about his awesome life and his sweet house on Hermosa Beach that he pays for with money UB stole and gave to him to tell people they weren't crooks. He's never even made a proper public apology or admitted his role in helping UB rob more people.

If anything, he doesn't get enough hate. The fact that poker related businesses continue to pay him money to use his name in association with their products is mind-blowing.

Worst part is, everyone in the world told Joe that associating with UB was gonna be the ruin of him, you can't succeed in what you are saying you wanna do, you will lose all credibility if you take that dirty money, etc. He did it anyway, so he deserves what he gets, plus more. In the face of all the overwhelming evidence that Joe was being told outright, badly formed lies (which he then tried to sell to the masses), he towed his company's line and did everything he could to convince people that the new UB was different. It wasn't, and lots more people got fucked because of it.

[Belly Buster]

Worst part is, everyone in the world told Joe that associating with UB was gonna be the ruin of him

Even his stepdad told him to steer clear and it was a baddecision to side with UB.

Like all these cocksuckers he just brazened it out and turns up a year later taking someone elses coin.

[shortbuspoker]

I know that Joe deserves a lot of criticism for the whole UB debacle, but I see a lot of hypocrisy in the pro poker community. How many of the pros that are badmouthing him for not leaving UB when he couldn't get the answers he promised are friends with Hellmuth? He made the mistake of signing with a company that he by all accounts truly believed had changed its ways while Phil knowingly stayed with UB and took the money while cheating was going on. It has always irked me that Hellmuth gets a pass while Sebok and to some extent Devo and Maria Ho catch hell for coming in after the fact.

[Erin Micunt]

Not happening

[hotshott74]

Pressure got to them or were they just floating the idea?