Brian Townsend
Encyclopedia
Brian Townsend is an American
professional poker
player currently residing in Santa Barbara
, California
.
and pot-limit omaha
at Full Tilt Poker
, playing under the nickname 'sbrugby.' He is the former co-owner and lead instructor for CardRunners
, an online instructional website where he posted instructional videos and wrote about his daily life and poker experiences in a blog. On June 1, 2009, Townsend announced his departure as a lead instructor at CardRunners.
Townsend began playing online poker
at $0.50/$1.00 blinds but gradually moved up in stakes, eventually becoming a regular player in some of the highest stakes games online. He posts regularly on Two Plus Two Publishing
forums under the name 'aba20.'
Although better known to be a heads up and short handed specialist online, Townsend has participated in several live tournaments, including an in the money
finish at a World Poker Tour
no limit hold 'em event, and making a final table at a World Series of Poker
circuit event. Townsend appeared on NBC's Poker After Dark
and won $120,000 by beating Doyle Brunson
heads up. His total live tournament winnings exceed $230,000.
Townsend appeared on season 3 of GSN's High Stakes Poker
. He is featured on the front cover of the August/September 2007 issue of Cardplayer Magazine and November 2008 issue of Inside Poker.
He graduated from the UC Santa Barbara and played Lock for UCSB's 2003 league championship rugby
team.
.
In December 2009, Townsend was suspended for a second time and lost his "red pro" status for 30 days due to accusations of collusion with Brian Hastings
and Cole South
against "Isildur1
" which may have resulted in Isildur1's $4.2 million lost to Hastings. Townsend gained an unfair advantage which Full Tilt defines as "accessing or compiling information on other players beyond that which the user has personally observed through his or her own game play" after he admitted to acquiring over 30,000 hands of Isildur1's play through Hastings which he commented on in an interview with ESPN
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player currently residing in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Biography
Townsend is largely known for his success playing no limit hold 'emTexas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...
and pot-limit omaha
Omaha hold 'em
Omaha hold 'em is a community card poker game similar to Texas hold 'em, where each player is dealt four cards and must make his best hand using exactly two of them, plus exactly three of the five community cards...
at Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
, playing under the nickname 'sbrugby.' He is the former co-owner and lead instructor for CardRunners
CardRunners
CardRunners is an instructional poker site founded by Taylor Caby and Andrew Wiggins and formerly part-owned by Brian Townsend. CardRunners charges members a monthly fee for access to their catalog of poker instructional videos and private poker strategy forums...
, an online instructional website where he posted instructional videos and wrote about his daily life and poker experiences in a blog. On June 1, 2009, Townsend announced his departure as a lead instructor at CardRunners.
Townsend began playing online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
at $0.50/$1.00 blinds but gradually moved up in stakes, eventually becoming a regular player in some of the highest stakes games online. He posts regularly on Two Plus Two Publishing
Two Plus Two Publishing
Two Plus Two Publishing is a private company established and owned by statistician and poker player Mason Malmuth. The company publishes books on poker and gambling written by professionals in the field such as David Sklansky, Dan Harrington, Bill Robertie, Collin Moshman, Ed Miller, Ray Zee, Sunny...
forums under the name 'aba20.'
Although better known to be a heads up and short handed specialist online, Townsend has participated in several live tournaments, including an in the money
In the Money
In the Money is a comedy film starring The Bowery Boys. The film was released on February 16, 1958 by Allied Artists Pictures and is the forty-eighth and final film in the series. It was directed by William Beaudine and written by Al Martin and Elwood Ullman.-Plot summary:Sach is hired to take...
finish at a World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
no limit hold 'em event, and making a final table at a World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
circuit event. Townsend appeared on NBC's Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark was an hour-long poker television program on NBC. The show made its debut on January 1, 2007, and was cancelled as another victim of the "Black Friday" criminal case due to the show's sponsorship by Full Tilt Poker, one of that case's defendants. on September 23, 2011 For its first...
and won $120,000 by beating Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
heads up. His total live tournament winnings exceed $230,000.
Townsend appeared on season 3 of GSN's High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. It premiered on January 16, 2006 and ended on December 17, 2007 and it returns back on March 1, 2009 and is...
. He is featured on the front cover of the August/September 2007 issue of Cardplayer Magazine and November 2008 issue of Inside Poker.
He graduated from the UC Santa Barbara and played Lock for UCSB's 2003 league championship rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team.
Controversy
In March 2008, Townsend became a pro at Full Tilt Poker, playing under his real name. In August 2008, he was found to be violating Full Tilt's terms of service by playing under multiple account names, a disallowed practice known as "multiaccounting". He admitted to dropping down in stakes and playing under the name "Stellarnebula". Townsend was suspended for six months as a Full Tilt professional player. Townsend issued an apology and also admitted to multiaccounting on PokerStarsPokerStars
PokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world. PokerStars' satellite tournaments produced the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, Chris Moneymaker. 1983 champion Tom McEvoy, 2005 champion Joe Hachem, 2009 champion Joe Cada and 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel and others also represent...
.
In December 2009, Townsend was suspended for a second time and lost his "red pro" status for 30 days due to accusations of collusion with Brian Hastings
Brian Hastings (poker player)
Brian Hastings of Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania is an American competitive poker player best known for his profitable sessions against the Swede, Isildur1.- Poker career :...
and Cole South
Cole South
Cole South is a 24 year-old professional poker player, author, and entrepreneur from Washington, DC. South is best known for his play online, though he has also made television appearances on Poker After Dark in season 5 of the show....
against "Isildur1
Isildur1
Viktor Blom is a Swedish high stakes online poker player, best known as Isildur1. His rise to fame drew considerable audience around the poker world in late 2009, taking part in all ten of the largest pots in online poker history. In December 2010, it was announced that then-anonymous Isildur1...
" which may have resulted in Isildur1's $4.2 million lost to Hastings. Townsend gained an unfair advantage which Full Tilt defines as "accessing or compiling information on other players beyond that which the user has personally observed through his or her own game play" after he admitted to acquiring over 30,000 hands of Isildur1's play through Hastings which he commented on in an interview with ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.