[FTPisAJoke]

I have to agree with all the others here. There's something fishy going on at FTP. I don't know how anyone with half a brain can't see the obvious patterns that occur time and time again on the site, as opposed to other poker sites. For example:

-Cards constantly making good hands for more than one player (for example, a low/high straight for 2 or more players on the turn and a "miracle river" flush for another on the river)

-A large number of miracle rivers/ runner runners

-More than one player simultaneously holding similar hole cards (paired- KK, QQ, 99/ connectors- 9c-10d, 9s-10s/ suited- 3s-5s, 4c-9c, 5d, 6d)

-The "Hotseat Phenomenon" (The same player--usually a donk (see below)-- constantly flopping trips or hitting FHs and flushes several times in a row during the hour)

-70-85% of flops coming out in a repetitive pattern during a short period of time, such as JJA, 998, 464, 332 OR... 243, 978, KQJ, 2A3, 756, which results in a high number of big hands--straights, full houses, three of a kinds-- being dealt out like candy from a pez dispenser)

I know you're asking... So what does all of this do? What is the point? It favors GAMBLERS (those who like to make high risk moves on the hopes they will beat the odds) over players who use strategy to make their moves.

For example:

SCENARIO 1:
Gambler bets 1200 preflop with 29o. Players call or reraise with AA, AKs, and KQ. Gambler REFUSES to fold and even reraises. Miracle of miracle: flop comes out 2-9-9. Turn: 6. River: 4.

SCENARIO 2:
Gambler, who's been playing fast and loose all night with low hands (and won) bets 1000 preflop with 23o. Players with AA, QQ, AKs call. Flop: AQ6. Two players have flopped 3 of a kind (AAA, QQQ) and are just pleased as punch to call and reraise gambler, who refuses to fold. Guess what happens? Turn: 5 River: 4.

SCENARIO 3:
Player 1 raises 100 chips preflop with KK, is RERAISED 350 by 3-9. Flop: Q-Q-3. KK keeps raising but 3-9 won't budge AT ALL and in fact reraises in a show of defiance. Turn: 9. River: 9

This type of thing of course can happen in real life. But it happens far too often on FTP to not be by design and usually at the expense of better poker players.

Now before people tell me I'm imagining things, ask yourself this one thing: if FTP isn't rigged, then it would obviously favor good players, right? And keep bad players/ donks to a minimum, since they would lose so much that they would either leave the site altogether or brush up on their playing. But it seems as if with each passing week that I was at FTP there was more and more reckless players at the tables, going hogwild, as if they were being encouraged in their behavior. But of course they are. FTP favors them. Enough said.

One of my last memories of the site-- and what caused me to finally quit-- was watching a complete donk buyin with 1K chips and triumphantly leave 8K richer. His strategy? Bet an insane number of chips preflop, no matter what cards he had, then just reraise on the turn and river to arrogantly challenge other players. And it worked. Raise 1200 chips preflop with 39o, watch him get trips. Get called and reraised by players with KK, AA, AKs, watch him get three of a kind, flush, or straight on the river. You could practically hear him laughing in mockery as he quickly left the table with everyone's winnings to use the same strategy at another.

That's when I said "enough is enough" and left. People who want to put money on that site, feel free to do it. You do it at your own risk-- that is, unless you're a gambler. If you're a gambler, then you might become the richest person there.