Brian “sbrugby” Townsend’s troubled career as a professional poker player has reached a new hurdle: a $2.8 million downswing.
Since the start of 2010, Townsend has lost $1 million playing Omaha and $1.8 million playing HORSE, adding up to a massive deficit that has entirely erased his profits from 2009. This downswing follows his one month suspension as a Full Tilt Pro in December due to accusations of datamining and colluding against Isildur1. When he was reinstated as a pro in January and his name turned red, so did his bankroll.
Huge wins and losses are the nature of high stakes poker. As a professional player and a regular at the Bellagio’s Big Game, Townsend is used to swings like this, including a $3.5 million downswing in 2007. Other professional players, such as Isildur1 and Patrik Antonius, have faced far larger downswings in a year and sometimes even bounced back to net a profit.
Townsend’s biggest losses occurred in February of this year, where he lost $1.3 million in just over 22,000 hands. The last two weeks have been particularly bad as well, with $620,000 lost to Ilari Sahamies, Gus Hansen, and David Oppenheim. During these sessions, Townsend lost a staggering $482,000 to Sahamies in only a 90 minute 240 hand game.
In the past, Townsend has reacted drastically to downswings, including removing most of his funds from Full Tilt and quitting high stakes games. As this downswing continues, his presence on the tables and tentative status as a Full Tilt Pro may be at risk.