A high-stakes player has taken to the 2+2 forum to warn others of a coaching scam after someone impersonating well-known pro Ben ‘Sauce123’ Sulsky took him for an undisclosed sum of Bitcoin for a fake coaching session.
‘Sirrybob’, an ‘old hand’ on the forum posting system, stated in his thread entitled ‘High stakes coaching scam’:
‘Don't want to get too much into details because would rather not think about this much more, but thought it's important to warn people here. There is a scammer impersonating Ben Sulsky (possibly other well-known guys).’
He then relates how the scam operates, with the impostor using the Skype name BenSulsky hanging around in ‘various large Skype groups’ and ‘basically sitting there waiting for the opportunity to scam’, adding that when he contacted him regarding possible coaching:
‘He answered in a very helpful/informative manner, spoke like Ben, everything he said made a lot of sense’.
‘Sirrybob’, who would rather remain anonymous for obvious reasons, explained what happened next.
‘We scheduled a 3hour group coaching session, for which he wanted money in advance. The second I sent the money (via bitcoin), the guy disappeared.’
He ends with the warning:
‘People will probably say this is obvious (confirm identity before sending money) but... there are some pretty high level scammers out there. This guy was extremely convincing, I play highstakes poker and I never suspected.
Sulsky, for those who somehow haven’t heard of him, goes by the online moniker ‘Sauce123’ on PokerStars and is considered to be one of the best online players in the world, particularly in heads-up play. He is an ‘Elite Pro’ on the RunitOnce coaching site and has amassed $millions both online and live although the site’s ‘news and rumours’ forum section has yet to discuss the recent coaching scam.
SirryBob’s embarrassing, but certainly not unheard of tale, was met with a typical mixture of 2+2 sympathy, joke memes and incredulity, although RalphWaldoEmerson’s contribution was to the point, stating:
‘Some have suggested the poker community should use a better forum to communicate/deal with money stuff (such as one where 2fa is mandatory) but the bottom line is that individuals need to do their due diligence in every situation and this won't happen’.
Update: Just as this story was going to press, Ben Sulsky himself replied on the 2+2 forum, saying firstly ‘Wow, honored to be a part of teh memes :d’, before explaining...
‘The OP was given my skype name following the scam and he explained to me what happened. Obviously it's ****ing brutal this happened to him and it sucks my name was all mixed up in this. I don't know what to say other than to insist on seeing the coach face to face and being completely sure you're getting what you pay for before sending. My thanks to the SirryBob for coming forward with this and helping others keep themselves safe from these types of scams.’
The biggest names to be involved in such a high-stakes coaching scam – although the term ‘scam’ may be a bit strong for what happened as it was an overall messy affair – came when Doug Polk released a video titled: ‘My Dealings with Ben Tollerene’, my former colleague Malcolm Clarke relating how Polk ‘agreed to help Tollerene with No Limit Hold’em strategy whilst Tollerene would provide payment in kind by helping Polk with his Pot Limit Omaha. This turned sour when Tollerene, having received some No Limit coaching from Polk, reneged on his side of the deal’.