Dan “Jungleman” Cates: Takes a high-stakes beating, goes ballistic

Berates online opponent after dropping 6-figures.

This news item comes from last week when high-stakes heads-up specialist Daniel “Jungleman” Cates went toe-to-toe with NLHE pro “bajskorven87” on PokerStars in a 2100 hand, three-tabling match that, according to HighStakesDB, lasted over 5 hours and found the emotionally volatile Cates a loser to the tune of roughly $130,000.

Jungleman, rather than quitting “bajskorven87” with a standard “gg” opted to vent his frustrations in the chat box, like a true professional. Here’s the transcription:

bajskorven87: can u reload?

w00ki3z.: die

w00ki3z.: need to make a transfer

bajskorven87: u sitting at PLO?

w00ki3z.: go f yourself

w00ki3z: hope you die seriously

w00ki3z: llucky piece of ****

w00ki3z.: insane how lucky you are

bajskorven87: broke piece of **** :)

How inappropriate is it for a high profile player like Cates to behave like a random internet troll? So much so that Ross Jarvis, editor of Poker Player Magazine in the UK wrote an opinion piece today, calling him out and putting him on full blast:

It’s a disgusting read and Cates should be ashamed of himself. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are, or how bad you’ve been running, there is zero excuse for saying, ‘hope you die seriously’, to another human being – even if via the safety blanket of an online poker chatbox. Would Cates say this to his opponent’s face in a live game? Probably not, but this doesn’t make the practice OK just because it takes place online. Abuse is abuse and it’s one of the biggest problems in online poker right now.

[You should check out the full editorial at Poker Player Magazine online.]

While it may be no big deal, especially after Cates lost more in 5 hours than most of us will make this year, when you accept the terms of the game you must realize you may, even if your name is Jungleman, come out a loser. In this case that’s exactly what happened to Cates. He came out a loser.

Note: according to HighStakesDB, Cates is still up over $500k in 2013 in online cash.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VACPG) helpline at 1-888-532-3500
published 10 years, 11 months ago • by permalink

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