Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke leave UB.com

[Fonzi]

UB.com Pros Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke have parted was with the online poker site. The news of Hellmuth leaving was no surprise as he has been seen playing on poker tournaments with out the UB patch. Annie Duke's decision to leave so that she can pursue other business interests is a bit surprising.

In a post on UB.com Duke said “I have nothing but positive things to say about UB and my experiences with the brand, management, and the incredible people who work hard daily to deliver a terrific online poker experience.”

Phil Hellmuth has not posted anything about his decision on his Twitter page or made any comments elsewhere as of this writing.

UB.com is not left without a great young stable of poker pros including Joe Sebok, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho. Also expected to remain on the UB Team are Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Brandon Cantu, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Anthrax’s Scott Ian, and Samantha Ryan.

This news is just the beginning of what we expect to be a very busy Winter in the poker world. We know of at least 4 potentially major decisions which will be made in the coming weeks.

[JamesDaBear]

Say hello to your new WSOP.com Poker sponsored pros.

[JamesDaBear]

Hellmuth's agent "broke the news", but Hellmuth himself has made no comment other than to say that he'll have a "big announcement within the hour" on his twitter..

Joe Sebok has also posted a blog stating there will be a big addition to the UB.com roster next week.

I have to admit I'm surprised they announced this BEFORE the start of UBOC 6, and included them in their advertisement (which may now change). But UB is going younger and started this trend a while back.

[shamanalix]

Duke's leaving is no surprise, with her engagement announced on Christmas Day. Definitely she'll turn up elsewhere after the wedding stuff dies down.

[Fonzi]

Originally Posted by shamanalix

Duke's leaving is no surprise, with her engagement announced on Christmas Day. Definitely she'll turn up elsewhere after the wedding stuff dies down.

Duke's leaving was a surprise to most Sham, Hellmuth we figured was on the way out.

[lord nhl]

I wish Phil join PS and wana see him playing ilsidur

[dsteele02]

Originally Posted by lord nhl

I wish Phil join PS and wana see him playing ilsidur

Give Isildur a year, he'll be broke and working at a Swedish gas station or some such like all the rest of the exceptionally talented but inexperienced European pros age ~18-23 we have. Great players in any given situation, but you just can't sustain it for the long haul playing the way they do. This is why they are all pretty much broke, including Isildur. (I understand he's plus +$2.5mill this year, but that's on a stake which he only sees 40% of, and he closed last year down ~$4mill, so yea he's broke)

One day the young Europeans with Isildurs talent will figure out how to switch gears, then we're all in trouble....

Anyway, yea I heard the rumors about Phil a month or so back and to me the move makes sense, but last I heard up until recently Annie always referred to UB as family so that does shock me a bit. Meh, doesn't really affect me a lot but it's interesting, thanks Fonzi.

On a side note I did read a couple articles with speculation that Tiffany Michelle may soon be vacating UB as well. Those are just insider blogs so I don't put a lot of stock in them, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.