No matter how it is served, humble pie is never delicious or enjoyable, but it is necessary in some cases. Despite the fact that this is a column and often reflects my opinions, I sometimes try to report news in this limited space. Recently, one attempt to do that fell flat when I neglected to check the facts sufficiently and perform the due diligence essential to accurate reporting. In essence and in web-speak, the column was an epic fail. Thus, I willingly take this opportunity to issue corrections and apologies.

The column was printed in the March 1 edition of Poker Player Newspaper (Volume 13, Number 18) and titled "Townsend and Hastings Serve Full Tilt Suspensions for Isildur1 Matches." The article focused on a series of matches that CardRunners and Full Tilt pro players Brian Hastings, Brian Townsend, and Cole South played against the mysterious Swedish online poker player Isildur1. An interview with ESPN.com quickly led to speculation on the poker forums that hand histories were shared in order to win millions of dollars from Isildur1, and that practice was forbidden by the Full Tilt terms of service.

The title of the column itself was erroneous. As the facts have it, Hastings and South were completely free of any punishment from Full Tilt Poker, the site found no wrongdoing on their parts. Townsend was given a one-month suspension of his red pro status only, not from playing on Full Tilt, and the punishment was given for purchasing hands from Poker Table Ratings (PTR). There was no evidence that the three players shared hand histories and thus violated the Full Tilt terms.

In the second paragraph of the article, a quote was reprinted, but two quotes-one from Townsend and the other from Hastings-were mistakenly combined. Hastings actually said, "The three of us discussed a ton of hands and the reports that Brian made, so I'm very thankful to him and to Cole as well." The other part of the quote was from Townsend, who said, in full, "At the highest stakes, there are players who are playing closer to perfectly than ever before. Poker's getting closer and closer to becoming a solved game. It helps us get closer to making the right mathematical decisions. In the end, that's really what makes one successful."

In addition to merging the quotes, I also inserted brackets and words instead of printing the full sentences. I inserted the words "sharing hand histories" into the quote erroneously, and not only did that choice change the nature of the sentence but it implied that they were sharing hand histories, which the gentleman in question claim not to have done.

The errors in this article were done out of pure carelessness, and no harm or negative suggestions were intended in any way. This retraction and correction is aims to correct those mistakes and apologize to those involved as well as the readers who trust my words. My sincerest regrets accompany this column, along with my intention to rebuild that trust going forward.

Jennifer Newell is a compulsive writer. In addition to Poker Player Newspaper, she writes for numerous publications and blogs at Pokerati.com as California Jen. In her little bit of spare time, she plays poker, too. Contact her at jen3351@msn.com.