Massive Online Poker Cheating Scandal Uncovered

Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:24PM EDT

See Comments (73)

I knew there had to be a reason why I was so bad at online poker. It's got nothing to do with my skill level at all. It's that the winners are cheating. Really, it's the only explanation, right?

Laugh all you want, but in the case of Absolute Poker, this really seems to be the case. The details of how the cheating was discovered make for exhausting but fascinating ongoing reading (and they involve a possible whistleblower from inside the company), but the short of it is that someone on the inside was feeding information to one of the players about what other people in a large tournament had in their hands. (And in fact, if you read the detail thread, it might have all been the work of a single player who cracked his way into a supervisory account.) The betting pattern by the cheater (who eventually won the tournament) really has no other possible explanation (and there were suspicions to begin with), and now there's forensic proof, too. As cheaters go, this one was, to be frank, patently stupid (or just got greedy in the end).

Online poker cheating takes many forms (collusion among players conversing through IM is a common one), but to date I've never seen a poker site operator implicated as implicit in the crime, even if it's through just having poor security. As the Freakonomics guys note, "online poker is a game of trust," and any trust in Absolute Poker's operation now has to be completely shattered. The company has yet to offer a response, though the accounts in question have been frozen. Now, as Freakonomics notes, the only way to keep their company intact is to sacrifice the cheaters and see that they're locked up tight, then issue copious apologies and free money galore. But even then, would you continue to trust the company?

Maybe it's for the best that lawmakers are cracking down on these games... Sigh, has it really come to this? Kudos to the sleuths who tracked them down, and for bringing this all to light.

LINK: The Absolute Poker Cheating Scandal Blown Wide Open 

Comments on Massive Online Poker Cheating Scandal Uncovered

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  • 6 Posted by saleenstang11 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    If you don't understand poker please don't leave a misinformed comment based on your lack of knowledge

  • 7 Posted by sweetpetals_1979 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    I always said there was something just not right about Absolute Poker....

  • 8 Posted by blcohen529 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:09PM EDT Report Abuse

    Next, I suppose you will try to convince me that our past national election was fixed and AL GORE was really elected... But I suppose THIS IS POSSIBLE...Try finding people who will admit to voting for BUSH. Thankfully we have an honest SUPREME COURT to keep this from happening...No?

  • 10 Posted by brudd on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:14PM EDT Report Abuse

    to bad there is always a rat in the pack

  • 11 Posted by michaelhassen22 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    ya i agree with all of this comments because absolute ----- ed me over too...

  • 12 Posted by dareu2call on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    Well I can tell by the comments below that they are speaking in ignorance. I know many people on a personal level who play online for a living(I have seen there accounts, this is one example gone bad. I remind you there are thousands upon thousands of tables going all the time on many sites, the odds of playing in one involving cheating are slim to say the least. Do not comment unless you know what you are talking about.

  • 13 Posted by ldockwiller on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    not much difference lets say between this bunch of scum lappers and the oil companys who raise prices whenever they feel like it and all the folks from around this planet who have died in wars for this oil and natural gas etc....their are scum including the weapons industry.

  • 14 Posted by a_jaded_knight on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    I always windered if On-Line games were actually "fair". We always complained, even in anytype of video game, that the "Computer" is cheating...and in this case, it kinda was.

  • 15 Posted by idf1947 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    I AM SORRY BUT GAMBLING ONLINE OR LIVE IS FOR FOOLS.

  • 16 Posted by freezanne on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    This makes my stomach sick. I belong to Absolute Poker! I have won a few small time tourneyments. Im not a cheater, however, I've seen suspicious ----- , and thought, hmmm. When I read that one of the owners was involved, I went to the site to cash out. Then thought, darn! Ive got $ 43.80, the minimum to cash out $50. ... of course. Oh well. Im going to make my HONEST $6.20. If Absolute Poker can see that IM A GOOD player, and kick me something, for all my headaches. I might stay. Play on trustworthy poker players. Play on.

  • 17 Posted by remilliard2000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    Really odd that the house is involved in the cheating. They usually make a nice sum by "raking", which is legimately taking a percentage of the pot to host the game. The players understand the rake, and the house makes a nice sum in this method. This seems more like the work of a rogue insider. Someone in the house made a deal to split the winnings with the player and gave them the necessary information to guarantee that result. I often play poker online ... but I only play using "play" money which has no value. lol

  • 18 Posted by donna51058 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    well Gambling is bad for ya Bible says so :-0

  • 19 Posted by hlr13miami on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:19PM EDT Report Abuse

    First.. the reason lawmakers are cracking down on on-line games is they do not have a way to TAX them. If you think lawmakers realy care about you, enjoy your dream world. As far as playing games on-line, do it for fun and all should be good. If you want a get rich quick deal, look some place else. Poker is a fun game, do not hate on it till you played it.

  • 21 Posted by chuchopierre on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    Where ever there is money to be won, there will be a risk of cheating.

  • 22 Posted by goldopr2nitee on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    Of course, not skill, cheats. I know people of people taling about cheating on online. They have a bunch of guys play a table like 3 4 and call each other to see what each one had. Then they take advantage of people that play at tha same table. So yeah, watch which one you go to. Someone somewhere will cheat. I stay away from money games, dangerous. Play reals games, and online with play money. Thats the only way, to kill time too. So be careful poker players.

  • 23 Posted by bonnie_nicosia on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hope Fulltiltpoker.net is not doing the same thing as absolute poker 'caz i just lost ninty five bucks by playing hold'em online.

  • 24 Posted by evdevil2003 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    Great now every losing online poker player has a an excuse.

  • 25 Posted by robsher2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is a fascinating story that is still evolving. I think it is a great story about a community of poker players forcing a company to uphold a game to integrity. There is a strong misconception about all poker players being thiefs and cheats. Some thiefs and cheats just happen to play poker just like some thiefs and cheats enter professions as politicians and business leaders. Poker is just a game. The presence of thieves and cheats are characteristics of a society.

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