Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2007/10/18/absolute_poker_cheating_allegations/
Absolute Poker probed for insider cheating
Player named Potripper received invaluable intel from part-owner
Posted in Legal, 18th October 2007 18:36 GMT
Absolute Poker is being audited by an Indian gaming commission in Canada following reports of an internal data leak that appears to confirm that an insider with the online poker site used real-time access to a recent tournament to engage in cheating.
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission has hired the auditing firm Gaming Associates to investigate Absolute Poker, according to reports here and here. The audit follows the mysterious disclosure of a file showing someone with an Absolute Poker IP address observed a game in which a player by the handle of Potripper had an uncanny knowledge of his opponents' hole cards.
During a contested game, Potripper folded the first two hands. But when the insider, named in this blog as Absolute Poker part-owner Scott Tom, showed up as an observer, Potripper didn't fold a single hand for 20 minutes. The player then folded his hand pre-flop when another contestant had a pair of Kings as hole cards (hole cards are face-down cards known only to the player to whom they are dealt).
Potripper's streak of luck was so amazing that most serious poker players have concluded it could only be the result of cheating.
The disclosure came after Macro, a player who came in second, requested Absolute send him a hand history. What he got was an Excel file that contained a bevy of additional information, including complete hand history for every table in the tournament, every hole card and the IP and email addresses of people observing each game. It's unclear if the disclosure was an accident or the work of a whistleblower.
Representatives from Absolute Poker did not respond to a request for comment by time of writing.
"We have appointed experts to conduct a thorough audit of all circumstances, provide findings and recommendations to the Commission," David Montour, chairman of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission told Gaming Intelligence. As a license holder of the commission, the online poker site is obliged to to adhere to the commission's rules. ®