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"Back Door" Cheating Scandal Rocks Online Poker

Posted by kdawson on from the know-when-to-hold-'em dept.

AcidAUS sends us the story of an online poker cheating ring that netted an estimated $10M for its perpetrators over almost 4 years. The article spotlights the role of an Australian player who first performed the statistical analyses that demonstrated that cheating had to be going on. "In two separate cases, Michael Josem, from Chatswood, analyzed detailed hand history data from Absolute Poker and UltimateBet and uncovered that certain player accounts won money at a rate too fast to be legitimate. His findings led to an internal investigation by the parent company that owns both sites. It found rogue employees had defrauded players over three years via a security hole that allowed the cheats to see other player's secret (or hole) cards." The (Mohawk) Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which licenses the two poker companies, has released its preliminary report. MSNBC reporting from a couple of weeks back gives deep background on the scandal.

21 of 427 comments (clear)

  1. *mucks his hand* by Stanistani · · Score: 3, Funny

    Not a bad deal, but I'll want to see the flop.

    --
    You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
    1. Re:*mucks his hand* by Deagol · · Score: 2, Funny

      I see what you mean. With today's movies, it's always a gamble on whether you're throwing your money away seeing them. Take The Mummy 3 -- that's twenty bucks for the family of four and two hours of a Sunday afternoon I'll never recoup. I'd probably have lost more money that day and had more fun if I'd blown that coin in Wendover on the quarter slots.

      --
      Method of processing duck feet
    2. Re:*mucks his hand* by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2, Funny

      let's just ban the internet

      The RIAA and MPAA agree with you.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:*mucks his hand* by immcintosh · · Score: 2, Funny

      You would rather have the immoral police?

    4. Re:*mucks his hand* by smegged · · Score: 4, Funny

      I could play poker all night for 20$ and not wake up smelling of smoke and beer.

      You're doing it wrong.

    5. Re:*mucks his hand* by jamstar7 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Depends on what cup size they wear.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
  2. Let's comp the cheaters some room nights by davidwr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Illicit high rollers get free room and board for the next 5-10 years.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  3. This is why by bugeaterr · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't gamble.
    I invest my money in the stock market.

    1. Re:This is why by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, it's rather brutal here. Right now we are advising all our clients to put everything they've got into canned food and shotguns.

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    2. Re:This is why by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 5, Funny

      But then you find out that all the toilets have locks on them charging $10, or even worse, they are slot machines too. "Come on cherries! I need to pee!"

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    3. Re:This is why by billcopc · · Score: 2, Funny

      Amen! That's why I spend all my money on hookers and booze!

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      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    4. Re:This is why by Missing_dc · · Score: 2, Funny

      Did your wife mind the "expensive entertainment" you bought?

      It is (legal after all in) Vegas/Nevada!

      --
      How amazed would you be to suddenly find that you just forgot what I wrote and you needed to reread my post.... again.
    5. Re:This is why by michaelhood · · Score: 4, Funny

      After a quick visit to the dictionary, I have to admit I am rather disappointed that waitron is not a robotic cocktail waitress that I was previously unaware of.

    6. Re:This is why by joss · · Score: 2, Funny

      > If so we've got more serious problems to worry about than the Dow.

      We sure do: peak oil, global warming, asteroids, people who actually like Murder She Wrote. Now that's scary.

      --
      http://rareformnewmedia.com/
  4. Re:Back door by slicenglide · · Score: 2, Funny

    You, the "Back Door" and "sorely" all together in one comment. The snickers just write themselves.

    --
    John Walsh once found me while looking for some other kid. He was not amused.
  5. Re:as i've said before by mfh · · Score: 3, Funny

    In physical poker, it's a lot easier to see when the house is cheating.

    Because they are always cheating? :)

    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
  6. Re:Back door by lobiusmoop · · Score: 4, Funny

    Liquor in the front,
    Poker in the rear.

    --
    "I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
  7. Surprised? by MarkvW · · Score: 3, Funny

    I am shocked, SHOCKED, to learn that there is cheating occurring in online poker!
    Round up the usual suspects . . .

  8. Re:'insider knowledge' by mikael · · Score: 1, Funny

    That might not help. If the game were an online 3D Poker game, it would be possible to modify the transparency of the different textures so that the face down cards could become visible (just disable backface culling and make the texture of the back of the card transparent).

    --
    Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
  9. EXACTLY! by BitterAndDrunk · · Score: 5, Funny
    That's why I only shoot up with clean needles. I'll get high, and there's No Consequences.

    I SAID NO CONSEQUENCES!

    --
    You better watch out, there may be dogs about . . .
  10. Re:Why do people place such a sucker bet anyway? by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · · Score: 3, Funny

    Casinos can be tremendously entertaining for the right type of personality

    They're called addicts. I stand by my previous statement.

    --
    Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.