I saw a news report on TV the other day about the scandal with absolutepoker.com. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll explain.

Not too long ago it was found out by some online gamblers on absolutepoker.com that there was one particular player that was winning a lot more than he should have. As they ran the numbers they saw that this player was such a statistical outlier that they did some further investigation. Their investigation found out that a former employee with knowledge of the computer coding used by the company was using that knowledge to look at all of the other online gamblers cards while playing (there are plenty of sites offering this type of software, but without the coding from the particular company, they generally don’t work). Obviously if you can see all of the cards dealt, you know when to hold and fold your cards.

When they brought it to the company’s attention it seems as though they got some lip service but there has not been a settlement reached with the company.

It also turns out that the owner of the company in Costa Rica is a member of a tribe of Native Americans in Canada. The tribe houses the software and server’s on the reservation where they are not beholden to Canadian law, so getting information out of them (such as how this sort of thing can happen or the players registration information), has been extremely difficult as they have not been helpful in the investigation. In addition to this, they have not fined the owner of the company through the Tribal Council.

Come to find out, that quite a few of the online gambling websites also have their servers and software housed at this same site.

As an online poker player, I am seriously considering not playing online anymore until a situation like this is resolved. It’s hard enough to play good poker, but imagine how much harder it is if someone can see your cards. The fact that their isn’t any accountability by the industry or from the owners to these situations, I feel it is a bad idea to play poker online.

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

I followed the scandal fairly closely. The main issue I have a problem with was absolute poker basically denied there was a problem for a ridiculously long time, seemingly trying to cover it up. Online Poker is here to stay, and I think the risk of losing to an insider like this is very low, especially for hobbyists and lower limit players. I think there will also be a slow movement towards more accountability. I know there are several bills floating around in the US congress that would legalize, tax, and regulate online gambling that would be a big step towards more accountability.

I would much rather see the US Govt regulate this rather than ban it completely as it has. Seeing as how the ban really hasn’t stopped people from playing, they might as well remove the ban and tax it as they do with other casinos. I agree that the risk level is fairly low, but I’d rather not risk it anymore. I think absolutepoker would have done themselves a huge service by fessing up to this as soon as it was caught and then done something about it. They probably would have seen players flock to their site knowing that the site was doing all it could to keep the play as fair as “honest” as it could. It would have been the best advertising they could have generated.

I heard about that scandal before, and it was unsportsmanlike to cheat at online poker. I couldn’t imagine that a trusted consultant hired at the AP company who was given extraordinary access to the certain security systems would destroy the Absolute Poker’s reputation. There is a security breach issue at the company’s system so this consultant got the chance to manipulate internal systems and accessed third-party computers and accounts, and was able to view hole cards of other customers during play without their knowledge. The good thing is that each player affected by the breach will be identified during the audit process and will be compensated so that their funds and interests will be returned.

I could never wrap my head around online poker. For me, poker is about reading an opponent at a table to watch for tells and whatnot. Playing by the numbers is one thing, but using the numbers and good people reading skills can give you an advantage over someone else. Now that people know that seeing hole cards is possible, I would stray even further away from it. I have to imagine if one person can do it, other people are working on it. It will just be a matter of time before this happens again.

I don’t play online poker much but this is disconcerting. It does make me rethink the whole online gambling scene. If this is going on with online poker what other scams are taking place behind the curtain? I think the government needs to step up and make this a priority before more issues similiar to this come up.

That’s a shame that this had to have happened but at least it’s out and people know about it now. This is why I try and steer clear of online poker and just stick to the live stuff. I know when you play with actual people there are those that cheat too but at least you can see the person and usually security is right on it in the casino.

It is amazing how native american’s can use this to stop the law, like they don’t live in our country, or well, I guess it was their country, but you know what I mean.  It is like a little speck of the country does not have to abide by it’s laws, it does not seem right to me.

This is the first time I’m hearing about it and I must say, I’m glad that I don’t play online. The internet is great and all, but there are hackers who can get into the system like this and a scandal, like the above, can break out. I just cannot trust online Casinos; tried them once before and, well, I was paranoid. I’ll just stick to in-life casinos thanks.

But wow - that’s pretty nuts. How much did that guy win up anyway?

Wow, sounds like their company is ran by some real criminals.  Wait, I don’t think that makes them any different than the real casinos then.  I kid, but it is interesting that who ever runs a casino almost needs to be crooked these days.

3aces - 15 January 2009 10:54 AM

Wow, sounds like their company is ran by some real criminals.  Wait, I don’t think that makes them any different than the real casinos then.  I kid, but it is interesting that who ever runs a casino almost needs to be crooked these days.

Lol, nice one.

Thank goodness that’s never happened to me. I play online all the time, but I make sure to pick the ones with good reviews and have not had any bad publicity.

I never play on-line poker. I always thought one way or another things will be pretty rough sometimes. As to that player he should have limit his winnings to somewhat subtle amount so no investigation on the part of the owner will be made. Winning somewhere between $500- $1000 a day average intersperse with a day of loss in a week won’t arose suspicion. $15,000 to $30,000 a moth definitely beats some middle management guy out there in the corporate world.

I hate the idea of scandals but its good that this came out, the only thing I hate more are cover ups. I did read about this early in the making but never noticed what happened in the end.