Widespread cheating at high stakes / pinhole cams on the felt
Listening to solve for why podcast today and got more details on the cheating Berkey had alluded to last week. Sounds like an organized cheating ring using pinhole cams in a variety of objects to pick up the cards as dealt (have to be in the one or two seat) have been at it for quite a while. Video is relayed externally (maybe even to a call center offshore?) and relayed to the player via an earpiece. Players appear to be whales making insane plays on the river.
Was not totally clear, but sounds like it was employed at a $50k wsop event this year, a Triton event, and several private high stakes games. Did not have time to listen to the entire podcast, but believe someone was arrested.
Seems pretty ballsy cheating at a Triton event.
Sounds like this:
I am 99% sure that is the same organization that Berkey was referencing.
Targeting these establishments / players does seem ballsey, but Berkey was unwilling to name names, show pictures, etc out of fear and I think he said they may be connected. Unfortunately, the bad actors have little to fear from the police as enforcement / protection will be on the victims.
The Berkey pod today on this was pretty good, interesting stuff.
Part of me hates that they don’t name names, or give real info… But, also I wouldn’t want any smoke with these scumbags either I guess
I'm surprised the cheaters from Triton and WSOP events haven't been outed as they are so high profile with lots of players
Yes, but at this level they will likely be backed by organised criminals, who are cowards but with lots of reach and guns.
"Police were able to ascertain that one of the men who was playing at the poker table was equipped with an earpiece so tiny that it had to be removed from his ear with a magnet.
Le Parisien claimed the earpiece was “microscopic” and “invisible to the naked eye.”
Meanwhile, the suspect’s mobile phone had been modified to include a camera on the side angled very slightly upward. As it lay flat on the table, it could glimpse the undersides of cards dealt by the dealer to other players in the game."
Wild stuff.
ban usage of electronics at the table. disallow placing anything on the table except poker chips and playing cards provided by the dealer/floor. prohibit hats/headphones/whatever else you can put on your head, as well as fanny packs, purses, etc. (check these items at the door).
the government run Swedish casino(s) have had these rules in place since forever. it always struck me as odd that all these restrictions aren't put in place in all casinos worldwide.
whatever the swedish casinos do you always do the opposite, they have almost shut down every casino due to noone plays there
Seems pretty simple. All the major cheating scandals have included phones recently. Zero reason a phone should be on the table. I see no reason why people shouldn't have to step away from the table to even look at their phone at this point.
ban usage of electronics at the table. disallow placing anything on the table except poker chips and playing cards provided by the dealer/floor. prohibit hats/headphones/whatever else you can put on your head, as well as fanny packs, purses, etc. (check these items at the door).
the government run Swedish casino(s) have had these rules in place since forever. it always struck me as odd that all these restrictions aren't put in place in all casinos worldwide.
How to deal with devices in Rings or Bracelets for example?
Seems pretty simple. All the major cheating scandals have included phones recently. Zero reason a phone should be on the table. I see no reason why people shouldn't have to step away from the table to even look at their phone at this point.
It's so simple that it is borderline shocking this isn't a thing yet.
I'd add that for tournaments we ban any form of electronics use in the tournament area AND the rail.
We clearly have bigger problems then. Not sure how one goes about microscopic earpieces.
Maybe it's an idea to play poker fully naked moving forward. This way there is no possibility of rings or bracelets sending information to microscopic earpieces.
My neuralink brain-chip feeds me with instant GTO on each spot, and my google contact lenses combine it with live-HUD and nodes.
Good luck, and enjoy yourself
the fix is in
From reddit
Berkey can't say who it was but I will. I am 99% confident from first/second hand sources that it was a Korean/Uzbek called Valeriy Pak
This guy went from grinding 1/3 - 2/5 in Korea to Final Tabling and making deep runs in almost every major event he played in the past year. He was also the person kicked out of Triton that Berkey mentioned.
Lots of pictures online of him wearing that big gold ring that Berkey was talking about.
My neuralink brain-chip feeds me with instant GTO on each spot, and my google contact lenses combine it with live-HUD and nodes.
Good luck, and enjoy yourself
At this point in time, this is not terribly far-fetched. Although still nowhere near as effective as a device that is able to provide real time hole card information.
What would prevent someone from employing similar technology and fleecing 2/5 and 5/10 games at smaller casinos/cardrooms and flying under the radar? What if they were smarter than Postle and throwing the occasional pot to avoid suspicion? It's feasible that a smart player could clear a lot of money without arousing a lot of suspicion.
Time to ban all electronic devices at the tables. Maybe even scan each player with a RF detector like the Lodge does when players sit down or return to the table.
Crazy stuff. Makes you wonder if this isn't already happening.
