Cheating and poker

I have been playing some form of poker since I was 13 years old.  It started with nickel, dime, quarter guts in the 7th grade and now I play organized poker in home games and casinos on a regular basis.  I play this game because I really enjoy the competition and the conversation at poker tables.  It is the only place you can talk with people from all walks of life in the same place.

I was so happy to see poker go mainstream after Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP.  It seemed that the shady back room cards games and the cheating and guns and theft were no longer associated with poker.  This was a relief for me as I loved poker, but never played in any games other than once a month with my buddies due to how scary and intimidating underground and casino poker games can be.  After Moneymaker won (and the birth of online poker), that all changed for me and millions of people around the world.  Regular people poured into the poker world and it seemed that cheating and shady characters were a thing of the past in poker.  Unfortunately, several recent events have proven that there are and always will be scum bags and cheaters associated with this game that we love.

The reality is that, although the number of players who lack any sense of morality is small, they are still out there.  They try to justify their actions as "seeing and edge and taking it".  Their view is that if there is a way to gain an advantage, that is just part of the game.  They have no respect for the integrity of the game or the other players, even if they are "good friends".  This behavior is despicable  and sickening, especially because it taints the game and the honest people associated with it.

Recently, I was playing in some home games where a player was caught using a device that allowed him to know who was going to win each hand.  He and some corrupt dealers ran this scam on the poker community for several months before getting caught.  He robbed the community of an estimated 100k or more over that time.  He could have run the scam for a lot longer if he weren't so greedy.  His behavior and play in the games drew suspicion and finally he was discovered.  Since then, no one has heard from him or his accomplices.  Unfortunately, the poker community lost more than just the money he cheated people out of.  Many players quit playing and the upstanding players left the games.

As many of you know, I had the idea to make the Chinese Open Face Poker app.  I love the game and wanted to make an app so that more people could enjoy this incredible new version of poker.  The world poker community was demanding an app, and we delivered a great product.  For those of you who understand software development, you know how much time and effort it takes to produce a product like this.  Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the habitual cheaters to find a way to cheat their "friends" by playing on multiple devices in the same game.  Once that was discovered, we built a fix and stopped the cheating.  Unfortunately, cheaters are very resourceful and once again found a new, much more malicious and complicated way to cheat.  We have also fixed this problem and are waiting for update approval from apple any day now.

Unfortunately, it is an ongoing battle with cheaters and thieves, not only in poker, but in most aspects of life.  From identity theft to pick pockets, there will always be someone out there ready to lie, cheat and steal to get an "edge".  I believe that this is less than 1% of people in general.  I am hoping that number is the same for poker players as well, but I am afraid that number is probably higher.

I can only suggest that all of you make sure you trust the people with whom you play.  I believe that 99% of this community is trustworthy, but the 1% ruins it for the rest of us.  If you do see someone cheating or stealing, call them out.  Don't let this game we love be destroyed by a small number of sleazy reprobates.