Poker Forum

As I posted before, as long as this is a one time mistake that they've learned from, they both will rebound from this. With the current US laws and limited onlice access, Eliminating Full Tilt from an online pro's resources hurts in the worst way....the wallet.

Dave,

The "one time mistake" here is that they got caught this time.

I think a person who believes this is the first time is tremendously naive.

I think we'd all be shocked if we could fully grasp how much underhandedness is happening in online poker.

At least I'm relatively safe from it, if only because I play lower stakes.

No, I agree with you. I'm not naive. But maybe, just maybe, they have luck like me. If I did this 1 time, I'd get caught. This or any of the mutitude of "techniques" to gain an advantage.

Like I've said before, I limit my online play for reasons just like this.

I think they are punished lightly, I think besides these normal punishments like account freeze and tournament prize withdrawel, all major sites should come with penalty scheme. To erradicate this kind of behaviour, because people don't realize they are ruining there own beloved game...

Congrats to Pokernews for presenting this incidence of cheating at the higher levels of online poker in a clear and organized manner. The apology given by Sorel Mizzi is a step in the right direction and yes, they got off lightly. For proven cheating like this a normal step would be banning from all major sites. I expect that the fact that FullTiltPoker has taken this step, and some other sites have not, should cause a slow, tidal migration of players to FullTiltPoker simply because the other sites have, by not banning the players involved, indirectly condoned player substitutions and account 'sales'. The arguement from other sites that the problem did not occur on their site, therefore the players should not be subject to sanctions by them, is a mistake IMHO. Good players want a secure poker site that does all it can to ensure a fair and strict playing environment. It is up to the site to be firm and take the steps to ensure this environment is provided. Those sites that close their eyes and allow players to continue playing, hiding behind the fact it did not happen on their site, are sending a message to their players that until a player gets caught, it is ok to do this. After all ... what average player wants to play well and get lucky just for the priviledge of having an opponent suddenly become someone else, significantly better than you are?

I personally feel they should both be banned from a broad spectrum of sites for a strict (long) period of time, and thereafter limited to playing on a monitored basis. Have they suffered enough? Hard to say. Are they sincere in their apologies? Hard to say. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt but since I do not know them personally, what I think does not matter. I do feel that they have both done the right thing by coming clean and paying a price.

Online poker is maturing as an industry and the sites are going to have to take a very hard line with cheaters or they risk getting all tarred with the same brush. Amateur players (and pros!) demand a fair playing environment. If Chris and Sorel had pulled a similar stunt in a live casino environment, the problem would have gotten significantly more serious and yes, they would have been banned from a lot of casinos. This incident is, regretfully, going to stick around for a long time since poker players have good memories. I wish them both well in the future.

Excellent post, flintsword.