By staff
Poker cheating scandals have dominated the drama-driven poker content industry for the past several years and this summer it raised its ugly head once again on the biggest stage of them all, “The Grandaddy” of poker drama, the 54th annual World Series of Poker.
After Day 2 of the $250,000 buy-in Super High Roller event filmed by PokerGo, high-stakes pro Andrew Robl, who busted out of the event earlier that day, highlighted the controversy when he tweeted, “How is Martin Kabrhel not banned from the WSOP? He makes any tournament no fun for anyone and on top of it I’ve seen him mark cards in every tournament I’ve ever played with him.”
The comment likely stemmed from a video clip from PokerGo’s coverage of the event circulated on Twitter (X), where Kabrhel is seen awkwardly pressing the tips of his fingers into his cards.
Robl, not known for making scurrilous accusations, followed up the tweet with an image of what appeared to be Kabrhel staring at Brandon Steven’s cards.
Robl commented, “Reading his card markings or is he just using his X-Ray vision superpower?”
To many onlookers, there wasn’t much need for debate, the “cheating” was blatant and obvious, especially considering the skill level and trustworthy reputation of the player making the accusations.
When numerous additional, highly respectable poker pros joined Robl, confirming something was amiss, the writing was on the wall for Kabrhel.
To the delight of a scandal craving poker community, some of its most prominent members had come together once again to expose yet another “poker cheat” to the world – well sort of…
Kabrhel Addresses Allegations
Kabrhel, who was subsequently interviewed by 3-time WSOP bracelet winner and scandal content creator extraordinaire Doug Polk, said he thought Robl was just being a “sore loser” when he was first notified of the tweet.
“He (Robl) said I was marking cards in every tournament we played together…It’s a ridiculous lie.”
Addressing the “staredown” of Steven’s cards, he clarified he wasn’t even looking at his cards – he was counting the 500k chips in his stack, to determine “if there were 14 or 13.” Kabrhel admitted his dramatic, over the top antics are odd and triggering to some, to say the least. “You can call me annoying I’m completely fine with that… I think it all starts when somebody really dislikes me, which I can understand.”
When asked why he was pressing his fingertips into the cards he clarified what he’d already addressed on social media – that some of his perceived antics are related to his autism.
“I can’t really control it. I know I’m doing it sometimes. I don’t know the word for it. Maybe it’s like a tic or whatever. I’m just doing that unintentionally. I’m trying to focus on my game and be in the zone.”
Asked if anyone accused him of marking cards during the event, he responded “No” and pointed out no one from the WSOP had warned him about it either, or any infractions for that matter, other than his occasional “slow play.”
Top Pros Call For Ban
One of the top tournament players in the world, Chance Kornuth, however, had a different “read” on Kabrhel’s suspicious demeanor and called for the quirky high-stakes part-timer to be banned for “intentionally trying to make it look like he is cheating”, or cheating in a way that security hadn’t uncovered.
In a Twitter (X) post Kornuth stated: “Martin Kabrhel should 100% be banned. But not for the reason that most think… I’ve had a lot of people asking me about the MK situation in the last few days, and I have given it considerable thought. First, the Floors during this WSOP did a great job, examined the decks and found no cheating, so I see it as one of two scenarios… Martin is possibly cheating in a way that security isn’t able to notice yet or he is intentionally trying to make it look like he is cheating to gain an edge. Regardless of which it is, I think he should be banned from playing the WSOP and other High Roller Tournaments.”
High-stakes legend Justin Bonomo agreed with Kornuth’s assessment that Kubrhel was deliberately making people uncomfortable, and joined him in calling for the outsider to be shown the door, whether he cheated or not.
“Even if we’re unable to definitively prove that he cheated, he should absolutely be barred for depriving his opponents of the assumption that their games are fair. That is simply not an acceptable thing to do.”
Bad Read By World-class Pros Or Something More Sinister?
Kabrhel said Kornuth’s assessment was simply not true, and at no time was he “acting” like he was cheating.
“I was not trying to look like a cheater and make people uncomfortable. I think it would be crazy, stupid, and I didn’t do that” also pointing out he’s made the same “tic” gesture movements for years.
Kabrhel, who busted the tournament on Day 1 himself, and ponied up another quarter million dollars to re-enter, suggested Robl “was just emotional” after his bust-out at the nose-bleed stakes, and vehemently denied the allegations responding, “It’s a lie and he knows it’s a lie for sure.”
Kabrhel also made it clear he doesn’t believe Robl ever actually believed he was cheating.
Without naming names, he also alluded to something considered by most to be an unfair advantage, and in his mind “could” be behind what seems like a group effort to have him banned, that is, some players sharing percentages of each other’s action.
The Prague, Czech Republic native suggests the locals aren’t too pleased that someone like himself, who doesn’t play regularly or “conventionally”, and is “out of their circle”, flew in the day of the event and ended up making the final table for the second consecutive year, taking a substantial amount of money out of the high-roller ecosystem.
He goes as far as to say he believes, while admitting he has no direct proof, some were willing to make baseless allegations in an effort to get rid of him “at all costs”, not just for monetary purposes, but simply because they dislike him and his self-admitted “annoying” antics at the table.
Personal Attacks On Family
Getting emotional about the toll the accusations were having on not only himself, but his family, he shot back at Kornuth. “Now, Chance is even attacking my girlfriend… and saying ‘I never said he’s (a) cheater. I just think that he’s pretending he’s (a) cheater.’ Then he says, ‘How this gal, how my wife can date this cheating scumbag?’ This is so ridiculous. I think these guys should take responsibility for these actions.”
Timing Of Cheating Claims And Attacks On His Reputation
When asked about other players making “lesser” accusations, like Dan Smith who proclaimed, “I hope you get barred” after he (Kabrhel) cracked his AQ with 10-6d, sending him to the rail in 6th place for $912,022, Kabrhel responded, “Why did people playing in the big-stage table, quarter-million buy-in tournament, why did they not complain during the hand? They complained after I bust them from the tournament.”
Kabrhel also says he was never aware at anytime during the fifteen years he’s been playing poker, that he had a reputation as a cheater, as several pros suggest.
He admitted there could be people talking in a “group” but it’s never something he’s been made aware of, till now. He was also adamant he has never been barred from play at any tournament, ever, as some also claimed.
Kabrhel Offers Solution And Thoughts On Cancel Culture
“When somebody has a problem with what I am doing, what I suggest, and please all the players which will ever be playing with me at the table, please ask me or call the floor and say ‘Hey, I am not happy with what Martin is doing – can you address it?’”
“It’s so crazy that I see that some ‘credible’ people (in general) can ruin some people’s reputation, and it’s horrible to me… I am somebody that can protect myself, but some can do nothing about it, and will have a ruined life for the next ten years.”
Addressing why the story went viral, he offered, “I feel that people (are) overreacting. That’s just the nature of the people. They’re overreacting…they love to have scandals. Good for you Doug! I’m crossing fingers for you Doug that these (scandals) happen a lot, because it’s amazing that in fifteen hours, four or five hundred thousand people watch your video. I’m happy for you. But for me, I would rather be a private person.”
Legal Action
Two days after finishing third in the event for $2,279,038, a ‘NOTICE OF LEGAL CLAIMS & PRESERVATION DEMAND’ was posted online by attorney Daniel B. Ravicher, who stated his firm would be representing the accused cheat, by taking legal action against high-stakes pros Justin Bonomo, Chance Kornuth, Andrew Robl, and Dan Smith, as well as ‘PokerGo.’
Other Poker Cheating Scandals
The scandal follows a string of others, where accusations are made by reputable members of the poker community, damaging players’ reputations, despite no convictions of cheating, and “evidence” that often turns out to be manipulated, exaggerated, or completely false – raising questions as to the motives behind the accusations.
Robbi Jade Lew – Hustler Casino Live
A year prior to this scandal a relatively unknown female poker player, Robbi Jade Lew, was accused by high-stakes pro Garrett Adelstein of cheating on the Hustler Casino Live Poker Show in Gardena, CA. To this point Adelstein has been unable to back up his allegations with proof, despite claiming to know the “specific methodology” used.
“Although I have strong suspicions of many hands that were cheated and the specific methodology and roles of each member of the cheating ring, my legal team has advised me to leave this information out of this initial report. I may choose to disclose additional information in the future if this story continues to be derailed.” – Garrett Adelstein
Initial theories on how Lew allegedly cheated, possibly with a vibrator embedded in her skin-tight pants or a ring used as a signaling device, never materialized, but nevertheless captivated a worldwide audience intrigued by the James Bond-esque feel.
In a statement released to Rounder on January 5, 2023, Lew revealed she was considering taking legal steps to ” … ensure that I am fairly compensated for the allegations recklessly leveled against me and the funds wrongly demanded of me.”
To date, there have been no reports of a lawsuit being filed, or the money she won in the controversial hand, ever being returned.
Mike Postle – Stones Gambling Hall
Four years ago, long time pro Mike Postle was accused of cheating players in a livestream at Stones Gambling Hall in Citrus Heights, California. Numerous reputable pros cited “math” as the “irrefutable proof” in that case.
Despite clear evidence proving data gathered by online sleuths was bogus, and numerous “cheating hands” were simply rfid errors, content creators who spread the misinformation received very little, if any scrutiny. Instead they were rewarded handsomely and emboldened, inspiring others to create the next big “Poker Tabloid” style controversy, regardless of actual facts.
Respected pros Phil Galfond and Matt Berkey, who announced in September 2020 they would be compiling a detailed report on the disputed data the poker world was originally told “proved” to a “99.999%” certainty Postle cheated, have yet to release their findings.
Speculation as to “why”, is addressed in an article released on rounderlife.com, “POSTLEGATE Falsely Accused? The Fake Data And RFID Myths That Duped The Pros.”
Media’s role, including sports icon Scott Van Pelt recklessly spreading phony “data proof” narratives on SportsCenter, makes “POSTLEGATE” the biggest scandal in poker history, but not for the reasons you were told.
Controversy Is King
It’s hard to blame anyone for giving the public what it craves. If you’re willing to bend the truth, the sky’s the limit for what can be achieved in an industry with little to no accountability. With the views scandalous content generates, the smart money is on negativity and shock value, no matter the collateral damage.
As Doug Polk points out, the upside is just too good to ignore:
“Taking a moment to highlight a point about content creation and incentives. A common take is ‘Your channel is big now you should focus on the positives in poker’ I analyzed a cool hand 3 days ago, 75k views in 3 days. This marked card video I made has done 160k views in 8 hours.
People enjoy what they enjoy. You don’t go to market with a product people should want. You go to market with a product they do want.
My 3 biggest videos out of the gate ever
Postle
Robbi
Martin K
People love drama. The data is clear.”
