Cheating allegations getting serious
You can always count on there being some sort of controversy every year at the World Series of Poker. The 2023 edition has been fairly clean, that is, until this past weekend, when multiple poker pros accused Martin Kabrhel of marking cards during the $250,000 High Roller event. Now the WSOP is investigating the allegations.
“While we do not discuss specific security protocols used to monitor players and gaming equipment, the integrity of the game remains paramount and we can assure fellow patrons that we are taking these allegations very seriously,” the WSOP said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “As this is an ongoing investigation, there is no further comment on the matter at this time.”
While Kabrhel has had a reputation as, shall we say, not a fun player to have as a tablemate, most in the poker community had know reason to be aware of his history. After all, most of us aren’t playing in high stakes tournaments. But before the High Roller final table on Sunday, Andrew Robl put both Kabrhel and the WSOP on blast:
Phil Hellmuth replied, thanking Robl for going public and saying that it is “unanimous” among poker players that Kabrhel cheats.
Max Silver added that he remembered a time when the WSOP Europe was having trouble attracted players for a high roller event, so they let potential players know that Kabrhel wasn’t participating as a way to encourage others to play.
Other players, such as Justin Bonomo, also brought up times in the last few years when Kabrhel made players uncomfortable.
Video evidence or just seeing things?
The current accusations involve Kabrhel allegedly marking cards. Some people have said it looks like he is using his fingernail to nick the cards. Others, like Malia Miranda, have noticed that he often manipulates his hole cards more than most players and that at times, certain fingers (namely his index finger) look like they are sticking to the cards, a possible indication that he is putting something on the cards:
To go along with this, one of the things that has bothered many poker pros is that Kabrhel seems to stare at his opponents’ cards. There have been instances where it really looks like he is peering closely at his neighbor’s hole cards, allegedly to see markings he may have made.
Uncomfortable final table
Most damning, though, is that tournament officials actually implemented a rule for the final table aimed at Kabrhel. He is known to stand up a lot during hands and players have accused him of doing so not just out of nervous energy, but as a way to get a better look at the backs of everyone’s cards. Because of the concern over this, a rule was made before Sunday’s final table that players could not stand while their hand was live.
And then, of course, Kabrhel stood up. A player called the floor on him and when Kabrhel acted like he had no idea what was going on, his tablemates let him know what they thought.
“The reason that you’re not allowed to stand is if the cards were marked, you’d have a better angle of it,” Dan Smith said.
Chance Kornuth was even more blunt, saying, “They’ve created the rule for you to protect us. If you have any more questions, let us know.”
After he was eliminated by Kabrhel in sixth place, Smith told him he wished he would be banned. He was less than diplomatic in his interview with PokerGO:
Kabrhel has responded to the allegations, tweeting, “You can accuse me of controversial manners, bad jokes, uncomfortable play, or whatever stickers you put on my autistic behavior, you can call me pain in the a** but calling me a cheater is something completely out of line.”
He added that he plans to take legal action against Andrew Robl “to prove such accusations are pure lies.”