Absolute Poker is absolutely rigged. (New evidence, near certain proof its rigged).

[kyleb]

Sigh. There's just no way these people are going to admit to any wrongdoing. The "third-party" analysts are probably in the pockets of Absolute Poker and the KGC, much like Montana Overseas is with RTG.

Traffic analysis of AP shows that people are continuing to play there at more or less the same rate.

What a sad world we live in.

[tennis_balls]

and we all know what a thorough and serious investigation the professionals at Kahnawake will undertake!

[jetset]

Gambling Associates is going to need all of it's skills, which it boasts include:

QUOTE: Gambling Associate audits and certifications are conducted by a team comprising: CISSP, CISA, CISM and ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor trained personnel and where necessary a PhD in Mathematics.

Gambling Associates is an ISO 9001 certified company, that is recognized by authorities in Alderney, Alexander First Nation; Antigua & Barbuda; Gibraltar; Mohawk Territory of Kahnawá:ke; Malta; Norfolk Island; Northern Territory of Australia; The Philippines; the United Kingdom; and Vanuatu - worldwide certification. UNQUOTE

Some good and some bad in that list of jurisdictions which it claims recognise its professional capability.....

This has broken in the New York Times as well:

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.co...own-wide-open/

[pokeraddict]

Jetset, can you confirm that GA is not just a KGC entity and are a true thrid party? My research seems to come up with different answers to that.

[jetset]

I believe there is a commercial relationship with the Mohawks in that GA is an exclusive testing agency for them, but other than that it is a seperate UK based entity.

Personally speaking, I think I would have looked for a totally independent audit from one of the major international companies for more credibility, because any prior association with the Mohawks is bound to attract criticism.

I seem to recall that GA uses the output based testing method, but they would also have to evaluate as a priority the validity of the xls file involved in this issue in my opinion.

For me, the logical starting point is this very detailed xls file which the players received (perhaps by accident or maybe through a whistle blower as the NY Times theorises) from Absolute.

This is the document which would appear to contain all of the damning evidence, and the players have been careful to preserve everything - including email headers - to ensure its authenticity is not brought into question.

Such a detailed document would be difficult to manufacture to say the least, and trying to discredit it could be fraught with all sorts of ancillary perils, quite apart from trying to explain up to 15 standard deviations and the mysterious access which an allegedly former executive with Absolute still appears to have to its communications facilities.

A truly independent audit would have the unenviable task of comparing this and the real questions it raises to the Absolute records and judging where the two differ - if at all.

If there is no argument over the xls file, then it becomes a matter of interpretation, surely - and GA would be well advised to take cognizance of the fact that there are some highly qualified and very smart people on the player community side of this issue who will be analysing and evaluating every move they make - and demanding detailed substantiation.

[pokeraddict]

One of the ways I see AP coming out of this is to include a well known player in the community to be involved in not only the audit process but allowed access in the future. This would include people that helped blow the whistle on this and did all the research that show they know what they are doing when it comes to investigating stuff like this. I don't know how they could pull it off without an "AP bought off x poster" but there must be some way to involve the community in this and allow a community rep or reps to ask questions directly to AP along side the auditor. Nat comes to mind since he seems to have really cracked this one and has earned tremendous respect but there are certainly several others. It might be the only way the community will ever rest from this disaster for online poker.

[jetset]

Regrettably, this is something that industry companies seem to shy away from every time it is suggested, despite the credibility it could bring to the player-industry relationship.

[bernynhel]

I don't know dick about algorithms, tricky software that somehow can get over at poker sites or anything else anyone would consider to be useful, actually, but I've played hours of BJ in fun mode while playing low stakes hold 'em at AP and if that isn't the crookedest BJ table online I'll eat a bug!

[SlotsWizard]

if that isn't the crookedest BJ table online I'll eat a bug!

Two questions:
1) Have you ever played blackjack at English Harbour?
2) How would you like your bug, medium-well?

Just kidding. I've never played at AP so I can't say which game is "crookeder".

[jetset]

KAHNAWAKE ENTERS ABSOLUTE ONLINE POKER DEBACLE (Update)

Licensing jurisdiction pledges an independent audit

The allegations of impropriety during an online poker tournament at Absolute Poker.com gathered further momentum as the week progressed, with the issue reaching the pages of the New York Times, and a statement from the website's licensing jurisdiction pledging an independent investigation of the affair.

Kahnawake Gaming Commissioner David Montour announced that following the emergence of allegations concerning the propriety of Absolute Poker's operations, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) intends to investigate the privately-held licensee.

In a written statement Montour indicated that the KGC will employ an independent third party, UK-based Gaming Associates, to conduct the audit. It is understood that Gaming Associates is an exclusive testing agency used by the KGC.

"This week's allegations of impropriety have been brought to the attention of the [KGC]," said Montour. "We have appointed experts to conduct a thorough audit of all circumstances, provide findings and recommendations to the commission.

"The audit will not be restricted to examining theories circulating in Internet chat rooms and fora," Montour added.

Among other allegations, GA will undoubtedly have to verifiy documents, and possibly explain how a tournament winner known as Potripper apparently obtained such extraordinarily good results - up to an incredible 15 standard deviations - in the tournament.

Meanwhile, the New York Times has again reported on the incident, this time in a fashion that suggests there is sufficient controversy to warrant an audit.

Author Stephen D. Levitt headlined his op-ed piece "The Absolute Poker Cheating Scandal Blown Wide Open" and noted that a combination of some incredible detective work by online poker players and an accidental (?) data leak by Absolute Poker have blown the scandal wide open.

Levitt goes on to explain that some opponents became suspicious of how a certain player [Potripper] was playing in an Absolute Poker tourney, seemingly aware of what his opponent's hole cards were.

The suspicious players provided examples of these hands, which were so outrageous that virtually all serious poker players were convinced that cheating had occurred. One of the players who’d been cheated requested that Absolute Poker provide hand histories from the tournament, and instead of the usual specific hand history received (perhaps in error) a file that contained comprehensive private information that the poker site would never normally release.

The file contained every player’s hole cards, observations of the tables, and even the IP addresses of every person playing. Levitt comments that such a complete disclosure seems like too great a coincidence, and suggests that there may have been a whistle-blowing element involved instead of a mistaken document being despatched.

Poker players went to work analysing the data in the surprisingly comprehensive file — not only the hand histories themselves, but other, more subtle information contained in the file.

"What these players-turned-detectives noticed was that, starting with the third hand of the tournament, there was an observer who watched every subsequent hand played by the cheater," writes Levitt.

"Interestingly, the cheater folded the first two hands before this observer showed up, then did not fold a single hand before the flop for the next 20 minutes, and then folded his hand pre-flop when another player had a pair of kings as hole cards! This sort of cheating went on throughout the tournament."

So the poker detectives turned their attention to this observer, Levitt recounts. They tracked his or her IP address and account name to the same set of servers that host Absolute Poker, and also, apparently, to a particular individual named Scott Tom, who seems to be a part-owner of Absolute Poker!

Assuming that the file sent to the player is correct, Levitt opines ".....an insider at the Absolute website had real-time access to all of the hole cards (it is not hard to believe that this capability would exist) and was relaying this information to an outside accomplice."

Levitt assumes that such conduct could result in prison time for those involved, and predicts that there could be commercial consequences for Absolute if it continues to blow off the allegations (something now corrected with the announcement of an independent audit).

Levitt correctly asserts that online poker is a game of trust — players send their money to a site believing that they will be playing a fair game, and trusting that the site will send them their winnings.

"If there is even a little bit of uncertainty about either one of those factors, there is no good reason for a player to choose that site over the many close substitutes that exist. If I ran Absolute Poker, I would take a lesson from past corporate attempts at cover ups, sacrifice the cheaters, and institute safeguards to prevent this ever happening again.

"The real lesson of this all, however, is probably the following: guys who aren’t that smart will figure out ways to cheat. And, with a little luck and the right data, folks who are a lot smarter will catch them doing it," Levitt concludes.