Conspiracy at PokerStars’ DoN Tables

A group of Asian players chiefly from Hangzhou were caught cheating at PokerStars’ Double or Nothing Sit & Go tables. Between November 2009 and January 2010 they profited around $750,000.

The conspirators played $52-$108 DoNs with an average of $80-$100 buy-ins and profits up to $96,000. They ruled the board with at least 10 players of the top 50 being part of the group. PokerStars stated that they used the ‘conventional’ method of some players being in cahoots with each other at a table, sharing information on their hands, thus maximising the chances of winning the pot.

Cheating this way doesn’t guarantee success but it is as unethical as it is hard to uncover and to prove, not to mention the difficulty of calculating just how much compensation the other players are eligible for. Nevertheless, PokerStars are already paying offsets of $5-$8400 to about 4000 players, a sum of $580,000 in total.

Players, however, have their doubts about the security system of the room, as well as about the thoroughness of and the time span covered by the investigation. PokerStars agreed to check games before November 2009, but there are signs that a new group of cheaters is already occupying the tables of the site.

If you believe you are victim of such foul play, you may want to contact PokerStars at gamesecurity@pokerstars.com.