Professional poker player accused of cheating at World Series Tournament
A professional poker player has been accused of cheating during the World Series Tournament with a $250,000 prize at stake, which has rocked the gambling community and its fans.
Martin Kabrhel was accused by several professional players – including Dan Smith, who had an outburst during a televised game – of cheating by “repeatedly marking cards” and watching other people’s hands during the game.
In a recent high-stakes moment, Kabrhel knocked out Smith, leaving the cowboy hat-wearing player empty-handed and frustrated as he lashed out at the accused player.
“Good luck, most of you,” he said to the table before turning to Kabrhel. ‘I hope you are excluded. Your antics are the worst of anyone I’ve ever played with.’
Kabrhel later defended himself on Twitter, writing, “I’m not an impostor, this is not true!! These gossip not only damages me as a poker player, but also my business and my family.
“It is very easy to prove that such allegations are pure lies. I just can’t believe how easy it is for people to join such accusations simply because of their personal antipathy towards me.”
Martin Kabrhel was accused by several pro players – including Dan Smith (pictured), who had an outburst in the middle of a game – of cheating by “repeatedly marking cards” and watching other people’s hands during the game.
Kabrhel defended himself, saying he is ‘not a cheater’ and that the ‘gossip’ made him ‘harmful’
Fellow player Andrew Robl – who Kabrhel said he is taking legal action against – has called for the alleged cheater to be ‘banned’ from the tournament for ‘not making the competition fun for anyone’.
“Plus, I’ve seen him mark cards in every tournament I’ve ever played with him,” Robl wrote on Twitter. He then posted several videos to the platform allegedly showing Kabrhel marker cards, including allegedly digging his fingernails into the card to leave a mark and shamelessly staring at other people’s cards.
Other players have also come forward to accuse Kabrhel of cheating.
Hayley Hanna agreed with Smith, writing on Twitter, “Dan is 100% right. Martin should be banned. He has a history of marking cards repeatedly to try and cheat and everyone in the high roller community knows it.
“Not only that, but Martin makes the experience unpleasant by being rude, yelling non-stop in people’s ears, taking full time when he knows he’s folding, standing over people to” their stack” when trying to make clear corners.
‘I am not a cheater, this is not true!! This gossip not only harms me as a poker player, but also my business and my family,” he wrote on Twitter.
“I have never seen such a blatant and blatant attempt to angle and cheat in a tournament in my life,” she continued. “Whether you think Martin is entertaining or not is irrelevant, the guy is a known scum who will always try to cheat and fish, and he shouldn’t be allowed to play with the other players who are the best in the world who have done that. the highest integrity for the game. Keep the integrity of the game! Ban the cheaters!’
On Monday, tournament officials said they were aware of the allegations against Kabrhel and they take them “very seriously,” the official said. Las Vegas Review Journal.
“As this is an ongoing investigation, there is no further comment on the matter at this time,” officials said.
Fellow player, Andrew Robl, posted several videos of Kabrhel (pictured) allegedly cheating by marking the cards with his fingernails
Kabrhel (left) also reportedly looks at the hands and positions of others to get better cards
Cheating is nothing new in poker and other high-level competitions, although it is not always discovered. Chess has recently had its own cheating scandals.
Earlier this year, a 19-year-old chess player was accused of using sex toys to cheat.
US chess grandmaster Hans Mok Niemann has been accused of cheating more than 100 times in his online professional career.
An extensive investigation of Neimann’s game by Chess.com found that he was breaking the rules in tournaments as recently as 2020, noticing “many remarkable signals and unusual patterns in Hans’ path as a player,” according to a report from 72 pages.
The document alleged that Niemann likely got help with over 100 online games using illegal computer tools.
It showed the prodigy privately confessing to Chess.com that he repeatedly cheated, while also revealing that he was banned from the site – though that was never made public.