My Journey As A Professional Poker Player (23 Viewers)

[Anthony Martino]

Cubans (and a goof chunk of @Anthony Martino's bankroll -- and a bunch of other players, I'm sure) banned for life...

Wait, this is a good thing, right?

Fortunately it's only been the past couple of months they've been getting me, but I would guestimate if it was indeed cheating that I got fucked out of somewhere between 5-10k in profit over that period if I had won the entire pots that they scooped

 

[WedgeRock]

Fortunately it's only been the past couple of months they've been getting me, but I would guestimate if it was indeed cheating that I got fucked out of somewhere between 5-10k in profit over that period if I had won the entire pots that they scooped

And you're just one fish in that pond... They mighta got away with six figures...

 

[Anthony Martino]

And you're just one fish in that pond... They mighta got away with six figures...

I mean I heard about seat six one-outing for a 13k pot so it wouldn't surprise me

 

[WedgeRock]

Did these guys celebrate when they hit their miracle? Were their reactions genuine? Or did they act like they knew it was coming?

Whatever... Even if they took five figures from you and six total, still better to stop the bleeding. Glad to hear they got 86'ed.

 

[raynmanas]

Hell, maybe they just caught em snorting coke in the bathrooms

ha, it's a casino - i don't think that would get them banned so much as comped.

 

[Anthony Martino]

Did these guys celebrate when they hit their miracle? Were their reactions genuine? Or did they act like they knew it was coming?

Whatever... Even if they took five figures from you and six total, still better to stop the bleeding. Glad to hear they got 86'ed.

They always celebrate when they win. They showed no fear getting it in extremely bad time after time when their opponents had monsters they could never fold

 

[Anthony Martino]

ha, it's a casino - i don't think that would get them banned so much as comped.

This is s dog track with a poker room

 

[Anthony Martino]

My buddy brian said

 

[JMC9389]

Even if they were marking cards, how would they know that they were about to hit their miracle one or two outer if the dealer burns a card prior to dealing?

 

[Anthony Martino]

Even if they were marking cards, how would they know that they were about to hit their miracle one or two outer if the dealer burns a card prior to dealing?

That doesn't make sense to me either, or why would they lead a turn card into me that doesn't help their hand or hurt my hand, committing themselves to the pot when so far behind?

The only assumption I can come up with is they had dealer assistance of some sort. Given Covid and the amount of money involved, rooms being shut down for months, etc. people get desperate to get caught up on money.

The room manager has seen my message on Facebook mentioning I heard the Cubans got banned today, but hasn't replied so don't have any concrete info yet, don't even know if he'll provide it. Would be nice since I'm the one who fucking brought up the issue in the first place

 

[Anthony Martino]

Since the manager hasn't responded to me I posted in some Florida poker groups about this trying to see if anyone has more details, this was an interesting response

 

[Anthony Martino]

 

[MathijsVS]

Marking cards? How very retro and how weird to see it.

As people remarked earlier: how does that even help when the dealer burns cards?

 

[Anthony Martino]

Marking cards? How very retro and how weird to see it.

As people remarked earlier: how does that even help when the dealer burns cards?

I've seen them signalling, but hadn't seen the marked cards. There might be more they are doing we don't know about that just wasn't caught.

The Twitter post from a year ago about two Cubans banned from Commerce mentioned one had a "large device" in their pocket.

Generally when they start they buyin for smaller amounts, and ramp up later

Maybe they need time to mark the decks in play with something that transmits to the device in their pocket giving them some sort of inside info what is coming?

All I know is I knew something was off, nobody is THIS lucky. Hope I find out more

 

[WedgeRock]

Marking cards? How very retro and how weird to see it.

As people remarked earlier: how does that even help when the dealer burns cards?

As was also remarked earlier, if you know 40 cards that were dealt as hole cards, you can swing odds dramatically.

Or a crooked dealer could slightly expose the marked edge of a card under the burn to Seat 1 who could signal to Seat 6...

 

[tabletalker7]

As was also remarked earlier, if you know 40 cards that were dealt as hole cards, you can swing odds dramatically.

This ^^^^ Think about it - he knows you have a set but he also knows you can't go full because it has all been dealt out. Makes drawing to the flush a bit more appealing ..........................

 

[WedgeRock]

Or a crooked dealer could slightly expose the marked edge of a card under the burn to Seat 1 who could signal to Seat 6...

Any dealers let go, @Anthony Martino?

 

[Anthony Martino]

Any dealers let go, @Anthony Martino?

Not that I've heard, but I haven't gotten much info yet, and I don't know how much info (if any) they'll give out.

 

[WedgeRock]

But I assume you recognize all the dealers and would know if one was gone?

 

[Anthony Martino]

But I assume you recognize all the dealers and would know if one was gone?

Yes, the pool of dealers there is much smaller than the Hard Rock, so I would notice one being absent. Thing is, I didn't go this past Monday because I had decided a room that isn't protecting the players wasn't worth giving my business to. Even before this the Cubans were known to signal one another, when one had AAxx they'd flip up the xx (showing like a 9 and a 4) and say they had a "wrap" while trying to entice an opponent to call while another player or players were already all-in (i.e. influencing action) and they've gotten away with it forever, despite myself and other players mentioning to floors and management.

So I do feel somewhat vindicated if what I'm hearing is true, but at the same time, not sure I want to return to a place with such lackluster protections for players. Leaning towards giving more of my business to the Hard Rock in Tampa where the chances of my getting cheated seem to be much less.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Nicking cards is a way to mark the edge of the card, making it visible from the left/right side of the deck. Because the left and right sides can be reversed in a wash/muck, this would only work if you had eyes on both sides of the deck.

...like seats 1 and 6.

 

[WedgeRock]

I had decided a room that isn't protecting the players wasn't worth giving my business to.

Did you let the floor at the dog track know the reason for your absence? Might help the shore things up for those left behind, of for your eventual return.... Always nice to have options to play.

 

[Anthony Martino]

Did you let the floor at the dog track know the reason for your absence? Might help the shore things up for those left behind, of for your eventual return.... Always nice to have options to play.

Not yet, I haven't been there for one Monday so far.

 

[Jimulacrum]

Nicking cards is a way to mark the edge of the card, making it visible from the left/right side of the deck. Because the left and right sides can be reversed in a wash/muck, this would only work if you had eyes on both sides of the deck.

...like seats 1 and 6.

Yeah, this is kinda the only way I suspected they could be marking cards. Most card-marking schemes don't allow you see what's coming unless you're nail-nicking or otherwise marking the sides.

What's incredibly foolish about this is that they could have made a lot more money and stayed in the game a lot longer if they'd been slightly more cautious about how they ran the scam.

Don't play quite so many raggedy openers, don't do obvious collusion stuff like whipsawing, and in general don't be such a sore thumb. The stuff Anthony has described them pulling is the kind of thing cheats should reserve for when they're ready to burn a game and move on. Their day-to-day scam should be much subtler if they're trying to run it long-term. Without all these glaring red flags, it might have taken a lot longer for anyone to start digging and eventually notice the marks.

Of course, on the other hand, we should be glad that most cheats are too arrogant and reckless for their own good.

 

[Anthony Martino]

Yeah, this is kinda the only way I suspected they could be marking cards. Most card-marking schemes don't allow you see what's coming unless you're nail-nicking or otherwise marking the sides.

What's incredibly foolish about this is that they could have made a lot more money and stayed in the game a lot longer if they'd been slightly more cautious about how they ran the scam.

Don't play quite so many raggedy openers, don't do obvious collusion stuff like whipsawing, and in general don't be such a sore thumb. The stuff Anthony has described them pulling is the kind of thing cheats should reserve for when they're ready to burn a game and move on. Their day-to-day scam should be much subtler if they're trying to run it long-term. Without all these glaring red flags, it might have taken a lot longer for anyone to start digging and eventually notice the marks.

Of course, on the other hand, we should be glad that most cheats are too arrogant and reckless for their own good.

I mean, one of the Facebook responses mentioned these guys were doing it at Luckys/TGT two years ago, so it's not like they haven't gotten away with it for a long time. And they travel around, heard they're at Best Bet Jax playing poker as well, and they've traveled to Texas and who knows where else.

I guess when you've been getting away with something for years you start to feel invincible. And they've been banned from other properties, they just pickup stakes and settle down somewhere else to run their cheats.

 

[WedgeRock]

I guess when you've been getting away with something for years you start to feel invincible. And they've been banned from other properties, they just pickup stakes and settle down somewhere else to run their cheats.

 

[Jimulacrum]

This scene actually crossed my mind as I was writing that last reply. Worm is a great example of a cheat who's quite good at what he does but has horrendous judgment and no patience. Every time he cheats, it like he's "skinning the sheep," very much like our pathetically obvious fellows from Anthony's case.

I guess there are enough casinos out there for them to bounce from place to place indefinitely, if the only consequence they face is eventually getting banned from cardrooms, one by one. Small price to pay for a 5- or 6-figure payout each time. But that's not the only risk they face. It's just a matter of time before these pricks cross the wrong guy. Most poker players have unremarkable backgrounds, but I've also played with a fair number of active and retired gang members, cops, and other guys you really wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of. And I don't even play in public cardrooms that much.

It's all fun and games until someone's waiting for you in the parking lot with a knife.

 

[Anthony Martino]

 

[MathijsVS]

That seems like a late and pretty vague response.

 

[Jimulacrum]

That seems like a late and pretty vague response.

Yeah, especially since you specifically called his attention to their misbehavior, he ought to give you more than this "for multiple reasons" vagueness.