Phil Ivey Wins A New Title In Court – Casino Cheat

You don’t have to bet on sports in the UK regularly to know that the difference between winning and losing is everything, likewise you don’t have to be particularly aware of much beyond popular culture references to know a casino isn’t going to take kindly to you attempting to redress the odds they offer and find an edge to exploit at the tables. Of course unlike the casinos of pop culture the real versions don’t send hitmen after you, they just litigate, and as casino cheat Phil Ivey found out, they usually win.

Phil Ivey is one of the world’s top poker players, he’s won the World Series Of Poker, is reputed to be the sixth highest earner in tournament play ever and famed for his private cash games from which he invariably comes away richer. The most often cited is that he played heads-up poker against Andy Beal the Texas billionaire for three days straight and walked off $16m up. The man is no slouch. However this week the Supreme Court in the UK pretty much called him a casino cheat with it’s ruling against him.

It is exceedingly rare for a casino to refuse to pay off on someone winning. If there’s one thing a casinos reputation must stand full square on it is that if you win they’ll give you the money, however that doesn’t mean they’re going to blithely hand over cash to any Tom, Dick or Harry casino cheat that can swindle them out of millions using a technique which whilst possibly within the letter of the rules lies manifestly and obviously well without the spirit of them, and Genting UK is no exception.

Top Poker Player Branded Casino Cheat By Supreme Court

In pursuit of an edge Mr Ivey and fellow gambling Cheung Yin Sun used the expedient of “Edge-Sorting” to rack up a win of some 7.7 million pounds during a private game of Punto Blanco at the Crockford’s Club in London in 2012. This involves the identification and leverage of the tiny differences in the patterns on the back of cards thus significantly increasing the chances of winning. The question is does using it make you a casino cheat or merely one of the smart punters at play?

“This has been a landmark case in how the courts approach cheating in the modern day,” said Genting UK in the shape of Paul Willcock, after the ruling clarified UK gambling laws. He went on to state that in their opinion “What Mr Ivey did was to stage a carefully planned and executed sting. This entirely vindicates Genting’s decision not to pay Mr Ivey, a decision that was not taken lightly.” Casino cheat Phil Ivey, a title he better get used to having alongside his more pleasant plaudits, disagrees entirely.

Even Phil Ivey Couldn’t Cheat At BetVictor Online

Mr Ivey’s position is that the Crockford Club didn’t take enough care when staging his private game of Punto Blanco, a complex version of Baccarat that almost no one has ever heard of and that should really only be played by someone calling their opponent “Mr Bond” in a sneering tone of voice. They set up the game with their rules and could have stopped it at any time but didn’t, he exploited their lack of care and was not, he insists, dishonest. Unfortunately the court ruled he’s a casino cheat instead.

Naturally since the edge-sorting casino cheat Phil Ivey had his first day in court (he’s lost three times against the law on this one) casinos have changed the cards, the shoe and made sure it can never happen again, but if you’re in the UK gambling news headlines like these won’t be repeated think again. The atmosphere created by the hostile rivalry between professional gamblers and casinos, each looking for an edge on the other, is what puts a lot of people off going to casinos and makes BetVictor and other online gambling sites so appealing.