Gambling Site Reports Significant Online Poker Cheating Scandal Involving a Superuser
Posted on: January 2, 2024, 04:47h.
Last updated on: January 2, 2024, 04:47h.
GGPoker has issued an apology to its users after a ‘superuser’ was found to have exploited a flaw in the online poker behemoth’s software, causing other players to lose thousands of dollars.
An official statement from GGPoker affirmed that the user “MoneyTaker69” has been banned and the “unfair winnings” totaling $29,795 will be redistributed to the victims who were cheated.
The operator clarified that while MoneyTaker69 was unable to view opponents’ cards, the individual was able to ascertain the equity by exploiting a client-side data leak vector. In basic terms, this tactic hints at a way to determine the probability of a hand winning, even without having knowledge of the specific hole cards of other players. The vulnerability has since been addressed, according to the company.
We sincerely apologize for the incident, which has caused many poker players to worry about the game’s integrity and shaken their trust in GGPoker to provide the best poker experience. We take this incident very seriously and continue to work hard not to disappoint poker players.
Player Power
GGPoker stated that its security team identified irregular game patterns, which led to an investigation into MoneyTaker69. However, the first public revelation about MoneyTaker69 was made by a poster on the TwoPlusTwo internet poker forums.
Describing himself as “GGPoker Superuser,” the poster observed that MoneyTaker69 had won an extraordinary 90 big blinds per 100 across 8,900 hands with a 53% VPIP (voluntary put in pot), a winning streak that was statistically improbable. Furthermore, MoneyTaker69 achieved this while demonstrating a pre-flop strategy that was less than optimal.
“GGPoker Superuser” also noted that “MoneyTaker69” had won a multi-table tournament for $47,586 “while playing an extremely volatile strategy, which aroused a lot of suspicion.”
GGPoker pledged to review the payout for the affected tournaments, along with the cash game victims, and commended the poker community and “the poker players’ hive minds” for their constructive feedback, which bolstered confidence in solving the issue.
Link to Hacking Group?
Notably, “MoneyTaker” is also the name of a hacking group responsible for at least 20 attacks on banks and financial services firms in the USA, UK, and Russia. However, there is no evidence to suggest that MoneyTaker69 was affiliated with this group. The name is more likely a play on words, referencing the 2003 World Series of Poker titleholder Chris Moneymaker — a fitting moniker, it turns out.
This incident draws parallels to an earlier “superuser“ scandal involving the account “Potripper” on AbsolutePoker in 2007, which was also exposed by players on the TwoPlusTwo forums. In that instance, players were cheated over the span of 40 days, resulting in $1.6 million in refunds. Similarly, a comparable scandal occurred on AbsolutePoker’s sister site, UltimateBet, involving the former WSOP Main Event champion Russ Hamilton, who was implicated in the cheating.