Upswing Poker founder Doug Polk has dug down deeper into the laptop controversy at the WSOP 2024 Main Event final table as winner Jonathan Tamayo is accused of cheating.
At the time, there wasn’t really much noise being made about the presence of Dominik Nitsche and 2015 Main Event winner Joe McKeehen busy with a laptop on the rail. This is the hi-tech era, after all.
But let’s not forget that we already saw controversy at the beginning of the WSOP 2024 when a player was caught red-handed using GTO Wizard at the table.
The warning about such behaviour at the WSOP actually came from last year as GTO solver technology was becoming increasingly powerful and quick to use.
“If caught using RTA/GTO software during a hand, players will be subject to penalty up to and including DQ (disqualification) / trespass.”
Caught a guy on @GTOWizard in the @WSOP 1k Mystery Millions NLH Flight A.
First photo was taken at Paris white section table 194 at 17:39. Despite the privacy screen protector, you can make out the GTO Wizard login screen. Second photo is for identification.
More details below. pic.twitter.com/G68cnwTPk5
— James Chen (@ChipBurglar) May 31, 2024
How Useful Are Solver Outputs from Past Hands During an Event?
Doug Polk starts his analysis by crying down the usefulness of understanding mistakes from past hands while the event is still ongoing.
It’s also not a new thing for players to be receiving this information from a newly hired coach at this stage of the WSOP Main Event.
Polk says that the old format of the November Nine was what kicked this off to a new level. Before, players would have from July until November to study for the final table, whereas now players are straight into the final nine the very next day.
As mentioned above, GTO solver tech is now extremely powerful and accurate which allows players to learn at an unprecedented rate. This is why we have been seeing more players feeding on solver outputs in any break in play.
Polk makes a clear statement that the line should be drawn to prevent an unfair edge. Put clearly, players should not be allowed to breach rules that other players are adhering to.
For this year’s series, the following announcement was made at the start of each tournament:
“We do ask you to please not use any type of poker solvers at any point in time at the table or in the tournament area. If you’re found using one of these poker solvers, there’s a possibility of being disqualified from this tournament.”
This couldn’t be clearer.
Polk continues by explaining how difficult it is to police player behaviour during the World Series of Poker with so many active tables.
Just imagine if there were a disqualification or two, and then social media lit up with photos of hundreds of other players doing exactly the same unchallenged.
Now imagine a Main Event final table participant getting thrown out at that late stage. It wouldn’t be a great look for the game.
Did Jonathan Tamayo Wear an Earpiece to Receive Information During Play?
Most worryingly, the video switches to a clip showing Jonathan Tamayo hugging his team after winning the event when suddenly there is a clear shot of an earpiece being passed from Joe McKeehen to the person next to him.
This person, as pointed out by Doug Polk, looks as though he cannot keep a straight expression, giving the appearance that the offending item needs to be hidden from view.
Photos later posted on Reddit clearly show Tamayo wearing an earpiece that looks the same.
Now, this is a problem. Poker players are always seen wearing earphones to listen to music while they play and nobody bats an eyelid.
Consider why chess players are banned from doing the same. The answer is obvious: it is too easy to cheat.
But nobody would consider telling poker players to remove the offending items as it is too normalised.
Dominik Nitsche Doubles Down
While a discussion such as this is ongoing, it’s good form to keep the debate civil.
GGPoker ambassador Daniel Negreanu, not one to shy away from sharing his opinion, pointed out that this seems to be against the rules but didn’t call for punishment, rather further discussion to clarify the situation.
Dominik Nitsche, however, doubled down and made his stance quite clear in the following tweet.
The best part of having a piece win the main is definitely the money. But the 2nd best part is how mad the biggest dipshits on twitter get when they see someone using a laptop on the rail. pic.twitter.com/i2NQkWy9el
— Dominik Nitsche (@DominikNitsche) July 18, 2024
Polk ties up his video by stating what should be obvious. A decision will have to be made about what is acceptable and what is not. Players will just have to learn and be acutely aware of what will get them thrown out of a tournament.
We should also have some sympathy for the tournament staff who will not be wanting to ruin somebody’s day for a minor offence but have now let this matter run on for too long.
Doug Polk Speak to WSOP 2024 Main Event Runner-Up Jordan Griff
Who better to speak to than the man most affected by this controversy — runner-up Jordan Griff.
As you can imagine, the conversation starts with him talking about the changes that will come to his life after winning $6,000,000.
When the topic of the laptop on the rail comes up, Griff says that it wasn’t a worry and he thought with all of the cameras and people around, any nefarious behaviour would be spotted by onlookers.
Griff doesn’t look too upset about any potential breach of the rules. In fact, he was more bothered about the headlines all being about this rather than positive storylines for poker.
Polk points out that feel good stories in poker don’t really move the needle, whereas drama gets people fired up quickly.
Another negative feeling from Griff is that he saw a lack of effort to grow the game during the series. He says there should be more done to make people understand how much fun poker can be.
Polk then points out that the way the rules are written, the situation is in a grey area.
Griff accepts this and argues that regardless of what the true rule is, it’s not a good look for poker.
When asked if he would pursue legal action following agreement that Nevada gaming rules were breached, Griff says it’s an option but he’s not aiming at pushing that avenue himself right now.
The interview closes out with more discussion on wearing earphones. Griff says that players were told to remove them when appearing on feature tables in front of the cameras.
He also says that he thinks the earpiece that was handed over by Joe McKeehen came from his ear and not that of Tamayo.
The real conclusion from all of this debate is that work needs to be done for future live tournament series to avoid further negative publicity and to instil confidence into the community that the integrity of the game remains intact.
Doug Polk’s conclusions will resonate with many who play the game, as expected from the founder of the popular training site Upswing Poker.
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