Dear 2+2 Community,

I recently became aware that a particularly suspicious user (DivVal24) is playing on the micro-stakes tables of 888 poker in various game types (cash games, fast blast tournaments etc.)



According to Smarthand and my database, this user won 175bb/100 during 8200 cashgame hands. This means, he won 141 buy-ins during this time!!!! (These results only include hands played at cash game tables at NL10-NL20 limits)

Based on the VPIP and PFR stats (37/18) and my estimations, in 99.9% of cases, we should be dealing with a losing player in this scenario. Instead, we see a win rate that is simply impossible to achieve at any stake/game type, at least under fair conditions. (Not to mention the rake...)

There are few examples about his game:



Some stats about his game:



Similar to the case of "MoneyTaker69," I have reason to believe that "VidDal24" might be cheating in a similar manner, specifically by somehow seeing the cards of opponents / being aware of the equity of their own cards.


What's the difference between "MoneyTaker69" and "VidDal24"?

"MoneyTaker69" played on GG poker, mostly NL100+. His winrate was 90bb/100. It has been revealed that "MoneyTaker69" cheated.
"VidDal24" is playing on 888 poker, at microstakes, mostly >NL20. His winrate is 175bb/100 (twice as big as MoneyTaker69's) and still playing.
We are talking about a hand volume between 8000-9000 hands in both players' cases.

If "VidDal24" is cheating, why is he playing at much lower stakes?

As I mentioned, I don't have information on whether the user "VidDal24" plays at higher stakes, and it's possible that he does.

If he doesn't play at higher stakes, it might be that he is afraid of getting caught. When I reviewed the 3800 hands I received about him (around 200 hands went to showdown), I consistently felt that against skilled players, his plays were rarely highly questionable (such as massive hero calls), but against recreational players, he had plays that deviated from the norm. Those players wouldn't notice, especially as they don't really understand the game if they encounter an unconventional play.

Conclusion:

I am aware that in terms of dollars, "VidDal24" took much less from his opponents than the damage "MoneyTaker69" caused to his opponents.
However, this does not mean that potentially it wouldn't be an equally significant form of cheating in the case of "VidDal24." Online poker must remain fair, regardless of the room or stakes in which we play!

As a community, we await 888 Poker's response! Until they respond, I strongly recommend that if you are also a player on 888 poker and encounter a user named "DivVal24", leave the table as soon as possible if you can!

Sounds familiar.

The only other possible explanation is chip dumping, but if you manually reviewed a large selection of his hands then that would be unlikely. 888 should certainly investigate.

Thanks for your work!

I checked players who lost most at his tables. They all never played before and never played again.

All their Smarthand profiles are look like this:










So it seem like a chipdump. I dont know why they do it on NL20.

Did these 5 guys lose any big pots vs other players?

They did, but most of those hands were played against Divval24, so TylerRM might be right.

Lets assume, they are chipdumping to DivVal, in this case, the question could arise whether these users might have colluded in a way that involves sharing their cards with each other, occasionally engaging in multiway play with the "victim." I will look into this question.

Jasp75 hands:



Ricc91 hands:



FenyO85 hands:



rchany hands:



valtso hands:



However, it is quite certain that most of the time VidDal24 was sitting at these tables.

"Must remain fair" assumes that they ever were fair. Certainly the number of caught cheaters makes this seem naïve.

We have been reviewing this case since it was posted here yesterday. The accounts in question have been blocked for the duration of the investigation. Although we do not usually share details of such investigations, in the current circumstances it is important for us to assure you that our players have not been affected by any Super User type breach.
We very much appreciate any suspicious behavior being brought to our attention. We understand it’s a sensitive climate currently, but we encourage you not to hurry to unverified accusations. Fair gaming is a top priority here at 888Poker and we react to suspected fair gaming breaches with the utmost urgency and professionalism.