This week, several poker coaches on GGPoker, who have always been committed to fair and ethical gameplay and never supported rule violations or fraudulent activities, had their accounts blocked with accusations of "USE OF REMOTE DESKTOP & SCREEN SHARING PROGRAMS and/or USE OF VIRTUAL MACHINES & EMULATORS". We firmly believe that these accusations are unfounded and do not reflect the reality of our gameplay.

Currently, we are aware of two public cases and one non-public case:

1st case: Hofr - GG username: "GodspeedYou!" coach at https://t.me/GTOorGTFO and https://t.me/raisebchenko
2nd case: Wemetagain - GG username: "Shavermaskrabom" graduate of https://funfarm.pro/ and founder of https://t.me/evbb20

The blocking procedure follows the same scenario: first, personal documents for verification, such as passport, payment documents, and a selfie with the passport, are requested. Then, participants are asked to complete a questionnaire where they need to share details about their poker experience and preferences.

However, despite providing the requested information, the subsequent outcome is an accusation and blocking:

The exact reasons for the block remain a mystery. We suspect that it might be related either to streaming within the community or the use of programs for analysis and game development, such as VPS servers with solvers. It is crucial to note that none of the blocked coaches violated the rules by ensuring that such programs were not used simultaneously with playing on GGPoker.

We have observed that not only us but also other coaches from various poker schools have faced similar accusations and blocks. This raises serious concerns about GGPoker's security policy and its application. We strongly believe that such accusations and blocks deserve close attention and discussion from the entire poker community.

We call upon all members of the poker community to support transparency and fairness in the operation of poker platforms. We are ready to collaborate with GGPoker Network, provide additional evidence, and actively participate in discussing this issue.

... and nothing of value was lost.

this reminds me of two expressions...

Those who can't do, teach

The best defense is a good offense

I'm not clicking any of those links....

I'm sorry but not much sympathy here. Coaches using solvers to exploit fish on GG. Poker ecosystem is probably better off without these "coaches".

Well, bye

In light of recent comments expressing concerns about the use of solvers by poker coaches, we believe it is crucial to shed light on the positive impact coaches have on the poker ecosystem. While we understand the sentiment behind the statement, it is essential to recognize the multifaceted contributions of poker coaches that benefit the poker community as a whole.

1. Skill Development and Fair Play: Poker coaches play a pivotal role in educating players about poker strategy, hand analysis, and ethical decision-making. Their expertise helps players improve their skills and encourages fair play across the board.

2. Nurturing a Supportive Community: Coaches create platforms for players to connect, share knowledge, and grow together. This supportive community fosters a culture of learning and collaboration, benefitting players of all skill levels.

3. Promoting Responsible Gaming: Many coaches emphasize the importance of responsible gaming and bankroll management. By educating players about the potential risks of gambling, coaches contribute to a healthier and sustainable poker community.

4. Attracting and Retaining New Players: Effective coaching attracts new players to the game and helps them develop their poker skills. A larger and more diverse player base contributes to more vibrant tournaments and increased prize pools.

5. Challenging the Best: Poker tournaments bring together players of all skill levels. Coaches prepare players to face tough competition, enhancing the competitive aspect of the game and making it more exciting for all participants.

6. Elevating Tournament Guarantees: As players improve their skills under the guidance of coaches, they can confidently enter higher stakes tournaments. This, in turn, contributes to the growth of tournament guarantees, benefitting the poker community.

It is essential to recognize that while some individuals may misuse solvers, not all coaches engage in such practices. Many dedicated coaches genuinely strive to improve the poker community by nurturing skillful and ethical players. Rather than dismissing all coaches, let us engage in constructive discussions about responsible coaching practices and how they can continue to positively impact the poker ecosystem.

I understand your concerns about clicking on links, and I want to assure you that the links provided in the post are not harmful. They are merely references to online communities and platforms where players and coaches interact, share knowledge, and discuss poker-related topics. The links are meant to showcase the legitimacy and credibility of the mentioned coaches and their contributions to the poker community.

Who is this "we" you keep speaking of?

You sound like a cult leader.

… where can I sign?

Hahah glad I'm not the only one who felt these vibes.

Interesting perspective, but that statement doesn't hold true for all cases. In the poker world, coaching can be a win-win situation. Talented players like Hofr (GodspeedYou!) have proven their skills both in gameplay and coaching. His impressive graph, where he won half a million, speaks volumes about his abilities. Coaching not only helps others improve their game, but it also fosters a stronger poker community overall. Cheers!



ArkaduktusFrRM(WPN)
GodspeedYou!(GGNetwork)
Hofr(PokerStars)
xpromove17zor(Chico)

Hello everyone. Many MTT players may have encountered me at the tables in 100+ tournaments under the nicknames Hofr on PS, GodspeedYou! on GG, and ArkaduktusFrRM on WPN. I am a member of Tyler's team, where I serve as one of the main coaches, and I also lead my group within the RSB team. People who have interacted with me can vouch for the fact that poker is my passion. I literally live and breathe poker because I don't excel at anything else like I do in Hold'em.

Therefore, it was particularly strange and unpleasant for me to find myself in the position GGPoker put me in. I got banned for something related to remote desktops, screen-sharing programs, and emulators. They took this action without providing any explanations, evidence, instances of suspicious hands, or proof of my use of prohibited software. Moreover, even GGPoker itself hasn't definitively decided whether I am a cheater, as they allowed me to withdraw all my funds.

Despite my strong belief in my innocence and my readiness to provide any evidence to support it, I was met with a flat denial, with GGPoker stating that their decision is final.

Such decisions cast doubt on the security of any of us - members of the poker community. Because if today they can simply come and ban a fairly well-known player who plays at a significant stake, then tomorrow, similar measures could affect any of you. Anyone who decides to stream their game to friends via Discord, anyone who runs OBS, opens a remote server alongside a working client even without active tables, or just accidentally gets caught in the trap of poorly functioning algorithms.

I understand that many of you who don't know me personally might hesitate to vouch for my honesty, or whether I use any cheating aids as GGPoker accuses. But I am willing to undergo any checks, demonstrate my level of competence to anyone, record a session with ten cameras, and explain any of my actions to a person with the necessary expertise to assess whether I am an honest player.

As a precautionary note, let me clarify that I play all my sessions simultaneously on the three aforementioned poker rooms, which already significantly complicates the use of any prohibited software. Additionally, my Sharkscope graph, which serves as undeniable proof of my skills, is open to everyone and contains all the necessary information to observe my journey from the $30 ABI to the limits where I am currently playing.

Below, I am attaching a list of rules according to which GGPoker issued a ban to me. Since they did not specify the exact reason for the blocking, I can only speculate. For educational purposes for myself and my students, I use a server accessed through the "remote desktop" program. It is evident that I wouldn't risk using such tools during an active session. However, there is a possibility that I performed calculations before the session and, after closing the direct connection to the remote desktop, might have left the program itself running, which would still be listed in the task manager as "remote desktop" but wouldn't perform any direct functions. Alternatively, I might have gone to do some calculations after the session while leaving the GGPoker client open. For players who are not well-informed, I should add that even a 3-max calculation in Simple Postflop takes several minutes, and a calculation for a full table could take several hours, making it practically impossible to benefit from during regular play. On the GGPoker website, I have been playing for over three years, and the security service has the capability to track how many sessions I have played in total and how many of them were played with prohibited software running in parallel.


Now it remains only to classify the violation I committed in order to understand whether it deserves a ban or a freeze with verification according to GGPoker's rules. Among possible violations are:

Using RTA (Real-Time Assistance).
Multi-accounting.
Using bots.
The above-mentioned violations undoubtedly fall into the category of serious offenses and should result in a ban for the offending person. Can my violation be classified as one of the above? In my view, it cannot.

Let me clarify about RTA. Using RTA in MTTs is equivalent to suicide. On the same board, with the same stack sizes and positions, the frequency of continuation betting can vary from 0% to 100% depending on the ICM (Independent Chip Model) component, which includes the tournament stage, the other stacks at the table, and so on. Additionally, GGPoker or my opponents, who have sufficient statistics on me, have the right to analyze my database for compliance with GTO (Game Theory Optimal) strategies. I can assure you that almost none of my statistics align with the frequencies suggested by GTO.

Banning coaches without clear evidence is a sign that they just want you all out.

Why not just have a dedicated laptop for actually playing poker, and another setup for your “team viewing” coaching sessions? I think GG, rightfully so, is concerned about coaches having sessions of “let’s play this tourney together my students” on a team viewer, among other reasons TeamViewing s/w could nefariously be used.

Was there any financial deal at play? Were you coaching as part of a coaching deal, or as part of a CFP/Backing deal?

Where have you been? Lucky you made it this long.
GG has been banning legit winning solo players(ie Apestyles) for many years now and it's known that they don't owe you any evidence as to why.
Yet a pair of Russians who no delay live stream in discords with 1k+ people but are just far too ethical to ever have colluded or have someone on their team run ICM software in real time on a FT are astonished they got removed from the site.

Find heaps of poor people in poor countries, dole out solved ranges and a staking arrangement, card share/chip dump/softplay and always have someone on real time ICM HRC duty and boom you have the modern world of online coaching stables printing money. However these 2 characters are too ethical to participate in any of that nonsense and actually do much better than those that would ever gain such edges.

I am sorry, but you will have to prove that you don't cheat before we can support you. Your claim of no cheating is not sufficient proof because words are only wind and all cheaters claim innocence.

We need to see evidence; without concrete evidence that you do not cheat the logical conclusion is that you are, in fact, a cheater. Also we need to see proof that you don't beat your wife, because how can you expect us to support a wife-beating cheater.

My advice is that you stop hitting her and knock it off with the ghosting and screen sharing and RTA. You'll feel better when you can look a man in the eye without dying inside.

Unless you are a sociopath? because everyone knows that a sociopath can cheat and also beat their wife without any problems about feeling guilt or shame or regret.

I don't see how you can go around cheating at poker and beating your wife and not expect any repercussions. Those birds were bound to come home to roost sooner or later.

Sounds like you were caught with your hand in the cookiejar, sharing screens with your students during live play. I am happy you have been banned.

Lol. Gg, GG.

Yeah, technically speaking, sharing your screen/cards and chatting with other people in real-time constitutes cheating.

One player to a hand

Regardless of if you cheated is this not a recurring thing with GG Poker? Right or wrong maybe just accept they don't want big winners.

It may be a sad commentary but it seems to be how they operate. You said they allowed you to withdraw so just accept their backing you off and move on.

GG does not ban winning players that is just absolute nonsense.

Are funds being confiscated, returned, or is that unknown at this time?

these kind of bans probably going on a lot. lots of ghosting and FT ghosting about.