This. I see nothing in terms of what a crusher actually would do; play super-correctly preflop (which ofc includes some shenanigans like 4b/5b A5s, NOT 54o), and taking post-flop lines that focus on range vs range on certain boards. Meaning he (an actually winner) probably wouldn't (correctly) ***** float lead/3b jam a aakxx board vs the preflop 3bettors aggression, like Mike

Every ***** hand he plays quite poorly from a technical standpoint. But 100% perfect from a results oriented standpoint. I just keep seeing his plays and thinking "well, he played it like.... as if he knew the other people's exact hands"
It's this hand. sry cbf digging up the link, but it's somewhere in the thread

Looked at roughly a dozen hands im 99% sure this guy is cheating somehow. A device on his leg seems the most plausible getting information from the stream somehow. Reminds me of a 20 year old film Lock stock and two smoking barrels the villian was being relayed information via a leg device in a poker game.

thanks for the hand history MVP and Loctus, i've got a weird feeling watching this hand like the commentators know exactly what's going on with Postle superusing (or they are totally clueless about poker)

Joey showed one hand where Mike called $40 on the river with the 2nd best hand.

I know, I too was very shocked. I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.

Doubt it's that high tech. If he is cheating I'd expect someone is simply texting him, hence looking at his phone under the table in every hand.

Reading between the lines of Veronica's accusation, it seems one or more other staff were aware that Postle was likely cheating, and their response was simply to ban phones around the stream table. Rather than go public with that information or crack down on however an insider was able to help cheat. Hopefully we get some more information from the other side.

It seems that he has a lot of info about hands. And it is hard to transfer bunch of bits with leg device.

We all remember how Russ Hamilton cheated high stakes players out of millions online not so long ago. My opinion is that any form of poker (or gambling) where electronics are being used is ripe for cheating. I quit playing online poker years before Hamilton pulled his scam as I had already seen too many sketchy things happen during the course of play. I believe that some well known sites could control what cards were being dealt, but I have no proof of it other than my gut instinct which led me to believe it was happening in some big games.

There is an old saying that is apropos here, "Let the buyer beware"
This is true not only in gambling but in many situations in life, i.e making a purchase, investments, etc.

My opinion formed over many years of gambling is that in every game man has invented, another man has found a way to cheat at it. Was this guy cheating here? Of course he was and he would have kept on doing it as long as no one wised the suckers up that were playing with him.

Is there cheating going on in just every every public card room in the country? My guess would be yes and the bigger the games the more likely it is happening. So let this thread be an adviser to all and not just those who follow this one game.

that's actual pathetic that he feels the need of bluffing that A3 hand just because someone signs him villain is bluffing with a better hand.

dude couldn't beat nl2, made 6 figures with cheating and still pulls this move off. how can someone be this voracious.

Just watched the Chicago Joey stream. Either he’s better at live reads than any being is at any skill in the history of any universe or he’s cheating. Going to go with he’s cheating.

I’ve played with some elite lags who crush the mid/high stakes and they punt into strong hands all the time, this guy only spazzes out into weak hands, it’s amazing!

Explain the check overcalls check overcall lead all in on 35T-J-3 when both of his opponents miss flush draws. Or flat a 3 bet with 52 v 92 and check call check shove T63 all diamonds turn 2x. Or check call check call lead/3 bet all in with a 6 on 6K3-K-A vs air? Or going bet bet check call with 88 vs TT on 994-T-8. Who takes a check/call line on that river??? Oh and check calling the nut flush vs a straight flush facing a 1/4 pot river bet after flop checked through.

I watched an entire session, not just cherry picked hands. I would absolutely give 99:1 odds that he’s cheating.

One of the most damning hands for me. Who flats nut flush to quarter-bet on river - especially with straights and trips possible.

didnt cole (cts) beat potripper over a decent sized sample?

I'm reading the Red Sparrow Trilogy right now, written a former high ranking CIA officer. Main character is a synesthete, meaning in this context they can read 'colors' of people and know when they're lying.

This dude is 99% either synesthete or cheater, and 1% running like god on stream.

Reluctantly flats, wants to fold because he knows he’s beat, but will gladly shove rivers on paired boards when villain can only beat a bluff.

The Trooper is in town to crack the case. Watch 60 Minutes on Sunday. Has Hanson commented?

That and the 88 vs TT hand where he just calls the river with 88 on 994-T-8. The hand is never raised at any point. He goes from agro spazz to complete old man coffee. He has the wildest image ever and he doesn’t think he can raise for value????? Why can’t his opponent have a 9? Why can’t he ever get called by AT or JJ?

It is alleged that he did not have 88, that there was an error with the RFID and rather than showing two blank cards, he was incorrectly credited with 88. He and the commentator said that he actually had 96 for flopped trips. We just have to believe what we will, we won’t ever know for certain.

I've seen a couple hands where it seems like he didn't know where he was at. I crush my game and make an amazing bluff catch maybe once every 2 sessions. Has he published his winrate? Is it reasonable to expect him to? Maybe not.

We are calling him a cheater because there is no justification for the lines he takes. He either is a complete whale on the world’s most inexplicable heater, or he knows his opponent’s cards. Please tell me the thought process behind check overcalling 76 on T53 7 ways then check overcalling a J turn and leading a 3 river all in? What’s the thought process behind bet bet and then check calling river with 88 on 994-T-8? What about check calling the nut flush vs 1/4 pot after the flop checks through. He suddenly goes from a maniac with an agro image to an old man coffee who doesn’t think he can raise super nutted hands for value???

What’s the thought process behind flatting a 3 bet with 52o, calling with air on a monotone flop, and then check shoving bottom pair on the turn? I would love to hear it.

It’s funny that he spazzes out about 11 times in one session, takes head absurd bluff lines with no blockers that no one else takes, an every time he just happens to be against a weak hand. Funny that even against people who aren’t tell boxes like Bart Hanson he does the same thing and barrels and overbets 7 high vs JJ on AAQ-3-T.

You calling him a good player when he routinely takes these lines is absurd. He is either a cheater or a whale, pick one.

he's clearly both.

I can think of very, very few times the poker community has accused someone of cheating but they were completely clean.

It really disturbs me to see how quickly people are to judge and form a mob attacking someone with no proof of anything. Mike and I play a similar style of super tight/super loose at the right times. Its not something you can get away with online but in live poker that type of exploitation is possible. Especially when playing the same opponents for years and years who don’t mix it up. The other night I folded QQ and KK without seeing a flop, one to a single 3 bet, and was right both times. Now if that were on stream, i would be accused of cheating as well... I’m sure of it. Other times I have called off my entire stack with 35 knowing my equity is at least break even vs my opponents ranges (like he did in that 45 vs AK vs AK hand). No cheating whatsoever though. It’s just knowing your highly unbalanced opponents and exploiting them. Mike is a beast and I totally understand his thought process on every hand I’ve seen him play. Are some of his plays insane and extremely high variance?? YES.
I don’t know him well but I played with him in tournaments at thunder valley and he crushed there too. We were neck and neck for player of the series both winning a couple tourneys and ended up playing heads up in the 4th bracket of the heads up tourney where I won.
Why didn’t he cheat me if he cheated everyone else???
How did he crush it so hard at thunder without his stones “teammates” helping him cheat?
Was durrr cheating too back in the day just because he made soul reads and unorthodox plays?
All you people throwing out accusations need to check yourselves and maybe try to learn something from the guy instead of coming up with just ANOTHER excuse to why you lose money at this game. 🤷🏼*♂️

I have played with Mike on stream before and got in a couple of pots. I viewed him as a very loose but competent player who was not an idiot by any means.

That said, he has made some hero calls that were just plain bad from a theoretical standpoint but happened to be correct in the short term result of each hand. He plays like 40% of hands at an 8 handed table which is absurdly spewy. But the thing is when he does **** like calling a 4bet with 63s and jam turn facing a double barrel from the 4bettor on 8s9s3d9h, you are just spewing at unfathomable levels and this is the ONE time he is up against the NFD. I do think the accusations should at least be taken seriously. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkf96cXs65Q)

I think people are missing the point when they say "But look at his hendon mob and his past career accolades" Look I don't think anyone is disputing that he's done well for himself as a professional poker player. That and these accusations are two ENTIRELY different things. You can be a solid winning player and also be a cheater. I'm not saying definitively that Mike cheated, but it should at least be taken seriously and not simply laughed off because he has also won a lot in poker in general.

The three most vocal people against Mike have been Joey, Haralabob and Seiver. All play stakes way higher than Mike. I play well higher than Mike. It is obvious he is cheating.

I imagine you can provide proof of Mike playing "super tight" on a streamed game? Or you're not suspicious at all a player who in your eyes can be super tight, is literally one of the laggiest ever over hundreds of hours in a specific game where he never loses? That isn't suspicious at all to you?

We have tons and tons of proof of durrr having plays below up in his face. If you aren't immediately suspicious of a super loose aggro player never making river mistakes, you're just here to troll.

Love how he just blasts off when he has super thin value. Like putting people all in when he has like A high.

He picked a good target. Had no idea what stones live even was. It was popular but maybe just under radar and niche enough he could get away with this for a year.

Do any of those guys even know mike? Do you even know Joey??? Joey Ingram is terrible and can’t beat 2/5NL live. I know him and have played with home many times. Do haralabos and seiver know how hard mike crushed online. Do they know he used to beast some of the best heads up players at the time including durrr? Or are they just giving their opinions based on a few hands shown? You can look up his stats. How is it possible that he cheats in live poker and online on every site and in every casino? Seems too hard to pull off everywhere in every format right?? Postle is playing against some of the weakest players I’ve ever seen on a regular basis and people want to question why he crushes?? Even the high stakes games there have 1/3 caliber line ups.