Agreed and here's what I propose that makes it easy to implement using existing gear - delay scanning the cards until the hand is over. Same RFID and post-production infrastructure as today, nothing changes except a slight mod to the software to expect the RFID transmissions after the hand instead of during.

To implement, the RFID readers can be disabled until the dealer hits a power switch to turn them on at the conclusion of each hand. For additional security players will be allowed to keep their hole cards away from the reader squares while in the hand. When the hand is over the RFID readers are momentarily turned on so the data can be transmitted. The only quirk is reading hands folded prior to the showdown / end of the hand. To implement that the players would have to keep their folded cards near them before the hand is over, then move them over the reader.

Just return the hole cards cam. That **** is way more fun than RFID.

Its interesting that you mention footage of the old main events. I was just watching the 1997 main event and honestly, it was boring as can be. Could have been that the commentators were not anywhere near the caliber of today, but the biggest part of them being more present and making it more engaging, where they can talk about the hands and strategy is they can see the hole cards.

This would work well for security and safety purposes. But it’s very likely for component failure over time, because you have several RFID readers constantly turning off and on, and have an additional system to allow the dealer know it’s safe to deal the next hand. This would make it very maintenance heavy, extremely expensive and risk delaying the game.
Also the production team wouldn’t know the hole cards until after the hand is over. They would have to basically tape over a played hand, but it is again more secure in the fact that more of a human element is out of knowing other players cards.

I think hold cam cards are more secure, keep the RFID readers but have them disconnected from the network and backup all the RFID information after each poker session.

The stones stream was set up imo for postle…

If anyone ever tried to watch that steam it would make your eyes bleed. They intended for it to be so bad that no one would watch.. I’m convinced.

HCL is watchable but let’s be honest my adult adhd wont allow me to concentrate on it and I often use it to fall asleep.

The highlight clip shows are way better for my attention span.

But in summation anyone who plays in cali on a livestream is playing with fire imo.

Legit nothing happened to postle. Are we that big of degens to keep playing ?

The vast majority of viewers have only ever been spoonfed feeds with instant holecards and can't give an subjective opinion on the matter

Yes. There are enough people with money who will drop 50K for more attention

guys, there are ways to protect the game integrity with hole cards.

However, there's an inherent cost associated with it. in fact, much more than i think any live stream currently has really factored in.

HCL did the right thing by bringing in a security expert in the space, along with hiring a legal firm to help with the logistics.

i feel like that info could be encrypted when it is read at the table, and then decrypted 3 hours later or whatever for the commentators/stream....i dont see why ANYONE would have access to that in real time....it helps nothing and only leads to issues.....i guess the only reason is to know if a card isnt reading properly but id say screw that if i was running this show, occasionally a card not reading properly is a small price to pay to have security in a game this size

this is def doable from a technical standpoint

You left off two important words from the bolded: "to me." You may very well have found it equally exciting, to all viewers as a whole, or even poker enthusiasts as a whole, you are in a very, very tiny minority.

Even somewhat recently, with mostly a more poker-savvy audience watching, the WSOP live coverage suffered when it hid the hole cards until after the hand was complete. (It was kind of enjoyable listening to Antonio Esfandiari guess the players' hand ranges, though.)

No one is saying this, because no English-speaking person thinks you have to forgo the latter to have the former. You can have "asses in the seats" while also having a safe system. The key to cheating and collusion prevention is in the effort and resources you put into doing just that.

The WSOP and the WPT have massive operations, much of it running under the auspices of gaming commissions that imposed strict measures. Compare that to Stones Live and Hustler Casino Live (assuming for a moment that HCL did experience cheating), which has relatively low-end productions in a state that does not have any regulations in place to help ensure security for streaming/broadcasts.

Matt Berkey discussed the security protocols at the various poker streamers and said Live At the Bike implements this - apparently it's a newer feature of the PokerGFX software:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbf8UWuNt5E&t=2960s

I want someone to experiment with this idea to see what the response is. Like, if HCL just streamed one night without visible hole cards. I think it would be a great exercise in trying to figure out what everyone has.

That experiment was already done on PokerGo during the WSOP coverage when they had an unscheduled final table pop up that they wanted to cover but had to put in on a table without hole card coverage. It's horrible and unwatchable.

As was pointed out earlier both shows in Los Angeles have "live" in their names and they are both lying. Which tells you everything you need to know about their honesty and how critical they feel it is to mislead the audience to believe they are live.

Why not have only a skeleton crew recording the hands and have commentating/analysis conducted via video after it's all been recorded? In such a scenario, you have limited ability for people to share information. Sure it's not live, but a few hours difference shouldn't bother many.

Ultimately, as long as cards are shown to someone, people will find a way to cheat . It's probably gone on in the past especially early on when the technology was first adopted. The issue is, "will there be serious consequences for cheating"? If not, why not?

I can't imagine poker without hole cards shown would ever be more popular with viewers than with cards being shown.

I'd like to know if the RFID reader at Hustler is hard wired to the backroom or connected wirelessly.

Either way, RFID can be sniffed out and hacked/spoofed with SDR (software defined radio) receivers. I highly doubt your average poker cheat would be able to do this on their own, but they could commission someone who knows how to hack radio waves and how to make concealed receiving devices.

Doug said in his last video that Hustler has a hard wired setup.

Thanks.

Even so, you could still theoretically "hack" the frequency(s) of reading the cards/spoofing the reader directly at the table with a custom SDR receiver.

I can't find many examples of sniffing/spoofing frequencies with RFID objects (like cards), but here's an example of it in action with unlocking car doors.

I have, and I still do from time to time. I like the idea of trying to put a guy on a hand sitting from home - I just expect that most times I won't get to see - just like live poker.
Thanks for the reply. Cheers.

Card data should be encrypted up until the hand is being commentated on. In Hustler’s case an hour+ after the hand happened. It’s technically easy to achieve and there’s no reason for production to know the cards at the time of play.

Precisely. It won't take away from the viewers experience and it will eliminate cheating. Seems too easy a solution, so why isn't it standard?

I've become suspicious of any pursuit in which big money is involved and the most common sense solutions not being enacted.

Yes. /thread

No one would watch. Before the advent of the hole card cam and then RFID viewership for live poker was very low. It was only with hole cards that networks showed poker games on a regular basis.

Poker is extremely boring to watch without hole cards.

LATB are currently streaming with no RFID, so hole cards not viewable and on zero delay.