Absolute Poker Cheating Timeline

Mid June 2007 – A backend access tool called “Servman” that wrote hand histories
to the page before hands were completed. The reason Servman, Could see hole
cards was due to a code change made by AP programmers in mid-June 2007
http://www.natarem.com/?s=potripper&submit=Search
“According to this post, (below) Scott Tom or someone using Scott Tom’s email
address was looking for beta testers for the AP 8.0 software in the June timeframe. Also,
another person told me that he started using AP 8.0 beta on June 15th, 2007.
“He had sat at a table roughly 5-6 months ago, where a guy claimed to be Scott
Tom, and wanted him to test the new Absolute Poker 8.0 software. This guy seemed to
know a lot about him (Scott) email, location, first name, deposit history, and even put
$300 in my friends account to prove he was from Absolute Poker (by credit adjustment,
not deposit/transfer). He also emailed him the new software from this email address:
stom@fiducix.com. Just to make sure my friend contacted AP support to see if this guy
was legit. This is the email he received back”
Thank you for contacting us.
We contacted our promotions department and they informed us that steamroller belongs
to the Absolute Poker Staff. For this reason, what he offered you is in legit.
Aaron

9-12-07 – Absolute Poker holds $1,000 Tournament, POTRIPPER takes first place
and $30,00. CrazyMarco, Marco Johnson takes second place.
http://www.natarem.com/?s=potripper&submit=Search
http://www.bluffmagazine.com/thepokerdb/tournament.asp?tid=423139

9-15-07 – Adanthar Posts “Ten-High Call That Started It All”

http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=12097244&page=0&fpart=all&
vc=1
Flop Comes - 4 King King, Two Hearts
crazymarco – Checks (His Flush Draw), potripper - Bets crazymarco - Calls
Turn Card is the 7 of Spades.
crazymarco – Checks - potripper – Bets – crazymarco- Re-Raise All In - potripper - Calls
*****POTRIPPER CALLS RE-RAISE ON THE TURN WITH TEN HIGH********
POTRIPPER - Shows [10c 9c] (One pair, kings)
CRAZYMARCO - Shows [9h 2h] (One pair, kings)

9-17-07 – First Comment By Absolute Poker about Cheating

http://www.pokeraffiliateprograms.com/forums/general-poker-affiliate-discussion/11817-official-
absolute-poker-super-user-thread.html
“We have yet to find any evidence of wrong doing. Our game client only receives data
regarding the individuals hand and no other players hole cards, except in the event of a
showdown. We have researched their play exhaustively and have found no proof that they had
any knowledge of other player’s hole cards. So far we have no evidence that substantiates claims
that any of the players were involved in chip dumping, or any other improper activity.”
9-20-07 – New York Times writer Steven Levitt writes About Absolute Poker
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/20/how-not-to-cheat/
“Playing at the very highest stakes games, they allegedly played every hand as if
they knew every card that the other players had. They folded hands at the end that no
normal player would fold, and they raised with hands that were winners but would seem
like losers if you didn’t know the opponents’ cards. They won money at a rate that was
about 100 times faster than a good player could reasonably expect to win. Their play was
so anomalous that, within a few days, they were discovered. What did they do next?
Apparently, they played some more, now playing worse than anyone has ever played in
the history of poker — in other words, trying to lose some of the money back so things
didn’t look so suspicious.

9-21-07 – Absolute Poker “Whistle-Blower” Email sent to CrazyMarco

http://www.natarem.com/?s=potripper&submit=Search
“CrazyMarco, a well-known online tourney player, played in a 1K AP
tournament on 9/12/07. In the following days, Marco emailed to AP support and asked
for a hand history so he could review play at the final table. He wanted to follow up
because of the possibility that he was cheated. On Friday Sept 21st, AP sent Marco a
huge excel file (10 mb and a full 65,536 rows, the excel limit for most versions being
used currently). He didn’t think much of it and it was too scrambled and complicated to
analyze, so he put it on the backburner for the time being.”
9-21-07 – DanDruff, Todd Wittelles, Poker Pro Lists more names of AP cheaters
“I haven't seen mentioned yet that SUPERCARDM55 was the recipient of 55k of
GRAYCAT's money in an obvious heads-up chip dump session on August 30th. So it
appears ROMNALDO was used to take DOUBLEDRAG's money, and
SUPERCARDM55 was used to take GRAYCAT's money. There must be other accounts
used for STEAMROLLER, POTRIPPER, and whoever else. Find out who
SUPERCARDM55 and ROMNALDO belong to, and we have our answer as to who the
guilty parties really are.”

9-22-07 - Security Flaw at Absolute Poker News Started on 2p2

http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Number=12188759
“One thing stood out above all others. On the last round of betting (after all the
cards had been dealt out), the suspicious accounts always raised or folded - they never
simply called a bet. While some players with aggressive playing styles will often raise or
fold, it is unheard of to *never* call. "The only time it makes any sense to never call in
these spots is if you know if you are ahead or behind-- in other words, if you know your
opponent's hole cards," said OnlinePro1. "These maniacs made the right decision in these
spots dozens of times in a row.”
“His stats in this thing are something like 85/60, and what I left out is an absolutely
perfect check/fold (inc first to act) vs bet pattern. Just like DD, he never showed down a
worse hand. What you make out of that is up to you.”
9-23-07 – Posted by Josem, a Highly Respected Member of the Online Community
Here's an explanation of one of the screenshots that should be accessible to people not familiar with
PokerTracker stats.

Player: Doubledrag

The above image is a screenshot from the online poker tracking tool, PokerTracker.

The Game Level column - Shows that these statistics are from no limit texas holdem, where
the big blind was $30, and some hands where the big blind was $20. While it isn't clearly visible
here, these hands were from 6-max games - where there were a limit of six players per table.
The Vol. Put $ In The Pot (VPIP) - is a statistic that shows a percentage of how many times a
player voluntarily put money into the pot (ie, how often they bet with their hand). By way of
comparison, the top players have a VPIP of around 20%-25% or so in these games. Anything
above 30% is considered to be very loose. Anything above 40% is considered to be maniacal.
Anything above 90% is crazy. Normally, a player who bets 90% of their hands goes bust very
quickly, since their hands are on average much weaker than their opponents' hands.
The next important statistic is the BB/100 hands - This shows the number of big blinds the
player wins on average every 100 hands. In this example, over the 201 hands, they won on
average 482.99 big blinds every 100 hands. By way of comparison, the very best players in the
world might be able to win around 8-10BB/100.
The next important statistic is the "River AF." - This is a calculation of how aggressive a
player is on the river - it is the number of times the player bets or raises, divided by the number of
times the player calls. The higher the number, the more aggressive they are. By way of
comparison, my "River AF" when I play is 1.9.On the last round of betting, when all the cards are
dealt, one hand is always going to be better than the other player's
The players who are cheating always managed to make the right decision at the end. If the
opponent's hand was worse, the cheaters would bet or raise - and this is what causes the "River
AF" to be so high. If the cheaters' hand was worse, the cheaters would either fold, or sometimes
make a big bluff.
Not once did the cheaters call - Because if you know what your opponents' cards are, you
would never need to call. The 'River AF' for the $30 NL game is not infinite because there will
have been times when the cheater's opponent bet all-in with a worse hand, and the cheater can
only call.

10-12-07 - Official Absolute Poker Response To Player Fraud Allegations

http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Number=12478109
As a matter of Company policy, Absolute Poker never divulges personal information
about our players nor do we make public any hand information that did not go to a
showdown, ever. As a result, we are limited in terms of the level of information that we can
provide for public review. (Later found out to be part of a legal agreement to not release the
name of the cheater in order to find out how it was done.)
 The result of our investigation is that we found no evidence that any of Absolute
Poker’s redundant and varying levels of game client security were compromised. We have
determined with reasonable certainty that it is impossible for any player or employee to see
hole cards as was alleged.
We examined screen shots from Poker Tracker Software that displayed an “infinite”
river aggression factor for one of the player accounts at issue. We were very concerned by
this anomaly. We reviewed each and every hand that this player played during the relevant
time period and determined that while the play was extremely aggressive, particularly on the
river, there were several instances where the player merely called on the river. Thus, the
allegation that the player accounts at issue “never called on the river, they either raised or
folded” are also without merit.
With respect to the allegation of chip dumping, we have determined that chip dumping
by at least one of the accounts at issue, did in fact, take place.
A ‘super-user’ account does not exist in our software. Absolute Poker was created by
poker players who value security and fair play. The back-end of the Absolute Poker software
prevents the possibility of any such feature. Our game client only receives data regarding an
individual’s hand and no other player hole cards are ever visible – by anyone – except in the
event of a showdown.

10-17-07 – KGC to Investigate Absolute Poker & Gaming Associates Introduced

http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=12548190
http://www.kahnawake.com/gamingcommission
http://www.ktvn.com/Global/story.asp?S=7229673 – Associated Press Picks Up story
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) announced today an audit into the current
and historic activities of Absolute Poker and interaction with its gaming and financial systems. As
a KGC license holder Absolute Poker is obliged to adhere to the Regulations Concerning
Interactive Gaming. Absolute Poker has agreed to fully cooperate with the KGC. This week
allegations of impropriety have been bought to the attention of the Kahnawáke Gaming
Commission.
We have appointed experts to conduct a thorough audit of all circumstances, provide
findings and recommendations to the Commission.The Commission has instructed Gaming
Associates to conduct the audit and report to the Commission. Gaming Associates is
acknowledged world wide as an expert interactive gaming test and audits.

10-17-07 – Nat Arem Links Email and IP addresses to Scott Tom

http://www.natarem.com/2007/10/17/absolute-poker-cheating-scandal/
The email address was hosted by Kahnawake but actually belongs to Absolute Poker.
That email is scott@rivieraltd.com using an IP address connecting from Costa Rica.
Adanthar, A 2p2 moderator found that the IP address was used by a 2+2 account with the
login name scotttom. A few other sources who do not want to be named told me that Scott
Tom was associated with that IP address. Adanthar posted his findings on 2+2 and revealed
that he’d connected the somewhat mysterious IP address to an actual person. Also, other
sources that do not want to be named confirmed that the IP address was a residential cable
modem tied specifically to the Tom family.”
10-17-07 – 2nd Article from NY Times about Absolute Cheating Scandal
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/the-absolute-poker-cheating-scandal-
blown-wide-open/
 “They traced the observer’s IP address and account name to the same set of servers
that host Absolute Poker, and also, apparently, to a particular individual named Scott
Tom, who seems to be a part-owner of Absolute Poker!

10-17-07 – DanDruff asks Absolute Poker Some Questions Over The Phone
I asked Roger to answer the following questions for me:
1) How do they explain the "perfect" play of POTRIPPER and the other accused cheaters, if there
is no superuser involved?
2) What is the story with account 363?
3) What were the IP addresses of GRAYCAT, STEAMROLLER, DOUBLEDRAG, and
POTRIPPER? Did they match their listed geographic locations? Were any in Costa Rica?
4) Where were SUPERCARDM55 and REYMNALDO (chip dump recipients) located? Did they
cash out? Are they from Costa Rica?
5) What is the relationship between the 4 suspected cheaters and those accounts they dumped to?
6) Have you spoken on the phone to GRAYCAT, STEAMROLLER, POTRIPPER, and
DOUBLEDRAG? What did they say? How did they explain the chip dumping? Did they admit to
playing on those accounts?
Roger took notes on all of my questions. He promised to get answers for me later today, at about
3:00pm PDT

10-18-07 – Absolute Poker Calls DanDruff Back

http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=12554163
At about 4pm PDT, Roger called. He said that Paul the PR Manager will be handling this
matter from this point forward. Paul was to call me "soon". An hour later, Paul called me. The
conversation revealed little and was disappointing. In a nutshell, I was told that the third party
company had just started its investigation, so therefore he's not allowed to tell me anything. I
expressed my concerns that the "independent third party audit" isn't as independent as they're
making it out to be, given the company's relationship with the Kawanhawke Gaming
Commission. He tried to assure me that it will indeed be completely independent and unbiased

10-18-07 – Another article about possible security breach and the KGC audit
http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/article/2898/possible-absolute-poker-security-breach-investigated
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) has hired an independent auditor to
investigate claims that Absolute Poker's security system was breached during a $1,000 buy-in
tournament held last month. Absolute Poker approached Gaming Associates to conduct the audit.
However, according to Gaming Associates, it will work directly with KGC, the poker site's
regulating body, to perform "an audit into the current and historic activities of Absolute Poker and
interaction with its gaming and financial systems."

10-18-07 - Post Linking Scott Tom to steamroller cheating account AP sent email
http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-
forum/index.php?showtopic=110060&st=440&p=2201691&#entry2201691

10-19-07 – Email from Absolute Poker to a player on AP

http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=12537406&page=0&vc=1
Absolute Poker has identified an internal security breach that compromised our systems for
a limited period of time. All players affected by the security breach will be identified during the
audit process that has been initiated and all funds, including interest, will be returned. Absolute
Poker would like to apologize for the recent events and is committed to diligently working with
outside security firms, auditing firms, the extended poker community and the Kahnawake
Gaming Commission to ensure the situation is entirely resolved. A comprehensive statement will
be forthcoming shortly providing more details of the situation.

10-19-07 – Absolute Poker Admits Security Breach and They “Know” The Cheater
http://www.gambling911.com/Absolute-Poker-101907.html
http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/article/2902/absolute-poker-confirms-security-breach
An official from the company admitted the breach and that Absolute had only uncovered
who the culprit was Thursday afternoon. No management personnel were involved in this
incident, the company official relayed. The person in question knew the internal system at
Absolute Poker intimately.

10-19-07 – MSNBC Story about Absolute Poker Cheating Scandal

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21381022/
“The cheater, was an employee of AbsolutePoker.com who hacked the system to
show that it could be done,” said a spokesman for the company, who spoke with msnbc.com
on condition of anonymity. “This is literally a geek trying to prove to senior management that
they were wrong and he took it too far,” he said. With help from other players, they traced the
IP address of an observer at Potripper’s table to Costa Rica and determined that the account
was an internal Absolute Poker account developed during beta testing. They also cross-
referenced an e-mail address used by the observer and found that it apparently belonged to
Scott Tom, who they identified as either a past or current official at Absolute Poker. Absolute
Poker told Pocket Fives that no management was involved, and Scott Tom had no part in
playing on any of these accounts. In a statement earlier this week, Absolute Poker said Tom
“has not been involved with Absolute Poker for over a year and to the best of our knowledge,
information and belief has not had access to any of Absolute Poker’s systems, databases or
information.”

10-19-07 – ABC News Story About Absolute Poker Cheating Scandal

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3752500
http://annetteobrestad.blogspot.com/2007/10/abc-news-report-online-poker-scandal.html
What he (Marco Johnson) received instead was a document that included the hand
histories of everyone involved in the tournament, their e-mail addresses and the IP
address of their computers. That information, either mistakenly sent by a company
employee, or intentionally leaked by a whistleblower, seemed to confirm suspicions of
cheating.Nat Arem traced the IP address of the observer back to AP. Further sleuthing
seems to link that IP address to a part-owner of the company, Scott Tom, and the
Potripper account to a former director of operations at AbsolutePoker named AJ.
Frank Catania, a former gaming commissioner in New Jersey who helped the Kahnawake
Gaming establish its regulations, said under commission rules AbsolutePoker could lose
its license and individuals could be turned over to Canadian authorities.

10-21-07 –Absolute Poker Statement by Joe Norton

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2007/10/absolute-kahnawake-norton-issues-statement.htm
http://www.gambling911.com/Absolute-Poker-102107B.html
http://pokeronamac.com/news/absolute-poker-releases-a-statement/
“I am the former Grand Chief of the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and the
owner of Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, which holds a 100% interest in Absolute Poker.
AP has not been more forthcoming in providing a timely explanation on this matter. The
integrity of our poker system was compromised by a high-ranking trusted consultant
employed by AP. We are still investigating whether the consultant was acting alone or in
concert with others and was immediately terminated. We have recently uncovered
additional accounts used by the consultant that have not been publicly reported.”

10-23-07 – Absolute Poker, Scott Tom, in Plane Crash, May Have Stole Millions
http://www.point-spreads.com/poker/102207-absolute-poker-super-user-scams-7-million.html
http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Number=12622726com/poker/102207-absolute-
poker-super-user-scams-7-million.html
On September 3rd, 2007 a small jet plane caught on fire before taking off on the runway
at San Jose Juan Santamaria International Airport in Costa Rica. The two passengers on the
private jet were Scott Tom and his pregnant wife. The plane's destination was Colombia
and the rumored cargo on the plane was $2-3M in cash. Officials at Absolute Poker
confirmed to Point-Spreads.com that Tom was on the jet, however, deny any money was
onboard. While living in Costa Rica, AJ Green, real last name may be different, bought a
house in Escazu outright with cash.

10-24-07 – Absolute Poker Issues Another Statement

http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Number=12650247
“AP was the victim of a breach of security in which a high-ranking consultant to the site
devised a sophisticated scheme to manipulate internal systems and access third-party
computers and accounts to view the hole cards of other customers during play and without
their knowledge, resulting in unfair play. Thus far, the Company’s preliminary findings are as
follows:
1. The perpetrator of the scheme was immediately terminated upon discovery and the case
was turned over to the KGC.
2. AP has fully corrected the problem that allowed its system to be unfairly manipulated and
is working to enhance its existing safeguards.
3. Since the initiation of the internal investigation, the databases have been locked down to
ensure the integrity of the auditors’ inquiry.
4. The scope of the audit will not be limited to a certain time period.
5. The suspected period of time of the security breach has been identified. This period is
recent and confined to a relatively brief period. The actual dates will be publicly released
upon confirmation by the third party auditor.
6. A thorough review of the game play has begun to identify all of the adversely affected
players.
7. AP is committed to refunding 100% of the losses incurred by its affected customers. AP
has begun the process of reimbursing its customers, and will continue to do so as quickly as
possible until all customers are refunded in full.
8. Even after completion of this audit, AP intends to continue working with third party
auditors and security firms to ensure that the highest level of game integrity is upheld.
9. AP is instituting strict guidelines to restrict its employees, consultants and contractors and
members of their households from playing for money on its sites.
10-25-07 - Marco Johnson Interview on Card Player TV
http://www.cardplayer.com/tv/3-strategy/28955
Marco Johnson - I was basically the one that took second place to the, uh, quote
unquote superuser, even though that’s not actually the right term for it. But uh, yeah I
took second to him (POTRIPPER), he was watching me (pointing to Jared Hamby) when
I took second. I didn’t think much of it, Guy won every single hand against me Heads
Up. One of my friends called me after I lost and he was also watching me, and said “Hey
you just got cheated, there’s no way that guy could do that, You know based on all the
hands that just happened.
“I didn’t think much of it, I was like alright whatever, I lost not really a big deal.
About a week later Some friends of mine come to me and go oh now it is certain on 2p2
poker forum there are Threads, that you know people are cheating on Absolute Poker and
they have been stealing from Tournaments and Cash Games. So I was like alright, I may
as well send them an email, can’t do any harm, and see what they say about the
tournament. So I send them an e-mail and get no response. I wait for like a week and send
Absolute Poker a really childish email like oh, I got cheated on your site. Why haven’t
you responded to this? What’s going on with your management? Please send me some
info, what’s the deal?
“Like the next day, they (Absolute Poker) send me this file that just has
everyone’s hand histories, their IP addresses, their email addresses. All their hands
exposed before any action took place. Once I got that file, Again I didn’t really know
what the file was. I’m not, I don’t know, I had the file on my computer for like two
“N 82 50 24 something on pocketfives. This was the first time I had ever talked
to him before. I mean the guy handled it really well and he had nothing to gain from this
and took lots of time to figure it all out. Returned essentially One Million dollars back to
the online community which is a lot of money. We gave them the file and it all started
unraveling, huge web of people involved.”

10-28-07 – Mark Seif , Absolute Poker Professional Player, Responds to Cheating

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kuY6r-R0SY
Mark had made comments while playing poker online, stating that he didn’t think
there was evidence of hole-card viewing after watching the POTRIPPER tournament. At
1:27 in the video, He admits that AP is allowing a third party auditor to come investigate.
He also talks about knowing A.J. Green and admits that Hand Histories were deleted by
Absolute Poker.

10-30-07 – Story About AJ. Green and His Real Name

http://www.richardmarcusbooks.com/2007/10/send-absolute-poker-scammer-e-mail.htm
For the first time ever, Alan John Grimard (AKA AJ Green) has had his current
email address and MSN Messenger released to the public. It is peptona@hotmail.com
Why do I want people to have his email address?" said a former employee of Nine who
worked with the perpetrator. I know that in a span of six months (while at Nine.com) he
made three assistants cry and resign and once an employee told him to 'connect better
with the customers'. His response was 'I will only connect to my bank account."
11-22-07 - Absolute Poker Active & Ongoing Investigation Statement From KGC
http://www.absolutedetectives.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/KahnawakeStatement20071122
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission's investigation into the Absolute Poker
situation is active and on-going. The Commission's agents, Gaming Associates, are in the
process of finalizing its audit of AP's operations and will be submitting a report to the
Commission of its findings. The Commission will review this report and decide the
appropriate course of action. To avoid the possibility of jeopardizing its investigation, the
Commission will not comment on this matter until such time as it has reached a decision.
The Commission expects to receive a final copy of the audit report by December 7, 2007.

1-8-08 –Suspected Cheating at Ultimatebet and NioNio First Mentioned on 2p2

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=2144252&postcount=1
“Around 9/4 (around the time the AP scandal broke), he just mysteriously stopped
playing on Nionio. The account actually no longer exists (we don't know when it ended
but nionio would have had to email UB for the account to no longer exist--if you try
typing it into ultimate buddy, his name doesn't come up). He never gave any money back,
he just didn't play on that name anymore and the account was closed. To me that's the
most suspicious thing of all. It would take seventy five days for a response from UB.”
1-11-08 – KGC Fines Absolute Poker, releases Findings on AP cheating
http://www.kahnawake.com/gamingcommission/KGC-AP-0111.pdf
The Commission has identified the person(s) responsible for the impugned activities and
has directed that AP take action to have these person(s) removed from playing any role in AP
'mind and management' and/or operations, and to provide proof, acceptable to the Commission,
that this has been done. The names are: GRAYCAT, PAYUP, STEAMROLLER, POTRIPPER,
XXCASHMONEYXX also known as SUPERCARD M55, DOUBLEDRAG, RONFALDOXXB also
known as ROMNALDO
That the person(s) associated with AP's operations deleted certain gaming logs and
records. That there is no evidence to indicate that the impugned activities were authorized
or sanctioned by AP as a corporate entity- either through its Board of Directors or its
principal ownership. There is no evidence that the impugned activities benefited, or were
intended to benefit, AP as a corporate entity.

1-11-08 – Absolute Poker Responds to KGC Fine/Findings

http://www.absolutedetectives.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/AbsoluteStatement20080111
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=5353529&postcount=83
Most importantly, we are pleased, after these many months, that Absolute Poker
can finally put behind it a most distressing and regrettable experience for the company.
The Company also regrets the inadvertent deletion of certain gaming logs and records
during the course of the investigation, although AP is relieved that these deletions did not,
according to the KGC, ‘prevent the Commission from obtaining sufficient information.
While AP is paying a severe penalty for the fraud perpetrated upon the Company and its
customers, we are gratified that we can now close the book on this sordid affair