People News: Solver Scandal with Fedor Kruse; Connor Drinan wins DNegs prop bet; Jonathan Little banned on ACR; Max Silver retiring – or not…?; A $975k quilt for Ali

09/17/2020

In this column, we deliver you the latest and most interesting news and gossip from our favourite poker people.

Solver Scandal with Fedor Kruse

Unfortunately it looks like we have another online poker cheating scandal. While many poker players often struggle with integrity in general it seems that a group of fellow German players had enough of Fedor ‘GlitchSystem’ Kruse’s use of Real Time Assistance (RTA) and worked together to expose the poker pro.

A new account with the name “QuiaOmnisIustitia” (“Justice for All”) made a detailed post in the poker forum 2+2, explaining the situation.

In the 2+2 thread it is being said that Kruse’s cheating had been reported to PokerStars on multiple occasions but that “this has not been taken serious for a long period of time, the account hasn’t even been blocked for investigations and ‘GlitchSystem’ could continue to play normally.”

Several German high stakes players kept bringing up evidence however and apparently an investigation has now finally been started.

Kruse played on several major sites and is said to have used “two PCs, two sets of keyboard and mouse”in a bid to circumvent the usual safety protocols used by online poker sites.

The roommates who are exposing Kruse here are obviously worried to be thrown in the mix as cheaters and it’s going to be tough for them to prove they were not involved in these activities. But the fact that they are taking a stand against the real-time use of solvers is a good sign that integrity does still exist in some capacity.

https://t.co/v255LLBMew
Getting dozens of messages about this. Can’t reply now because playing. 3 things for now
1- I’m 98% sure roommates are innocent
2 – I’ve spoken to Fedor 3x+ about this and he has his side and will reply in the thread.
3- this is very important

— Patrick Leonard (@padspoker) September 13, 2020

Neither Kruse nor the affected poker sites have so far issued statements and we can probably expect more to come out of this can of worms.

Connor Drinan wins DNegs prop bet

As every year Daniel Negreanu had a few side bets going during the World Series Of Poker. And this year was no different. He had placed a couple of money bets on who would or wouldn’t win WSOP bracelets this year. Conor Drinan was one of the players taking the bet for the maximum of $100k that he would win more bracelets than Daniel in 2020.

Connor is an online crusher from Chicago which he had proven during the Spring Championship Of Online Poker this year, taking down 5 titles.

By the end of the WSOP Online, however, neither Daniel nor Connor had won an event and so captured gold. Well, until the last event of the series, $10k Super Millions.

Drinan made it to the final table and DNegs started sweating.

On the bubble this guy had 2 big blinds now he is crushing the final table!

How sick would it be to lose the bet on the last event of the year! Good luck @ConnorDrinan I’m rooting for you to come a solid second 😂 https://t.co/dxuZOOfoTk

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) September 8, 2020

And yes, it did happen indeed. Connor Drinan finished the job, won the event, $1.4 million, the bracelet and the bet against Daniel Negreanu.

Despite losing the bet and $100k to Drinan, Negreanu was fast to congratulate him for his win.

Congrats @ConnorDrinan I watched a little of the heads up and it was truly insane! https://t.co/MV2fjShG4p

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) September 8, 2020

Jonathan Little banned on ACR

Popular poker player, author and coach Jonathan Little has been permanently banned by Winning Poker Network CEO Phil Nagy for critical comments about America’s Card Room.

Hi Phil, It seems my account has suddenly been banned. I was not told why I was banned. I tried to log in to cash out my funds but it is not letting me. Is it because I said ACR is not as safe as a bank? I always spoke highly of your game volume and marketing skills. https://t.co/sRTCYds8xN

— Jonathan Little (@JonathanLittle) September 9, 2020

It’s a nasty public back and forth between the two on Twitter and while some poker fans side with Jonathan who has always been warning about unregulated sites and some side with Nagy who feels that no-one should be allowed to openly bad-mouth his company.

So why is it when someone acts disorderly in a casino or live tournament, they can be banned for life, and it’s ok the Borgata can ban you for making a video. How is WPN any Different?

— Phillip Nagy (@WPN_CEO) September 10, 2020

Jonathan didn’t apologize for what he said. Instead, he stood by his comments and defended them.

I got banned from ACR for making my students aware of the potential risks of playing on an unlicensed/unregulated site. 1/3

— Jonathan Little (@JonathanLittle) September 10, 2020

He also published a YouTube video summarizing the incident and his thoughts about it – “Don’t Poo Where You Eat”.

Max Silver retiring – or not…?

English poker pro Max Silver announced – or rather reflected on – retirement from poker.

This isn’t an announcement as much as a short self relection

Officially a retired poker player.

A short thread

— Max Silver (@max_silver) September 14, 2020

He talks about having had a successful 9 years in poker but that he will now pursue a career in sports betting. Somehow his series of tweets about this seems more like trolling than a true farewell to poker. He even shared his wife’s reaction to it:

Shoutout to @LisaLimerick for all the support over the years and this reaction to this tweet pic.twitter.com/ToWW9n6rwL

— Max Silver (@max_silver) September 14, 2020

The poker community is also not really trusting his words and while wishing him the best, many comment that they will soon see him at the tables again anyway.

Good luck on the next step Max! And congratulations on your 9 successful years!

— Ian Simpson (@IanSimpsonPoker) September 14, 2020

GGs! Enjoy your 8 month break we’ll see you back soon!

— Kevin Martin (@KevinRobMartin) September 14, 2020

https://twitter.com/Gr4vyBo4t/status/1305509397498671108?s=20

Congrats @max_silver on 9 amazing years. I look forward to congratulating you again after you come out of retirement to take down the @unibetopen crown again next month.

— 🃏 David Lappin 🃏 (@dklappin) September 14, 2020