Poker solvers at the table have received quite a bit of discussion recently and one major tour has announced a crackdown on the use of this type of technology in the tournament area.
Kenny Hallaert, European Poker Tour tournament director, announced this week that the series will ban the use of all of these types of aides.
“No use of GTO-solvers/charts or similar anywhere in the whole tournament area at any time, also not for spectators,” he noted on Twitter.
Solvers Get the Ax
The move comes after World Series of Poker Main Event champion Jonathan Tamayo’s team on the final table rail appeared to use solvers that he was able to see between hands. The incident drew controversy with many poker pros weighing in on the issue.
“I'd rather see the amateur guy win on his own than see this pic,” Mike Matusow said on Twitter. “This is such a bad look for poker! I’d truly rather lose then look at this in between hands and that’s a fact!”
A solver is a piece of software that helps players determine the best play in any given poker scenario. To do this, players must input certain parameters with the solver then providing solutions to these situations.
Cheating Also Targeted
After news broke this month of two men arrested for allegedly engaging in high-stakes cheating at casinos across Europe, the EPT is making further changes to prevent similar schemes.
French police say the two men used tiny cameras attached to their cell phones to film the bottoms of cards as they were dealt. An offsire accomplice then relayed what cards were delta to the two players via tiny earpieces. The EPT hopes to limit the chance to see even a glimpse of the bottoms of cards.
“We were considering removing all electronic devices from the table (including rail) for game integrity reasons,” Hallaert said. “Instead, dealers will be taught to slide cards instead of pitching over the course of the next EPTs.”
