The Borgata is Suing Phil Ivey

The suit alleges Ivey and an associate exploited a defect in cards made by a Kansas City manufacturer that enabled them to sort and arrange so-called "good cards" and gave him an unfair advantage in Baccarat.

It looks like Ivey won 9.6 million playing Baccarat. The Borgata is also suing the card manufacturer.

Here is the article https://www.nj.com/atlantic/index.ssf/2014/04/borgata_sues_poker_pro_who_allegedly_cheated_house_for_94_million.html

He's playing with fire. He's lucky he's not in jail, and he probably would be if he wasn't a famous poker pro.

I would assume The Borgata has enough evidence because I would think Phil Ivey would have a huge lawsuit against them if it isn't true.

I wish I knew more about what they did. Was it always the same dealer?

Hmm,. . . if the casino bought cards which could be "read" to some degree from their backs and the casino introduced these cards into the game, and an observant player detected that the cards could be read from their backs, and the observant player used that observation to his advantage, . . . where's the cheating?

DonDiego understands why the casino would sue the playing card manufacturer, . . . but unless Mr. Ivey was connected to the production of the "defective" cards he doesn't see the liability on Mr. Ivey's part.

Well, . . . poor old DonDiego just learned what "edge sorting" is, . . . but he still doesn't know if what Mr. Ivey did is illegal.
Edge Sorting

He might not have broken any cheating laws, but for someone with his net worth to play that close to the line is stupid. You never know what can happen when a case goes to a jury. If he just noticed some irregular cards and used that information he didn't cheat. If he had some inside information from Borgata employees about irregular cards he should be in jail. Instructing the dealer to deal a certain way is pushing the envelope of legality when you know it pushes the odds in your favor. The fact he had a confederate at the table doesn't look good. I start to feel uncomfortable when a dealer pays my losing hand. He/she does it twice and I'm out of there. He's made a lot of money playing in poker rooms. If he keeps this up he might not be welcome in any more casino poker rooms.

More details: Phil Ivey Edge Sorting

This looks like Mr. Ivey brought his own cards and an accomplice directed the dealer how to insert the cards into the automatic shuffler so as to maximize the effectiveness of edge sorting. Hmm, . . . Mr. Ivey may be crooked, . . . but the Borgata was incredibly stupid.

DD thanks for a couple of very informative links concerning this subject.

Sometimes I think these casinos are so pumped trying to attract whales and high rollers that they forego common sense. Add to that mix a well known name like a Phil Ivey and I think they just go bananas.

I agree with this and this was my thought when I read the newspaper article.

If you detected a biased wheel at roulette are you cheating?
If you detected the casino had off balanced dice are you cheating?
If you play a video poker game with a positive payback schedule are you cheating?

Sure the casino can sue the card company for faulty cards and that's where it ends in my book.

This is similar to the case of the guys who detected the flaw on the video poker machines and were able to increase their payouts with the double-up feature. Weren't they cleared of the charges?


EDITED TO ADD:

I just read about the allegation that Ivey played with his own cards and they were accepted by the casino. This case will never be in front of a judge except to hear the words "dismissed."

Ivey was accused of the same at an overseas casino. Fool me once....