Poker streamer banned for blatantly cheating on Twitch

A Twitch poker streamer has been banned after being caught red-handed using real-time assistance to cheat during a Pokerstars session.

It’s bad enough that people cheat at video games – but cheating in poker on stream, while competing for money, is another thing altogether. Luckily, actions have been taken.

We’ve seen Call of Duty streamers get caught exposing cheat software on live broadcasts before, either by total accident or just wilful ignorance, but in December, one poker streamer decided to have his turn.

During a stream, Brazilian poker player Felipe Carmanhani showed that he was using GTO Wizard, an RTA program that assists with decision-making – and this didn’t sit right with the poker community.

Pokerstars bans Twitch streamer for using software to cheat

Shortly after the incident, Pokerstars issued a two-week ban for Carmanhanim, which just upset the poker community more given how serious cheating accusations are.

Mark ‘Weazel’ Rubbathan, a Twitch streamer himself, spoke out about the incident, demanding a harsher penalty for cheaters.

“Streamer is caught straight up using RTA on Pokerstars and they’ve issued a two week ban. Two weeks. For literally cheating,” he slammed.

Streamer is caught straight up using RTA on @pokerstars and they've issued a two week ban. Two weeks. For literally cheatinghttps://t.co/4UwUFPAZ1p

— Mark Rubbathan (@Weazel_1991) December 14, 2023

This resulted in Chris Straghalis, Pokerstars’ Director of Online Poker Experience, to respond. Straghalis explained that the original verdict was due to Carmanhanim viewing pre-flop charts, but later learned the case was “more serious than originally judged.”

“We have therefore taken action to enforce a more severe punishment,” he said, adding that the site normally evaluates the use of RTA differently. However, he reiterated that using RTA is prohibited.

GTO Wizard, the RTA tool that Carmanhanim was using, even banned him from its service after viewing the evidence.

It’s not clear what punishment Pokerstars issued or if he is permanently banned, but for now, the streamer’s Twitch account remains active despite cheating being a violation of the site’s community guidelines.

This isn’t the first poker cheating scandal to blow up recently. Earlier this month, a player was accused of using a see-through deck and special contact lenses to win $3M.

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