Deck of cards featuring cheaters and scumbags from poker

[Dan Druff]

The poker hall of shame mentioned by Pokernews got me thinking about a discussion we had when this site first opened in 2012.

We tossed around the idea of manufacturing a deck of cards with the images of the various scumbags and cheaters of poker. Obviously this wasn't practical, as we could be sued for manufacturing such a derogatory product featuring these unauthorized likenesses.

However, let's put together a virtual deck, anyway.

We will need 52 people. Let's stick to modern era players, meaning no Puggy Pearson or others from a long time ago, however deserving they may be.

The deck would feature the least severe cheaters/scumbags on the lower cards (2s, 3s, 4s), with the most repugnant ones adorning the kings and aces.

In no particular order, here are some names I'll throw out. Feel free to add to it:


Full Tilt Scandal
Ray Bitar
Howard Lederer
Rafe Furst
Chris Ferguson

UB Scandal
Russ Hamilton
Greg Pierson
Bonnie Leinhos
Mansour Matloubi
Jim Ryan
Daniel Friedberg
Paul Leggett
Joe Sebok
Prahlad Friedman
Phil Hellmuth

AP Scandal
Scott Tom
AJ Green
Oscar Hilt-Tatum
Brent Beckley
Mark Seif

Epic Poker League
Annie Duke
Jeffrey Pollack

Lock Poker
Jennifer Larson
Shane Bridges
Eric Lynch
Brendan Young
James Erwood
Olga Racekova
Barry Shulman
Jeff Shulman
Annette Obrestad
Melanie Weisner
Gerry Poltorok
Chris Costigan

General Scumbaggery
Erick Lindgren
Chino Rheem
Christian Lusardi
Ali Tekintamgac
Sorel Mizzi
Brian Hastings
Haseeb Qureshi
TJ Cloutier
Vladmir Geshkenbein (WSOP stake scam)
Sergio Guimond (PokerApproved scam)
Peter Falcone
Chuck Kidd (Poker Players Network and PIC Club scams)
Jon Brown (Full Flush scam)

These are just off the top of my head. Feel free to add more!

[RobMyNuts21]

Brian Townsend an Cole South for the Isildur shadiness.

[Daniel72]

the fake prodigy Girah Macedo
the poker killer Van der Sloot
wouldn´t include ZeeJustin and JJProdigy, because many (young) players multiaccounted
maybe Jungleman (his name was always involved in something)
wasn´t Phil Gordon a co-founder of FTP?, don´t hear much about him
Jamie Golds attempt to keep the 12 Million (had a staker)

[jacosta24]

Men the master

[Dan Druff]

Definitely Men the Master. Can't believe I forgot him.

Jose "Girah" Macedo should be included, too.

What Townsend/South did to Isildur was shady, but I'm not sure it's enough to qualify for this list.

Joran van der Sloot wasn't a serious poker player to my knowledge, even if poker figured tangentially into one of his murders.

However, we should include Ernie Scherer III, a poker "pro" who murdered his parents in order to get his inheritance for poker buyins.

I don't think Phil Gordon was involved in the Full Tilt thefts, even if he helped fund the original company.

And even though ZeeJustin is a major douche, he seems to have reformed his poker ethics since the multi-accounting days of 10 years ago, so I don't think he belongs on this list. He would definitely belong on an insufferable poker douchebag list, though.

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

Definitely Men the Master. Can't believe I forgot him.

Jose "Girah" Macedo should be included, too.

What Townsend/South did to Isildur was shady, but I'm not sure it's enough to qualify for this list.

Joran van der Sloot wasn't a serious poker player to my knowledge, even if poker figured tangentially into one of his murders.

However, we should include Ernie Scherer III, a poker "pro" who murdered his parents in order to get his inheritance for poker buyins.

I don't think Phil Gordon was involved in the Full Tilt thefts, even if he helped fund the original company.

And even though ZeeJustin is a major douche, he seems to have reformed his poker ethics since the multi-accounting days of 10 years ago, so I don't think he belongs on this list. He would definitely belong on an insufferable poker douchebag list, though.

I was playing the 30/60 LO8 game at Bellagio years ago and he was sweating his buddy...his buddy started giving me shit for waiting until it was my turn to act to look at my cards (maybe my bad, but had only played live a handful of times)...wanted to come up with some smartass response, but didn't because he was donating...saw the scherer thing a few years later and lost my shit...was glad I didn't open my fucking mouth to his friend...but seemed like a perfectly normal ass dude during the whole session...woulda never thought he axed both of his parents...

[Shizzmoney]

I would take TJ Cloutier off because while his fail at the craps table is legendary, I think he's contributed more to the game (like his books) than he's taken (stakes from players who somehow think he wouldn't go shoot it off at a craps table) from it.

I would add Valeriu Coca; while he was barely exonerated for his reported cheating at the 2015 $10k WSOP HU event, he has been caught before cheating in casinos in Prague and is banned from playing there.

And then there is Nick Rainey; seen on ESPN playing the Main Event in 2010 and a former tennis partner/assistant to Patrik Antonius, he's been accused of stealing money from investors ($10k for the 2011 WSOP ME) and is now in hiding, presumably, in Canada.

Cyril "The Frenchman" Mouly was on the Full Tilt Million Dollar Cash Game playing like a wild man in 2011. On the show, he was playing like he was using play money because apparently with all the amount of money he was stealing from people in his non-poker businesses, he kind of was.

And when Alex Dreyfus eventually gets his hand caught in the cookie jar (like it hasn't been already), you can throw his ass in there, too.

I'd also add the fminc saga from the old NWP site; it was one of the two stories (along with David Williams and "Feetgate") that brought me to you degenerates.

[SantaCruz]

Daniel Tzvetkoff. He stole $100 million from various sites and then sparked Blackfriday by implicating those sites for being a part of his misdeeds when he was caught. He went into witness protection for awhile and is now living like a king.

[Daniel72]

"Stoxtrader" scandal, cheating/multiaccounting/colluding

and this Douchecom 888 guy

and the great WhoJedi, the chopstick artist

[BeerAndPoker]

Bryan Micon for his part in being an owner of an illegal, unregulated poker site he touted regularly while living in America.

He was prosecuted after all and deserved to be so because he was basically telling the feds to come at me bro.

[Reno]

Darren Woods

Eli Elezra

[Hockey Guy]

Bryan Micon for his part in being an owner of an illegal, unregulated poker site he touted regularly while living in America.

He was prosecuted after all and deserved to be so because he was basically telling the feds to come at me bro.

Just no. Thumbing your nose at laws that are just plain stupid doesn't make you a cheater or a scumbag. Granted, it doesn't make you a martyr either.

[TwitchySeal]

Christian Lusardi (Borgata fake chip flusher)



Edit:Oops already on list.

[BeerAndPoker]

Bryan Micon for his part in being an owner of an illegal, unregulated poker site he touted regularly while living in America.

He was prosecuted after all and deserved to be so because he was basically telling the feds to come at me bro.

Just no. Thumbing your nose at laws that are just plain stupid doesn't make you a cheater or a scumbag. Granted, it doesn't make you a martyr either.

Of course the law is stupid as hell but it is what it is and if you flaunt in the faces of authority that you are breaking it like Micon did any chance he got then you deserve whatever is coming to you.

[SantaCruz]

Just no. Thumbing your nose at laws that are just plain stupid doesn't make you a cheater or a scumbag. Granted, it doesn't make you a martyr either.

Of course the law is stupid as hell but it is what it is and if you flaunt in the faces of authority that you are breaking it like Micon did any chance he got then you deserve whatever is coming to you.

I don't think that bad judgement would raise Micon to the level of being a scumbag, which is what the deck is about. He really mostly only hurt himself.

[BeerAndPoker]

Of course the law is stupid as hell but it is what it is and if you flaunt in the faces of authority that you are breaking it like Micon did any chance he got then you deserve whatever is coming to you.

I don't think that bad judgement would raise Micon to the level of being a scumbag, which is what the deck is about. He really mostly only hurt himself.

It's true he wasn't behind anyone getting screwed over because Seals have always been able to pay so Micon and company are off the hook for that but it don't mean the players money was never at risk either since it could have been.

I suppose putting Micon in the "Stupid People of Poker" deck would suffice more then a Hall of Shame.

[Sanlmar]

It's true he wasn't behind anyone getting screwed over because Seals have always been able to pay so Micon and company are off the hook for that but it don't mean the players money was never at risk either since it could have been.

I suppose putting Micon in the "Stupid People of Poker" deck would suffice more then a Hall of Shame.

Wasn't Micon playing on his own site? Not a good look and begged the obvious unspoken question.

In fairness he was open about it and that probably elevates those that played there to your "Stupid People of Poker" deck as well.

Micon worked the system nicely and probably unded up on the plus side of the ledger. Not stupid. One of my favorite poker escapades.

[Dan Druff]

Micon doesn't belong in a poker hall of shame or deck of scammer cards.

He might belong in a friendship hall of shame, but he isn't really a scammer. (He's also not the most honest guy, either, and was very dishonest with how he dealt with me at the end, but that's a different matter.)

But yeah, definitely add these people:

Darren Woods (Dooshdotcom/888 cheater)
Nick Grudzien (Stoxtrader -- multi-accounter and colluder)
Daniel Tzvetkoff (payment processor who stole $100 million)
Jay Newnum (WhoJedi -- the guy who stole dealer tips using chopsticks)
Valeriu Coca (banned from casinos for cheating, probably cheated at WSOP)

[zealanddonk]

Micon's gofundme page was a bit on the scummy side, esp using Schoenfeld's daughter like that

[LarryLaffer]

why would someone mention Tj Cloutier here?


what's this guy done wrong in poker?

going full ham degen at the craps table isn't a bad thing is it?