Updated Cliff Notes On Absolute Poker Scandal (18th October)

[Rips]

Oh please.

The super user belongs to another user group and has access to more tables in the database. Just like you restrict user groups on your windows to have different restrictions(except that doesn't have anything to do with databases).

That modified client and decrypted sending theory is just mambo jambo.

[saskatonian]

The MSN story has an AP moniker on it. So could be in every paper soon if AP (associated press not absolute poker) has picked it up

[five4suited]

[ QUOTE ]
As it appears that a super-user needs to be logged on and actively observing the table in question for the whole scheme to work.

[/ QUOTE ]

My understanding leads me to believe that this is the key. Aren't you describing an audit-type account, one that can log into any table and see all the hole cards, but not input information, i.e., play? The superuser calls the cheater on the phone and they go from there.

It's possible that they'd need a hacked client as well, but if they are logged into the game server which "holds" all the hole cards (and normally only sends them to each player respectively) I'm sure the account could be configured to receive all of them.

[KingOfSparta]

After reading the official response from absolute poker Today that was gotten from Dan Druff.....And after getting banned for past comments i think that absolute poker should be given a second chance.......99.9% of those complaining never lost nothing to any of this cheating accounts and are just looking for a scapegoat to blame for their awefull play in lowwer limit ring/MTT Games.....I do believe that high stakes was cheated but most are getting off track here with outragous theories...... At the highest level of damage done by these cheaters only efrfects a very small portion of online plasyers and i think it is only fair that proof positive evidence be considered and only those that have played these suspected accounts have merit to make accusastions....everything else is speculation.....Punish those responsible, even if current AP Owers or part owers / employee's/Partners...Expose the cheaters and refund the player losses and i think AP could pull out of this by the skin of their teeth, but if they just denie all this is could be the end of their major money client base.....including Fish/Semi Pro players that invest huge ammounts of money and time into making money playing online.....Pokerstars will certainly comeout on top with a greater clientbase that play rea;l money tables and will certainly be the forefrount of the industry in years to come.......If absolute wants to save it's client base the only way i see this possible is with a full disclosure of the cheaters, names and addresses and how they managed to pull this off and for how long

[ibluffoldladies]

I think you guys are trying to make this more complicated than it is. Yeah, he MIGHT have of communicated with somebody. Why try to make it more complex? What about the theory that is more simple? He sees the cards with the 363 account, and plays the potripper account. There is no need for the extra work of somebody talking on the phone and relaying hand information when it's possible to do it the easy way.

[suzzer99]

Does Absolute ever do any MTT replays where the client shows all hole cards? I guess that would be a legit reason to show all of them. Still I bet there has to be some kind of security check by the client to make sure this isn't a live tourney.

When PS does those replays, is it a video, or is it the PS client?

[dotbum]

I don't know if it matters, but msn's cache is more recent, 30th September, and still contains Absolute, Ultimate Bet and Vegas Poker 24/7 (so it proves they've been removed since this whole thing blew up, I guess):

http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=722...e&FORM=CVRE

[dlorc]

[ QUOTE ]
After reading the official response from absolute poker Today that was gotten from Dan Druff.....And after getting banned for past comments i think that absolute poker should be given a second chance.......99.9% of those complaining never lost nothing to any of this cheating accounts and are just looking for a scapegoat to blame for their awefull play in lowwer limit ring/MTT Games.....I do believe that high stakes was cheated but most are getting off track here with outragous theories...... At the highest level of damage done by these cheaters only efrfects a very small portion of online plasyers and i think it is only fair that proof positive evidence be considered and only those that have played these suspected accounts have merit to make accusastions....everything else is speculation.....Punish those responsible, even if current AP Owers or part owers / employee's/Partners...Expose the cheaters and refund the player losses and i think AP could pull out of this by the skin of their teeth, but if they just denie all this is could be the end of their major money client base.....including Fish/Semi Pro players that invest huge ammounts of money and time into making money playing online.....Pokerstars will certainly comeout on top with a greater clientbase that play rea;l money tables and will certainly be the forefrount of the industry in years to come.......If absolute wants to save it's client base the only way i see this possible is with a full disclosure of the cheaters, names and addresses and how they managed to pull this off and for how long

[/ QUOTE ]


Nice first post, hows the coffee in the AP offices?

If AP acted like pokerstars in that they disclose that cheating occured and pay back those affected and apologised this would have been under the rug a month ago, instead they lie and decieve and procastinate and deny everything, and in the process break customer trust.

[suzzer99]

There's also no need to talk over the phone when you can just share screens. Which is basically the same thing as being right there. So it doesn't really matter either way.

[Matfrid]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh please.

The super user belongs to another user group and has access to more tables in the database. Just like you restrict user groups on your windows to have different restrictions(except that doesn't have anything to do with databases).

That modified client and decrypted sending theory is just mambo jambo.

[/ QUOTE ]

A finished hand is probably saved in a backend database. A game server likely waits for the database to confirm this saving as a finished transaction. But it is not clear if the game server sends any data to the backend database before the hand is finished.

Large online poker houses would not likely have a simple client-server architecture. The game clients would rather talk to one of a whole cluster of middle-tier game servers. This is where I would be looking for a possible exploit, as such a game server would be responsible for deciding who wins a hand, giving all the clients their hole cards and so on. A developer that works with this middle-tier could possibly insert methods for test clients to access all data, without it being visible as either actions of game clients or as sql queries into a backend database.

Thus I don't think it is so unlikely that a 'superuser' client would exist. It would maybe look very much like the common gui any gamer sees in his client, but it would for instance have access to much more data, like all users hole cards.

There could be a whole range of clients with different degrees of privileges, ranging from the usual client to an administrative client ( with buttons for banning people, mute their chat), to an extremely powerful developer tool that has access to everything.