There are a few poker scandals that stand out from the rest. While there is always a lot of buzz surrounding the latest Main Event winner or breaking down massive cash game pots, nothing gets the poker community going like a juicy scandal. After all, scandals generate a level of traction that few other stories in the game can match, and they tend to grab the attention of players from around the globe in ways that a story about a high-roller making a big bet doesn’t.
Black Friday, April 11, 2011, is the biggest scandal in poker history. It was also one of the most devastating for the online game. This is the day that a number of major online poker sites were indicted for cheating players and it resulted in massive fines that cost some of the biggest names in the game millions.
Online poker allows cheaters to collaborate more easily than in live poker. This is due in part to the ability to hide using multiple aliases as well as the fact that most people have more than one IP address on their broadband service. They can communicate using instant messaging and telephone calls without worrying about being caught. They can also use multiple accounts in the same poker room to avoid being tracked.