On the PokerStars North American Poker Tour 2025 in Las Vegas, Maria Konnikova doesn’t sound alarmed a lot as intent. The New York Instances‑bestselling writer and PokerStars ambassador is speaking about dishonest — not as a tabloid scandal however as a window into human habits. Her subsequent ebook, she explains, is about dishonest throughout all video games, although poker offers a few of its most vivid case research.
“These are dishonest scandals which have been on my radar for just a few years,” she says. “However one of many difficulties I’ve encountered in researching this ebook is that, particularly in one thing like poker, it’s very troublesome to show dishonest allegations, and folks don’t need to come ahead… There’s mob involvement, and why do you need to be the one that places your title in danger?”
I wish to assume that these revelations will encourage different individuals to come back ahead and can assist make the sport safer for everybody That threat feels tangible after the occasions that dominated headlines earlier this 12 months. A U.S. Justice Division investigation described as “paying homage to a Hollywood film” led to 31 arrests, together with alleged members of La Cosa Nostra, Portland Path Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former NBA participant Damon Jones. Authorities mentioned hidden cameras, rigged shuffling machines and RFID hacks had been used to cheat unsuspecting gamers out of tens of, and in some circumstances tons of of 1000’s of {dollars}.
Konnikova doesn’t disguise her satisfaction at seeing penalties. “I’m truly completely thrilled that these indictments got here out,” she says. “As a result of, you already know, when there’s an official investigation it’s slightly bit totally different… I do know individuals who’ve performed in these video games, and there’s a sure attract to enjoying with some massive names that even for those who assume that one thing may not be fairly on the up and up, you continue to is perhaps keen to do it since you need to rub elbows with them.”
For her, the lesson is ethical and structural. “Folks don’t need to play in the event that they assume they may get cheated,” she says. “But when they know that even for those who’re Chauncey Billups, you’re going to be held to account for those who cheat, then abruptly you’re feeling a lot safer… it’s significantly better for the sport for these issues to come back out.”
Poker and Expertise
They don’t must be filming palms in progress… limiting filming on the desk is unquestionably one thing that ought to be explored. Expertise, in fact, is the double‑edged situation behind all of it. Whereas fashionable poker thrives due to apps, solvers, and livestreams, the units that make research simpler additionally make deception practically invisible. Konnikova is blunt: “My cellphone is at the moment on the felt — this shouldn’t be allowed. Expertise principally can’t be close to a poker desk.”
Some argue banning units may alienate a technology raised on screens. She responds with historical past. “Folks say issues like, ‘Oh, however nobody’s going to play if they’ll’t have their cellphone.’ Guys, they performed for tons of of years with no cellphone. Poker’s an previous recreation, they usually’re nonetheless gonna play.”
Even social media itself, she warns, can distort the spirit of the sport. “I do perceive that, you already know, vlogging helps develop the sport,” she says. “However I might recommend sort of a hybrid method — let individuals vlog behind the scenes. They don’t must be filming palms in progress… limiting filming on the desk is unquestionably one thing that ought to be explored.”
Konnikova laughs when describing how she feels at televised occasions with out devices. “Once I’m on a TV desk, I can’t have my cellphone and I can’t have headphones … and I play so significantly better as a result of I’m so concentrated,” she says. “You possibly can test it throughout breaks — it’s truly sort of good.”
Her optimism resurfaces because the dialog ends. “I wish to assume that these revelations will encourage different individuals to come back ahead and can assist make the sport safer for everybody,” she says. “I hope that these will in the end have a really optimistic impression on poker.”
If poker’s future hinges on belief, Konnikova’s prescription is easy: fewer cameras, fewer distractions, and fewer excuses. As a result of even in a recreation constructed on bluffing, integrity continues to be the actual inform.
