Mike Postle and his lawyer are gearing up to face the accusations

D

DS3

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Sep 9, 2019
Total posts
7,539
Awards
1
GB
Chips
218
A lot of this thread is taken up with people talking past one another- I took an away-day as a sort of palate cleanser.

The issue I felt uncomfortable with was the idea this would be a slam dunk for the claimant. I whole heartedly agree Mike Postle looks like a cheat and have been at pains to underscore this was a civil, not criminal case. I think there is an irony to this position which is misconstrued by some. Perhaps I (and others) are concerned that Postle might get away with this and are therefore more mindful/cautious regarding the outcome.

That said, I have tried to zero in on aspects which are the most damning about Postle's behavior and what could possibly trip up an 'expected' judgement.

Two aspects of his play seem the most suspect. Whilst the win rate is absurd I think these two points are easier to grasp (always thinking jury response). The first is his change of behavior pinpointed to the day- his win rate rises, the frequency of his sessions at Stones immediately increases and his phone is now permanently in his lap as opposed to being in open view as it was prior to this specific date.

The second damning catch is that of hole cards scanned incorrectly by the RFID technology being amended mid-hand. These examples are only a few in number compared to the number of Postle 'god mode' hands but much more dubious.

The RFID scan can misread cards. On occasion the cards on the graphics were changed with a technical advisor informing the commentators (audibly on air during the stream) a player's hole cards were incorrect. The problem being Postle was in a couple of such hands and appears to have immediately adjusted his play. It appears he was receiving the adjusted hole cards information in real time.

The obvious problem being the commentators are on a thirty minute delay- the technical assistant telling them of the graphics flaw on air is therefore thirty minutes after it took place. Yet Postle miraculously adjusted his play in real time, half an hour before. In the middle of play he is informed his hand is weaker than he thought so he folds to small bet whilst holding an over pair to the board, due to the fact he is now aware his opponent is now actually holding a stronger pair, not rags.

In terms of hurdles to over come...is it clear yet whether this case will be held before a judge or a jury? Perhaps HobokenNJ can provide some input on these matters.

One obvious trail to pursue would be that of phone records of the various parties involved. However, is this not admitted at the judges discretion regarding possible invasion of privacy? Further, if Postle and accomplice(s) were using 'bone conduction' audio feeds were they also using an App which would either clear the message history or encrypt it. Postle has confidently stated there is no evidence (to the point of being smug).

Finally, one aspect which has bugged a little reading the commentary here and elsewhere ( I admit I am being a little anal) is the accusations concern two separate methods of cheating, a fact which most casually gloss over.

The bulge in his baseball cap is claimed to be a 'bone conduction' audio feed. The information sent to his phone would necessarily be a graphics feed otherwise there would be little reason to glance at his phone (all the audio info would have been bluetoothed to his head set). So that means an accomplice was feeding two streams of information for prolonged periods without raising suspicion? I'd pose when you get into the nitty gritty with a potential jury (not to mention the possibility of no physical evidence) things might appear a little more confusing and murkier to them than us.

Regardless of the outcome, Postle will never be taken seriously again (as likely his one, possible two accomplices if the sleuthing is correct) but I do wonder about Stones itself. They have been slack as all hell so criticism is justified. However, would they be able to survive a multi-million dollar award against them?
 
Last edited:
SouthparkSith

SouthparkSith

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 3, 2005
Total posts
741
Awards
4
Chips
0
I think it will be very hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he actually did anything wrong without a smoking gun and a chain of evidence proving he had the whole cards sent to him.

However if the jury were actually 12 poker players there is zero doubt he knew his opponents whole cards.

It will be very interesting to see what happens!
 
C

Criplgamer

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 16, 2019
Total posts
169
Chips
0
It could be a different matter if they can get some (former) world class players to testify, like Doug Polk. Do you think these players will put their credibility on the line in a courtroom? If you march Phil Ivey in the courtroom (who the average Joe may actually know) and if Phil says "**** yea he cheated 100%" I think it's a done deal for the jury. Maybe Tom Dwaan and some other T.V. celebs even if they're not actually that good. Bring in some old school people like Mike Caro and Doyle Brunson. Game over.
The average non poker playing person doesnt know ANY of these people and the government views poker as a game of chance. Period.

Honestly all this is likely for not as he will likely settle out of court without having admitted guilt.

Case closed.
 
DougPkrMonsta

DougPkrMonsta

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 7, 2016
Total posts
914
Awards
15
Chips
0
Hoping the investigation is able to confirm he was watching a no-delay version of the stream on his phone (knew the hole cards) during the game as most familiar with the evidence have suggested.

casinos have cameras everywhere and you'd think accessing the stream would leave records etc. I'm sure if the investigation is thorough there will be no doubt left for anyone when all is said and done (any competent poker player already knows there is no doubt).

He and anyone else involved in this should be ashamed of themselves... one stream in which the cheating occurred featured a dying man (Kevin Roster) who only wanted to play poker one last time before the end of his life.

Another in a long list of stories that tarnish poker and lend evidence to the people that say gamblers are unscrupulous addicts who need to be protected from themselves. Throw the book at him and any accomplices and do everything possible to maintain the integrity of the game going forward.
 
F

fundiver199

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Total posts
13,543
Awards
1
Chips
311
The bulge in his baseball cap is claimed to be a 'bone conduction' audio feed. The information sent to his phone would necessarily be a graphics feed otherwise there would be little reason to glance at his phone (all the audio info would have been bluetoothed to his head set). So that means an accomplice was feeding two streams of information for prolonged periods without raising suspicion?

When players initially started to complain about Postle, the response of Stones was to forbid the use of cellphones during play. So rather than simultaneously feeding two streams of information, they changed from one stream to another, because they were forced to.
 
F

fundiver199

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Total posts
13,543
Awards
1
Chips
311
By the way, accusing me of "trying to look smart in a forum" was such a cheap shot and a personal accusation that I had done nothing to deserve, I had addressed you only with respect and consideration.

You are right, and I apologize. It is not appropriate to guess about other peoples motives.

I have watched enough to see what evidence the accusers have thus far: win rate, bulge in the hat, phone on lap, at times he looked and behaved in a suspicious way, "incorrect" plays leading to wins. Am I missing something?

You are at least missing, what exactly is meant by "suspicious way". More about that later. You are also missing the fact, that the graphics were "wrong" in some critical hands, and always in Mikes favour.

This thread is about Postle's defense in Court, not about our opinions about him being a cheater or not. Postle looks like a cheater, walks like a cheater, and quacks like a cheater, pretty much everyone agrees about that, but in Court none of that counts.

Of course it does! I have to wonder, if people making this kind of comments, have ever been at a trial? I have, and most of it is about the judge trying to figure out, what was going on, by listening to explanations of witnesses as well as the assused. So of course it matter, what something "look" like, and the credibility of witnesses and the assused also matter.

Bulge in the hat: he can flat out admit he was using bone conduction headphones, they are perfectly legal and available for purchase, some are specifically designed to go under the hat, they work just like regular head phones but instead of air they use bone to transmit the sound. One could potentially cheat using bone conduction headphones just like he could using regular headphones.

It is against the rules of any casino to receive advice from someone else during play, even the person advicing does not have access to hole card information. The judge or the lawyer of the claimants will of course ask Mike, what exactly he was using the headphones for. So that his wife could send him information about the plans for dinner without him being able to reply? Any explanation other than cheating is clearly absurd.

- Phone on lap: there is no law against keeping phone on his lap, he could legally keep it between his butt cheeks if he wants :)

I agree, that this is less damning than the earphones, because at the time cellphones were allowed, and most players used them for legitimate purposes. Still there is some explanations to do about keeping it hidden, and what exactly he was reading on it so often during hands.

His wife send him many text messages and always during important hands? Or he chose to go on twitter, when he had an important decision to make, rather than when he was not in a hand? Again it quickly get a bit long in the tooth to say the least.

- Looking suspicious: ridiculous evidence in a court of law for obvious reasons, but, hypothetically, if that could be used to convict someone, all black men in the US would be in prison, according to the Police :)

This is the kind of comment, that led me to conclude, that you have spend way more time writing about this case in forums than actually studying it. Which is something, that annoy me a bit in general. So many people want to discuss things online, that they dont actually know anything about. And what value does that add? Nothing.

Nobody is talking about "looking suspcious" as in being black or anything of that nature. We are talking about things like raising your hands in surprice about, what you got called by, when you officially dont yet know your opponents cards. Or being visibly annoyed, when the RFID only pick up 2 hole cards in a Omaha game. Or instructing other players to put their cards on the RFID reader, when they were not read. How exactly did Mike know that, if he was not cheating? He is a psychic maybe?

-"Incorrect" plays leading to gains - that's the easiest one. Just download from Cardschat thousands of posts made by people complaining about their "correct" plays leading to losses :)

Yes but not several houndred times in a row. People, who play bad, actually lose in poker in the long run. They are not the largest winner ever. Also and equally important few if any people are nits in some hands and maniacs in others. Hand for hand you can look at Postles play and say, ok other players would do that as well. But when you put all the hands together, it clearly only makes sense, if he knew his opponents cards.

Now admittedly this might be tough to understand for people not playing poker. So if I was the lawyer of the claimants, I would put more weight on the math based part of the evidence like his river stats, the winrate etc.

To round all this up, I am not trying to predict the outcome of any trial. That would be a foolish thing to do. What I am saying is the following:

1) There is extremely strong evidence, that Mike Postle was cheating at Stones. Strong to the point, where this can more or less be stated as a fact.

2) There is equally strong evidence, that someone working at Stones helped him cheat, but we dont know yet, who this was, or how many people were involved.

3) The way, the cheating was done, was by relaying information to Mike in real time about other players hole cards first on his cellphone, and when cellphones were banned via headphones.

If any of the above turns out to not be the case, that would indeed be the most sensational story in poker ever.
 
D

DS3

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Sep 9, 2019
Total posts
7,539
Awards
1
GB
Chips
218
Yes, they eventually did ban phones at the live stream table.

But has Postle not been caught numerous times on video both looking into his lap whilst also making histrionic hand gestures to head, pressing left hand to the left side of his head specifically? Again behavior which the early days of the Stones stream (pre July 2018) Postle seldom if ever appeared to make. In fact I just watched another breakdown with Boski citing him doing both.

Would this have been a cross over period when Postle (as others have posed) with inside information knew that a ban of phones was being discussed. And regarding the phone ban, its hard to nail down when this ban was actually enforced? I believe it was in September?
 
Last edited:
P

paulyd

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Total posts
157
Chips
0
Well at least he didn't do what that online guy hamilton did years ago.
 
R

Richard Grant

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Total posts
393
Chips
0
I've spent many hours studying this and have come to a conclusion.

Postel can read souls. And soul readers should not be allowed to play poker. But he is not "cheating" just has a sixth sense.

Its a shame he has wasted this great power on exploiting poker players.
 
chilindrodolar

chilindrodolar

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
May 16, 2019
Total posts
179
Chips
0
possibly the defense is surely losing provabity because it deals with a given civil suit The only good thing is Mike Postle, and possibly the two or more will never be taken seriously again
 
hackmeplz

hackmeplz

Sleep Faster
Silver Level
Joined
May 1, 2012
Total posts
2,282
Awards
1
Chips
2
Are people assuming a trial is simply lawyers arguing with the same evidence we all have now publicly? There will be witnesses called to testify under oath, including other players, experts on the topic, and people from Stones. These people will be aware that if they lie and are caught they could go to jail for obstruction of justice and perjury. Stones will receive a subpoena for all video footage, not just the footage that was streamed, Mike and potential accomplices will have a subpoena sent to their cell phone company for their texting history. There will be subpoenas for bank records. I'd imagine if he was cheating with an inside man that inside man was getting compensated somehow. There will be evidence of money changing hands. And on that note he won 300k on a live streamed show? How about a subpoena for his tax records. If he didn't pay taxes on 300k where did the other money go? As a professional live poker player you are required to keep a hand-written session by session breakdown of how much money you won/lost. Will he be able to produce that?

If the only evidence people were allowed to use in court were Doug Polk or Joe Ingram videos, people are right it would be close. But in a trial there are many more tools available and you can bet the lawyers for either the people cheated in the civil trial or for the state in a criminal trial will be doing their homework and leveraging every option they have to dig for the truth. The only thing the currently available evidence is needed is in order to argue to a judge that there is probable cause for the subpoenas and calling witnesses. That part is a slam dunk.
 
rrickir

rrickir

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
May 31, 2007
Total posts
601
Awards
2
Chips
0
I haven't been keeping up too much with this investigation. But I was wondering is Mike still playing poker now,, while this investigation is going on? I don't know that might be a stupid question but I didn't know if he was restricted from totally playing now....
 
n1ckoftime

n1ckoftime

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 4, 2017
Total posts
195
Chips
0
I remember playing with him years ago in tournaments at stones. Hope he is 86'd from poker games for life.
 
Shells

Shells

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Dec 18, 2010
Total posts
17,732
Awards
15
CA
Chips
199
I haven't been keeping up too much with this investigation. But I was wondering is Mike still playing poker now,, while this investigation is going on? I don't know that might be a stupid question but I didn't know if he was restricted from totally playing now....


I have to believe Mike would be laying low, especially from live play. There are way too many eyes out there and a lot of people would not be afraid to voice their opinion.

Otherwise, I have no idea if he is playing or not.
 
F

fundiver199

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Total posts
13,543
Awards
1
Chips
311
Who in their right mind would play with him? He can play online of course, where he can hide behind a screen name, but live poker is realistically a finished chapter for him. Which is fine and fair. There is no strong third party regulation of poker games, so the community has to take action itself by ousting cheaters and frauds.
 
Top