At the same time as the accusations of cheating in chess, the poker world is now being hit by a corresponding scandal. Professional poker player Garrett Adelstein has come out strongly against his opponent Lew, claiming she cheated during Thursday’s World Poker Tour tournament. The drama arose when the two ended up in a duel. Adelsstein forced Lew to bet all his money on the hand she was sitting with, a total of over a million kroner. She surprisingly chose to do that despite being set with a jack and a four, not in the same suit. Adelsstein only needed a six, a club or a jack to get a so-called straight, flush, or a straight flush, which in most cases would have won him the hand. The last card turned out to be an ace, so he didn’t hit it. When opponent Lew turned the cards over and revealed that she won the hand with a jack as the highest card, he reacted strongly. – I don’t understand what is going on here now, he exclaimed immediately afterwards, shocked that she had bet so much money on such a weak hand. Thus Lew ran away with the victory in hand to a value of over NOK 3 million. Paid back the money After the tournament, he claims that Lew must have cheated. He believes she must have known what kind of cards he was holding to bet so much money on a weak hand, and speculates that she has had outside help. He also claims that she offered to pay back the money he lost on the hand after he confronted her about the cheating allegations, and that he accepted. – I never asked her to pay back the money. I didn’t even consider asking because it would have been such an obvious admission of guilt on her part. But when she offers it, of course I accepted to get the money back after being deceived, he writes. SUPPORTS LEW: Poker legend Daniel Negreanu doesn’t think it was cheating. Photo: John Locher / AP Lew claims, however, that the situation was far from as simple as Adelstein explains it. – He pushed me into a corner and threatened me. I was pulled out of the match and forced to talk to him in a dark hallway, she explains, saying she will provide more details later. Lew has also hit back at the accusations of cheating, and believes she read what cards Adelstein was playing. – I read the man and made a heroic decision when he bet everything on the last card. The video of the dramatic hand has subsequently gone viral, and the parallels are naturally drawn to the world of chess. – Poker imitates chess, writes Magnus Carlsen’s former WC rival Fabiano Caruana. Lew gets support from legend The incident has set the poker world on fire, and caused many reactions. Both Lew and Adelstein get support on their respective sides. – This is the most suspicious hand I have seen. I think an investigation will probably reveal cheating. Anyway, if there was no cheating, then there should be a proper investigation, so Lew is cleared, says poker player Tom Dwan. Poker legend Daniel Negreanu, on the other hand, believes that it was not cheating, and also does not think the fact that she paid back the money proves anything. – The fact that she gave him the money back is not an admission of guilt, but probably the opposite. A greedy cheater probably won’t give the money back in that situation. It seems that she would not want to end up in conflict, and can afford it, he writes.
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