The founder of Adelaide’s Royal Poker Club has promised a full investigation amid allegations of a marked deck being used during one of its games.
In a public statement, Ivan Zhang said he was made aware of the allegations while away on business in China, with the deck said to have been in play for around 20 minutes before detection. No details have been provided as to who circulated the deck in question or how they managed to do so, although Zhang said he would look to take legal action if so advised.
PokerMedia Australia understands the deck consisted of cards marked with invisible ink that enabled a player, or players, to distinguish the rank and suit of each card by wearing special contact lenses or glasses. PMA has also learned that a person referred to by Zhang as having been dismissed was an employee.
“Presently, I am investigating [these] allegations with a view to taking appropriate legal action,” Zhang wrote.
“At this stage, it appears that an unauthorised deck of cards was used in play for a period of approximately 20 minutes. When this was discovered, the unauthorised deck was removed from play, the person involved was dismissed and the incident was reported to the police.”
Zhang reiterated that he and the Royal Poker Club have “a zero-tolerance policy for any cheating.”
“There is no place for dishonesty in poker anywhere, and there is certainly no place for it [here],” he said.
Royal Poker Club will host a special “integrity forum” and Q&A session for anyone interested in learning more on Tuesday 14 December 2021 at 11am.
The full statement from the Royal Poker Club can be viewed below:
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