Ali Imsirovic was recently booted from a tournament he was chip-leading at bestbet Jacksonville in Florida. No reason was given, but it's assumed it was linked to his past controversies. Imsirovic has admitted to multi-accounting and is banned from GGPoker but has denied cheating in live events. Imsirovic remains indefinitely suspended from the PokerGO Tour.
The recent situation with Ali Imsirovic bothers me because I don't think he should have been able to start the tournament if they were going to eliminate him during the event.
The scrutiny here is heightened because he’s a great player. If he was just an average player, would anybody even complain?
No one wants cheats in poker. But it raises complex questions.
- Who determines what penalties are served and for how long?
- What cheating allegations warrant a penalty in the live realm?
- Should online multi-accounting ever be pardoned?
- What about ghosting, RTAs, and even VPNs? They are all against online terms of service. Are those players considered cheaters? These things are tough to detect, and some sites even look the other way.
The big question is, should someone using the above methods that are against the terms of service of the operator be blacklisted from live play? And should that be across the board?
Who decides what happens?
I recently had a player ask me what percentage he should take in a tournament online because he finished a tournament for a friend. I had to explain to him that doing that was against the operator's terms of service and most likely cheating. He didn't see it that way. But in my opinion, that's the same thing. Ghosting is maybe the same situation that Ali got into in some of the situations he was banned for.
Right now, players don't decide who gets to play and who doesn't. It's up to the directors and the managers, and they are up against the pressure of public opinion. I believe that is something we should look at in the future.
Casinos, online or live, do not currently share information about bad actors. I don't even know who the table flipper was at this point. If that guy's name is not going to be released, then whose will? That player should never be allowed to play in a casino room ever again, in my opinion.
What is the best course of action to stop bad actors who have been caught cheating online or live? Do we need to appoint a Commissioner of Poker to decide? I’d happily take the job – and I’d only ask for 10% of what Roger Goodell makes. (He earned $69.3 million last year, by the way.)
All joking aside, we should have a commissioner of poker. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
Fans and players – send me your stories and situations you've come up against. Share them with me on X or in the comments below. Your submission could be the next Savage Rules!
Matt Savage is the WPT Executive Tour Director, founder of the Tournament Directors Association, and a respected voice in poker. He’s a five-time GPI award winner and a nine-time nominee for the Poker Hall of Fame.
You can follow Matt on X. For more info, visit PokerTDA.com and WPT.com.
