How NOT to defend yourself against cheating allegations

Mike Postle broke his silence over the weekend on the Mike Matusow podcast and in doing so challenged Doug Polk to a heads-up match.

One of the biggest cheating stories in poker history is starting to look like an episode of the Serial podcast over on the 2+2 forum. The evidence is really mounting up against Mike Postle thanks to some remarkable forensic investigation by the poker community. 

There is simply too much evidence to mention here and by the time you have read this no doubt more twists and turns will have been revealed. However, the latest updates include a time lapse video which seems to pinpoint precisely when the alleged cheating began as well as a breakdown of the recurring trends (like where Postle's phone was) during his big winning sessions. 

Someone made a spreadsheet of all Postle's 2018/2019 sessions.

Initial stack - rebuys - final stack - profit - God Mode - Seat - Phone position - Keys on table - Hat

Check out what happens when the phone moves to the lap vs earlier sessions.... 😵😵😵https://t.co/ukGcCYXuJk pic.twitter.com/6jdPE7sThS

— Joey Ingram 🤙🏻🤙🏻 (@Joeingram1) October 7, 2019

The case for the prosecution is beginning to look substanial, the case for the defence is looking like a train wreck. Most people who had been accused of a major cheating scandal would either begin by getting a lawyer or presenting a detailed rebuttle to the claims against them, probably to the person making those claims. 

Mike Postle did none of that over the weekend, instead he chose to respond to the claims against him on Mike Matusow's podcast. Matusow had seen hardly any of the hands where Postle is accused of cheating, by his own admission had not done any research and was high during the interview (yes, you read that correctly). 

Postle doesn't really address any of the specific claims against him and spends most of the second interview suggesting he is one of the best players in the world, most notably challenging Doug Polk (one of the highest profile names to call him out) to play him heads-up. 

Many in the poker community have been critical of Matusow for giving Postle an easy time and not challenging him on the significant evidence against him. In fairness to Matusow because he gave him such an easy time we acually learned a great deal about Mike Postle.  

The fact that he chose Matusow for his right to reply, a man who (and I love you Mike, no offence) was literally high during the interview, was very telling. It shows that he was not willing to challenge the specific allegations that are mounting against him and at a minimum is not the brilliant tactician he claims to be. 

I officially challenge @Mike_Postle to go live with me and explain the questions regarding the cheating allegations.

— Doug Polk (@DougPolkPoker) October 6, 2019

I can't see a heads-up match against Doug Polk ever happening, it wouldn't solve anything and it would turn what has been a tremendous piece of detective work by the poker community into a sideshow. I suspect that this was the plan anyway, to distract against the serious claims by harnessing the way poker can occassionally resemble the WWE.

The poker world has not taken the bait. While there is always the potential for this story to descend into farce, right now although this has been bad PR for the game in mainstream circles it has also shown how the poker community can be occasionally brilliant when they put their mind to something. 

What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments: