Updated on 23 Feb 26 by
Barry Carter
Poker Expert

Why would somebody cheat on a live stream?

After the accusations that Martin Kabrhel marked cards on a live stream, we look at why some poker players risk it all by cheating on screen.





If you are familiar with British politics you will be aware that the current Government has essentially rendered itself unelectable because they were caught partying while imposing strict lockdown rules on the public in 2020. Over the weekend footage from the parties emerged, including this photo:

It's hard to fathom how stupid the people in the picture had to have been to pose for this photo. 20 years ago we were not all walking around with cameras, so this is a modern phenomenon. We are so used to being filmed, it appears to slip people's minds, even when they are committing crimes (which the above example was, at the time). 

Poker has its own version of this, which is cheating on a live stream. There have been several instances where somebody appeared to cheat, quite brazenly, on a stream broadcast to thousands of poker players. 

Over the weekend some compelling evidence emerged that appeared to suggest that Martin Kabrhel was marking the cards at the $250,000 High Roller final table. Several high stakes players have said they have seen him do it before, and on the PokerGO stream he appeared to be scratching the cards, then going out of his way to look at his opponent's face-down cards.

poker
Mike Postle is alleged to have gained access to hole card information

Kabrhel has quickly and strongly denied the allegations against him, going as far as to threaten legal action against Andrew Robl, who made the initial accusation. 

This is not the first case of accused cheating on a live stream, it's surprisingly common in recent years. There was the infamous Mike Postle saga, the SkillsRock stream where he admitted to peeking at opponent's cards, the Robbi Jade Lew J4o hand (for the record I never thought she cheated but others did) and the initial Ali Imsirovic accusations were also from a live-streamed game. 

Why would an intelligent person risk it all to cheat on a live-streamed game when there are so many non-streamed games available? 

Opportunity, entitlement, stupidity?

poker
SkillsRocks admitted to looking at his opponent's cards

Opportunity is the first answer. These games are generally bigger by default (otherwise nobody would be watching them) so there is more incentive. In the case of Postle, the consensus appears to be that he was in some way having real-time hole card information relayed to him at the tables. That is something that would simply be impossible at a regular private table. 

Entitlement is another reason. If somebody is caught cheating on a live stream it is unlikely to be their first time doing it. If somebody has been getting away with it for a long time, they get greedy and feel entitled to do it. Rather than being organised master criminals, I think most people who rob, scam, and steal are actually lazy, which is why they get sloppy in situations like a live stream. 

There is perhaps also just an element of stupidity involved. I am reminded of this classic Simpsons joke which sums it up perfectly. Some people are good at poker, but pretty clueless about life: 

As we speak no doubt hundreds of poker players are reviewing the footage from last Sunday's $250k High Roller and the WSOP has confirmed they are investigating it. One of the benefits of so many high stakes games being streamed live is that generally speaking it will be easier to catch those people who do cheat in these games, as well as vindicate those who are innocent. 

Do you think Kabrhel was marking the cards? Let us know in the comments:


Barry Carter
Poker Expert

Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2, Poker Satellite Strategy, PKO Poker Strategy, Endgame Poker Strategy, GTO Poker Simplified, Mystery Bounty Poker Strategy and Beyond GTO. In 2025, he won the Global Poker Awards for Best Book and Twitter Personality of the Year.