The issue about multi-accounting in online poker has once again been brought to the fore after a high-profile player was banned for doing the illegal practice.
Ivan Deyra, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner took part in the recent €2,000 Super High Roller tournament during the recent Winamax Series and went on to win it. However, he won it by playing under another account.
Using his father’s account “MATIVANAO”, Deyra won the tournament for €83,300, but the Frenchman was left empty-handed after it was confirmed that he cheated. He is no longer allowed to play at Winamax, which is the number one online poker room in France.
Deyra Punished By Winamax
For committing the offence, Deyra has been banned from the site, with his father’s account also suffering a similar fate.
According to a thread on online poker forum Club Poker, the ban took effect just two days after the conclusion of the €2,000 Super High Roller tournament, as Deyra’s personal account couldn’t be found since January 6. He also was not able to participate further in Day 2 of the other tournaments where he also qualified.
The reimbursements were also confirmed by the participants of the tournament. In particular, “MAMARAZZI”, who finished fifth, received more than €5,000 as refund. Deyra’s winnings from two other tournaments were also reimbursed to the affected players.
The French poker pro’s sponsorship contract with Winamax has come to an end, meaning his stint as Winamax Ambassador is now over. Deyra had been a member of Winamax Team Pros for three and a half years. His contract was due to expire in June.
Deyra Admits to Cheating
Deyra recently issued a statement, apologizing to Winamax, his fellow players, and the entire poker community, and admitting that what he had done was “serious” and “unforgivable”. A regretful Deyra acknowledged the cheating aspect of multi-accounting and accepted that the heavy punishment was “logical and understandable”.
Being an accomplished pro with over $1.3 million in lifetime earnings, a Winamax ambassador, and a WSOP bracelet winner, many in the poker community couldn’t help but wonder why Deyra chose to cheat. Different speculations emerged as to why he decided to take the wrong route, but Deyra gave all the answers in his statement.
Reasons for Cheating
The poker pro said he was not making enough money on Winamax for three years, since becoming an ambassador for the site, which pushed him to question his game play. And this was the main reason why he was forced to cheat.
Deyra shared that he had been using the same nickname on Winamax, but the results were not satisfactory for him, so he explored the potential of altering his nickname to see if it would deliver better results.
After busting in the €2,000 Super High Roller using his personal account, Deyra gave it another shot, this time using his father’s account.
Can Deyra Recover?
Deyra was initially successful with his new technique, but the victory was short-lived as he would now start from scratch in trying to rebuild his name. And this is what he intends to do. Deyra said this challenge won’t stop him from pushing through with his career. Instead, he’ll treat this as a learning experience, adding that he will continue sharing his knowledge about the game and will resume chasing his dreams.
But it will be far from easy. For one thing, Deyra will now be remembered as a “cheater”, and this will significantly impact his career.
Dan “Jungleman” Cates, one of the best online poker players in the world, was also involved in a multi-accounting scandal back in 2011. Just last year, he was again embroiled in a ghosting controversy, when he was exposed to have played using another account during a private home game, with hedge fund manager Bill Perkins also among the participants.
All of these scandals have tainted Cates’ reputation, which could have pushed him to retire from the game, as his 2020 blog post suggested.
Hopefully Deyra will be able to bounce back from this major upset in his career.