Daniel Negreanu and naya gamesAlan Keating Talk Main Event Controversy

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Table Of Contents

• Main Event Reaction
• Minimal Edge, Bad Optics
• What Should Be Done?

In response to the controversy over laptop assistance between hands during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, Daniel Negreanu called on tournament operators to clarify rules about solvers and preflop tools in tournaments and for players to speak up when they see something they think is unfair.

Negreanu's comments about the Main Event controversy, which involved champion Jonathan Tamayo and a rail that included Dominik Nitsche, came during an appearance Monday afternoon on Doug Polk's YouTube channel. Along with Alan Keating, the three discussed the Main Event incident, its perceptions to the public and ways operators can improve the live poker environment moving forward.

Read What Runner-Up Jordan Griff Told Doug Polk

Main Event Reaction

Keating, who is primarily a cash game player, gave his initial reaction to seeing the laptop on the rail. "People were looking at each other like, isn't that cheating? Is someone going to jump in? What's going on here? ... If I made the final table, would I be going against that stuff? What dream is alive for tournament players?"

Negreanu noted, as others have on social media, that laptops on the rail have been around for a decade but, "what's new now, that didn't exist for the last decade, is the tools available today coming from AI, solvers and this sort of thing."

"It's less about just specifically the laptop. Because laptops have been around at the final table for a decade. Generally what the team would be doing is they're watching the stream."

Negreanu, arguably poker's biggest ambassador, added that he believes "in part, it's probably a good thing this happened on the biggest stage, because now it's a conversation we all have to have and (ask) ... is this the direction we're going in or are we going to do something to fix it?"

Read More About the Main Event Controversy

Minimal Edge, Bad Optics

Even though laptops on a final table rail are nothing new, the three agreed that using a laptop to look at preflop charts or poker software is over the line.

"The whole atmosphere is different now," said Polk, who also told a story about referencing preflop charts at the 2016 WSOP when he said he didn't know better. "We've all kind of talked about this, we know this is in the air, the tools are way stronger. And the response from the public when they see this, you know what you're going to get. This is not like there are two sides to the issue. People are strongly against this."

"Hold'em has four streets, so you're essentially eliminating one in terms of potentially making any mistakes at all," Negreanu said about preflop assistance, which some have accused Nitsche of referencing during the final table.

Negreanu conceded that any edge gained during heads-up play against an amateur would be minimal and that "they (Tamayo's rail) were not hiding it, so partly you have to assume that they didn't think what they were doing was wrong."

"But I think in a case like this, this is where you really sort of get clarity. And saying, 'Well, I didn't hear the announcements.' That doesn't absolve you. Not knowing the law doesn't absolve you from having to follow it."

"And that edge (gained) is minimal, which is why partly I wonder, if you're gaining so little from this, is this really optically what you want to be doing? Is this even necessary?"

What Should Be Done?

Keating and Negreanu both said that they think the WSOP should clarify its stance to "make these rules as clear as possible." Negreanu suggested the rule should be no use of solvers at any point in the tournament area (defined as "the entire room") with the risk of a multi-round penalty or disqualification.

Negreanu added that the rules should also prohibit someone from passing along information from a solver to a player in a tournament.

"I don't think anyone in the community looks at this and thinks, 'Yeah, this should be fine,'" he said.

Negreanu added that he believed players have a responsibility to speak up against something that they perceive as unfair.

"And no one said anything ... If anyone at that final table would've said 'floor, these guys are doing stuff on their computer,' the floor would come over. It's impossible to expect the floor to look at everyone's laptop or phone and see what they're doing. So part of the enforcement has to come from players sort of ratting out other players, and then having rules that are so severe and so significant that that minimum edge ... is not worth it."

The trio also criticized Nitsche for "doubling down" on social media when confronted about the laptop on the rail.

Should all phones and electronics be banned from the poker table? Negreanu said such a measure would be too extreme.

The three also discussed face coverings like scarfs, masks and sunglasses at the poker table, Game of Goldand the upcoming winter poker schedule that includes WSOP Paradise, EPT Prague and the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas.

Head to YouTube to watch the full interview with Negreanu and Keating.