PokerStars Toughens Up: Brazilian Cheater Gets Tougher Ban than 2 Weeks

Felipe Carmanhani, a Brazilian poker player, got busted for cheating in a PokerStars tournament that was live on Twitch. He used a program called GTO Wizard, which analyzes the game and tells the best moves to make. Of course, the program is banned for real-money poker tournaments.

After the cheating came to light, PokerStars kicked Felipe out of the tournament and gave him a two-week ban.

But many poker fans thought that was too soft for such a dirty trick. They pressured PokerStars to change its mind.

Chris Straghalis, the tournament series director, said they first thought Felipe only used the program for pre-flop hints (the first part of the game). Since PokerStars has different rules for different stages of the game, they gave him a two-week ban.

But then they found out he cheated more than that. So, the online poker giant decided to punish him harder. They didn’t say how, though.

What is known is that the makers of GTO Wizard also got mad at Felipe. They blocked him from using their software.

This is not the first time a poker player cheated big time. Another one used special glasses and see-through cards to win over $3 million. But his fate is still unknown.