Warning... Poker Cheating Avoid Gd Poipet

[winey]

Hi guys;

I had an interesting experience hunting down some "legit"poker in Poipet at Grand Diamond Casino that I thought you should be warned about... becaus ethere is wholesale cheating. BE WARNED before you lose ur cash.

Being ecstatic to have found a legitimate (legally, anyway) poker game in Thailand (Cambodian border) I wandered off to Grand Diamond City Casino in Poipet, Cambodian border.

I played for the evening and was shocked and amzed at the CHEATING.

I hid my (albeit small) understanding of Thai during 4 hours of play... to discover that a group of Thai men were speaking in Thai any time a Farang joined the table.... This is what I saw in ONLY ONE SESSION.

1) The Thais were telling each other what their cards were pre-flop... OK that makes it hard.

2) They were continuing on to collectively calculate odds of winning if they called any Barang bet..

3) The Thais were comparing their hands to strong Barangs bets, so that only the strongest hands call... eg: "Ï ahve two pair", leading to a top pair folding prematurely.

4) A thai, calls a arang bet on the turn, misses the river and folds his hand. Aussie shows his weakish hand (He had bluffed the turn). Thai raches INTO THE Muck and retrieves his cards to show bottom pair AND IS REWARDED WITH THE POT!

5) A Korean guy hits some great cards, and cleans up over about 3 hours. The Thais start abusing him and calling him a cheat. They threaten to drag him outside and beat him. Supervisor comes and checks he is accused of marking (Aussie guy says he went and looked at the cards too). None marked.Management comes and warns Korean about cheating (I WAS DUMBFOUNDED), leaves and doesn't play again. Thais are happy.

6) Indian guy, very aggressive is raising ppre flop a lot and going after pots... Thais collude and say Äll Thais call every flop and top pair stays in against, OK!

7) The catch word all night was "Farang, Farang, Farang" An Aussie guy asks asks me what they were saying cos he's been getting hearing this for a month, he says. I told him you don't want to know brother! Same old racist bull we hear evrey day here, 'cept worse and it was continuous.

8) A Canadian guy pushes All In, loses a Bad-Beat... 8 Thais cheer and clap and pat the Thai winner on back after the Farang was felted "Saying in Thai, go home Farang"... OK NOT cheating but highly offensive.

9) Thais were changing seats, playing each others stacks, very random.

10) I didn't see this, but japanese guy who was playing said that chips are often removed/added in the middle of ahand depending on if the Thai guys had a draw or the NUTS. He had been there 2 days and was also NEVER returning.

An Aussie guy I spoke to said he had played there for 2 months before this group of Thais had begun colluding and cheating. He was playing his last session there ever he said. Even the PROFESSIONALS CAN'T bEAT CHEATS!!! He went to tell me he had written a formal complaint to the English Poker Manager, and to other managers, had been laughed at, ignored and told that Thais were the Casinos number one clients.

Some other interesting facts for you...

* 3% UNCAPPED RAKE

* 6 Hands per hour.. yep ubelieveabe i know but i swear its true...

* Dealers and supervisors (according even to Management) are scared of Thais and will not say anything to them.

* There is no blind post, so Thais come and go missing blinds (which they do)

* There is no waiting list, so standing there only means you get to see someone take your seat you have waited 3 hours for...

BASICALLY STEER CLEAR OF GRAND DIAMOND CASINO POIPET. You can't beat cheats... The Thais don't wanna play with you, the management don't want you there (Englishman) so save urself money time and stress!

[Harcourt]

I wish I spoke poker jargon....I may have been able to comment.

[Bluelotus]

And if by some quirk you were to win getting home safe with the $$ is unlikely , in Burma they arrest Thais who win for gambling illegally !

Edited July 26, 2009 by Bluelotus

[Yoshitaka]

"Farang, Farang, Farang" is no racist.

It is a general that Thai call Caucasian.

[Harcourt]

I suppose that if you looked "farang" and understood Thai, you could clean up if they thought you didn't understand.

[bojo]

"Farang, Farang, Farang" is no racist.

It is a general that Thai call Caucasian.

I beg to differ, depending in the context and how it's said, IMO it can be very racist. Correct, it is the translation for caucasian but it's invariably used in a 'them and us scenario' and heard repeatedly when wanting to put blame or when a foreigner 'mai yom' will not accept something. You will also hear the voices raised when this term is used when the context is racist so that other Thais around can hear and join in.

Aren't the casinos owned by Thai's anyway. If so, it's no surprise that there's outright favouratism.

Regards Bojo

[Mai Krap]

Appreciate the information, it was a good read. I do find it very strange any Expat in Asia would be surprised that Thais bully and cheat in a Cambodian Casino. Poipet is well known as one of the dodgiest places on earth, the border crossing gives a good picture of how things go there.

[neverdie]

"Farang, Farang, Farang" is no racist.

It is a general that Thai call Caucasian.

Okay, got that, Farang is not racist. Thanks for your imput 'yipoon'.

[jasreeve17]

Appreciate the information, it was a good read. I do find it very strange any Expat in Asia would be surprised that Thais bully and cheat in a Cambodian Casino. Poipet is well known as one of the dodgiest places on earth, the border crossing gives a good picture of how things go there.

Got to agree - Poipet is a shitehole controlled by corrupt Thai money and corrupt Cambodian officials; can't think of a worse place on planet Earth to play poker, or anything else.

The post was interesting though (reafirming my thoughts / prejudices...)

[Graphics]

That area of Poipet and surroundings is by far one of the weirdest and dodgiest places on this planet.

Don't loose your time going there.

I do play Poker in BKK at friend's Houses.

[Tigs]

I agree with Harcourt. Brush up on the Thai, go to the casino, speak ONLY English and Sawadee all the wrong people , like drink waitresses etc and play some hands, listening to the Thais tell you every card they have. Lose some low bet hands and then clean up. Can you have your winnings credited to your card at this casino?

[IanForbes]

All I can do is laugh. Why anyone would play in an obviously crooked game is beyond belief. Are you THAT desperate for a poker game? What else do you expect? It reminds me of the guys who go to Soi 6 in Pattaya and complain about the ladies selling their wares.

[syd barrett]

Interesting post.

But I would never gamble at a Thai or Cambodian casino. Even the games that should be fair like roulette, if you won big, your health would be at risk after you cashed in your chips.

I think it would be better to head for Macau (cheap flights available) if you want to gamble.

[Benjie]

Surely if all the Thai's were calling their hands to each other and you understood you could make a fortune, no?

[Neeranam]

Surely if all the Thai's were calling their hands to each other and you understood you could make a fortune, no?

Right - I'll think I'll go and pretend I don't understand.

[dantilley]

He went to tell me he had written a formal complaint to the English Poker Manager, and to other managers, had been laughed at, ignored and told that Thais were the Casinos number one clients.

But if their number one clients are cheating all the time, the casino can't make much money from them surely? Also I'm amazed that the manager is English, what would possess any westerner to live and work in Poipet?

The only time I've been to Poipet, the armpit of the world, is when leaving or entering Cambodia, and I get out of the shit-hole as quickly as possible. As mentioned previously, fly to Macau if you want to play poker; Poipet is one of the dodgiest, scummiest places in this region and should be avoided at all costs.

[winey]

Heya Guys,

Great posts... replies.. Thankyou all.

1) Yoshi, yes, Farang is a general termmeaning non-thai foreigner, they were using it to apply to the Indian, the Korean and the Caucs... however when thye are adding "äss fuc_ker" to the statement we can safely assume racism, no?

2)... if you can speak Thai AND know poker well you have anopportuntiy here maybe, but its very offensive just sitting there so not much fun to be had. I'm not as good as these guys just went for some fun... you know win or lose $100 and have a nice time, I made about $100 cos I could understand em, however the Racism was very upsetting and wasn't worth the $100 I made....Too scary to clean up too much though. They were asking the Korean guy outside, threatening to bash him (He won about $2,000 in a session, think he spoke some Thai). Anyone does this please post I'd love to hear they got theirs...

3) The Casino zone of Poipet seemed safe enough... I don't know to be honest, my first and last time given what I sawo.

4) Why do I have to be desperate because I went to play some poker in a legal Casino Ian, I played once, saw it as crooked and have posted so no-one else hears about poker game and wastes their time thinking it'll be some fun. DO YOU UNDERSTAND MORON???...move on, fella; post for poker players. Relevance of Soi 6....? only to you, perhaps it would be wiser to stick to psts you have knowledge of and reasonably coherent input into (Perhaps "Catching STDs in Soi6" or a "I dont mind that my $5 prossi ripped my eatch and wallet"" Post might be more your style) .

5) Dantilly, Casino makes rake from the winner, whether they are Thai or Farang or whoever. Thye dont care cos the casino just deals the cards, it isn't actually a player like other games where the player plays against the Casino.

Hey guys thanks for the posts, if anyone does get together and beat them at their own game I'd love to hear about it and email teh Aussie, he had said it was great game for the first 6 weeks then the thugs moved in. As for Casino management, I don't undertand why they wouldn't be embarassed... but there you are!

[leemo]

Farang sits at a poker table with Thais and half expects a semi-straight game.

Hey winey, I hope you weren't playing with real money.

[leemo]

...But if their number one clients are cheating all the time, the casino can't make much money from them surely? ...

Everyone ends up happy, the casino, because addicts will always find money to fuel their sickness, it's workers, via tips when the punters have winning bets, and even the occasional winning punter. Losing/cheated punters don't count, they're a dime a dozen.

The only time I've been to Poipet, the armpit of the world, is when leaving or entering Cambodia, and I get out of the shit-hole as quickly as possible. As mentioned previously, fly to Macau if you want to play poker; Poipet is one of the dodgiest, scummiest places in this region and should be avoided at all costs.

Agreed, and if you play blackjack know that at least one casino on that strip uses modified (card dealing) boxes that will give the dealer an ace on demand. Imagine the advantage this gives the house. The 'secret ace' is rarely used but it's loaded anyway for emergencies, for example, when a punter maxes out across the table on every box..if this happens the dealer will pause for a nod from the pit boss, then he will deals the table cards normally, but to access his own hole card (the ace) he will strike the box not once but twice, and rapidly.

I hope nobody on TV is outraged that thievery occurs in the sleazepit.

[easethesqueeze]

There must be a community of farangs that play poker in bangkok regularly somewhere. - not for money just for fun of course, ahem.

I'd be happy to get involved with a game of blackjack if it was properly arranged.

[dantilley]

Not sure - even if it's not for money, I think it's still illegal here (though I may be wrong).

[easethesqueeze]

Not sure - even if it's not for money, I think it's still illegal here (though I may be wrong).

Do you think Poker and Blackjack are illegal or just playing cards in general?

[dantilley]

Not sure - can't say I've seen many packs of cards on sale in Thailand...

[toybits]

Just like smoking, I find gambling to be a very nasty habit.

[Beacher]

Thanks for the informative report. I had always wondered about trying to find a legit card game in those Cambodian casinos, and now I see it's not likely possible.

I'm actually not surprised by much of what you say. Sounds like there's a regular bunch of Thais who basically live there just waiting for a chance to shamelessly collude in their play against foreigners. Of course in a real casino, these clowns would be turfed out onto the street in record time.

I've known a couple of foreign men whose Thai wives have almost lost their homes (seriously) playing in crooked house casinos in Thailand. In both cases, the wives admitted to knowing (or at least having strong feelings) that the decks were marked, but somehow they kept going back.

I dabble on Pokerstars and feel there's something rather fishy about that set up, but nothing as blatant as what you've described. I just can't imagine feeling confident about the legitimacy of gambling anywhere in SE Asia.

Dantilly, you can find playing cards for sale in every 7-11 store in Thailand. They're awful decks that don't last very long, but quite expensive.

[toptuan]

All I can do is laugh. Why anyone would play in an obviously crooked game is beyond belief. Are you THAT desperate for a poker game? What else do you expect? It reminds me of the guys who go to Soi 6 in Pattaya and complain about the ladies selling their wares.

Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.

Surprise, surprise...

[Maejo Man]

For those of you fortunate people that have never been to Poipet...A graphic insight of "downtown" Poipet

[dantilley]

Good pic. There are very few pictures of Poipet actually, I guess people don't feel too comfortable standing around taking photos there!

[toptuan]

For those of you fortunate people that have never been to Poipet...A graphic insight of "downtown" Poipet

Yeah, but Las Vegas was once a humble place, too!

...albeit a tad bit drier...

Edited July 27, 2009 by toptuan

[winey]

Dunno why few guys are so speaking so strongly about anyone who plays poker. Does having a few (too many) beers 2 nights a week make me a useless alky? A joint twice a month make me a junky? I sit down, have a joint, play some poker with great fun guys and generally LOSE (yep, you got it) about 30-40$ but sometomes win. Lose mostly though, sure, but I love the banter and the fun... I could go out buy 4 lady drinks, few whiskeys for myself and a feed and spend double that.... its a night of fun either way! most poker players are like that think.

The conundrum... a private game (just some mates having a fun $10 game) got rolled about a month ago and the police cleaned out everyone's walletts, took all the pot cash (I was told only about $150 was being played for but the wallets yielded about 2k) ... hence why I was looking for a legal game (Koh Kong or Poipet). Anyway lesson learned... if anyone hears of a legit AND legal game please post. I have no idea about Koh Kong, has anyone been there?