PokerStars Refunds Player Almost $35,000

This story was published more than 10 years ago.

Internet poker giant PokerStars has announced that it has refunded a high stakes player $34,397.10 after the player was cheated in an online poker scam.

Douglas Polk, who goes by the alias WCGRider, wrote how he felt that an associate of his had tampered with his computer, allowing for that associate to see his hole cards while playing at the poker site. The man who allegedly committed the scam is Joshua Tyler, whose PokerStars alias is Forbidden536.

In an email to Polk PokerStars said, “We have determined that ‘Forbidden536′ violated the Terms of Service for using their PokerStars account during their play with you."

"We have reviewed the play with both players' hole cards exposed. We are sure beyond any reasonable doubt that ‘Forbidden536′ was able to see your hole cards whilst they were playing against you.”

Polk alleges that a similar experience took place at Full Tilt Poker, which is a sister site to PokerStars and is owned by The Rational Group.

Meanwhile, the professional poker player who introduced Josh Tyler to Polk said that he is innocent in the whole ordeal by posting in the twoplustwo poker forums. Daniel "Jungleman" Cates wrote: “I didn't vouch for Josh, i never said he was nice, certainly didn't say he was trustworthy, or any such thing. Doug (Polk) could have decided not to invite him over or whatever. I had no influence whatsoever on this decision.”

About the author

Dustin Jermalowicz // News Editor
Dustin Jermalowicz
Dustin has a long-standing passion for gambling. He has been writing professionally on the subject and breaking industry news for Casino Listings since 2011. His favorite casino games include Blackjack, Poker, and Hi/Lo. A proud native of Detroit, Dustin currently lives in Michigan.