Phil Ivey Admits to ‘Edge Sorting’ Advantage in $12.1 Mil Win at Crockfords

Poker pro Phil Ivey has finally admitted to having an advantage in his $12.1 win at Crockfords Casino just over a year ago.  London’s oldest casino has refused to pay Ivey any of his winnings.

Ivey, along with a female acquaintance, had been playing Punto Banco, a skill-free variant of baccarat, when he struck the remarkable win streak.

Initially Ivey had losses that were heading towards £500,000 but he recovered, and by the end of his first night at the casino, he was £2.3 million up.

He continued his winning streak the second night at the casino, signalling a desire to cash out at £7.3 million ($12.1 million).

Ivey filed a lawsuit to recover his winnings once Crockfords made it known they would not be paying him.

The poker pro this past week admitted to exploiting flaws in cards as a way of detecting the value of those cards.

Crockfords “full bleed” card design made the casino especially vulnerable due to their printing and cutting flaws.  The casino contends that Ivey and his acquaintance were skilled at discovering such defects.

Ivey and the female, known only as “Kelly”, were said to have manipulated the dealer into rotating the cards as a way of detecting certain marking flaws, referred to as “edge sorting”. 

Despite the obvious advantage gained by Ivey and his acquaintance, the poker pro insists he is not a cheater.  The casino would argue otherwise.

- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com