In a shocking turn of events, Ali Imsirovic has released a nearly 30-minute video on his personal YouTube channel addressing the cheating allegations that have been levelled against him over the past year. In this video, he admits to multi-accounting on GGPoker for 4-5 months during 2020 but denies any other allegations made against him.
What He’s Admitting To
Ali starts off the video by admitting that he’s made a “really bad mistake,” and that mistake was multi-accounting on GGPoker for 4-5 months during 2020. The main reason he gave for why he started multi-accounting, is because he “knew there was a lot of shady shit happening in those games, I knew there were people card sharing, multi-ing, and working as teams…” “so originally I was just trying to fight against that so I could keep playing in those games.”
Ali’s account was one of the many accounts that were mass-banned by GGPoker, many of which were banned for real-time assistance (RTA). It was later discovered that the majority of these bans were for having preflop charts open on their computer while playing. While technically this is getting assistance in real-time, many players didn’t consider it a form of cheating. However, Ali explains that his account was banned for both RTA and multi-accounting and that over $300,000 was seized from his account.
This is the first we’ve heard from Ali about these issues since they were raised a year ago by other high-stakes players. Both Ali and Jake Schindler were accused of multi-accounting and colluding during live events by their peers, and, in late 2022, were suspended from playing in PokerGo Tour events.
What He’s Denying
However, while Ali is admitting to the multi-accounting on GGPoker, he’s not admitting to every allegation made against him over the past year. One of the allegations he’s quick to deny was one made by Alex Foxen over Twitter, where he accused Ali of looking at Paul Phua’s hole cards during a Triton high roller event. Rather than looking at what his cards were, Ali said that he was “looking in the direction of his cards so I can clearly see when his cards get flung into the muck and I can look at the player next to act and try to pick up any reads I can on them.”
Another allegation Ali strongly denied was that he has been running an online poker cheating ring, referring to that accusation as “completely f*****g ridiculous.” He stated that he no longer backs any other players online and that the multi-accounting was only for a 4-5 month period during 2020.
What Happens Now?
As we mentioned above, Ali is still suspended from playing in PokerGo Tour events and is considered by many to be a cheater and unwelcome in high-stakes games. However, Ali wants to move on, saying, “I feel like I’ve paid all my dues and want to move past this.”
Whether the poker community can move on is another question. With integrity being such a key part of the game, many players will be unlikely to want to “forgive and forget,” so quickly. However, this admission of guilt may be the first sign that Ali is planning a return to the public eye, but only time will tell how successful that return will be.
Image Source: Poker News Daily
