World Series of Poker champion Phil Ivey tipped his hand and lost $12.4 million on Wednesday.
ESPN.com is reporting that Britain's High Court ruled that Genting Casinos UK does not owe Ivey the 7.7 million pounds - the equivalent of $12.4 million - he won over two days in a game of baccarat at one of its casinos in August, 2012.
The court sided with the casinos lawyers who argued that Ivey's "edge sorting" tactics violated fair play.
According to ESPN, "edge sorting is a technique in which players use flaws in the designs on backs of cards to identify them in advance."
Whether that in and of itself constitutes an unfair edge is debatable - but ESPN added that Ivey requested a specific brand of cards - purple Gemaco - at the table at Crockfords, a Mayfair casino. He had a companion - a women identified in court documents as Cheng Yin Sun - instruct the dealer to rotate specific cards in certain directions that made the design flaws stand out.
Ivey naturally said he was disappointed with the ruling but defended his actions in playing against the casino.
"As I said in court, it's not in my nature to cheat -- and I would never do anything to risk my reputation," he said in a statement. "I am pleased that the judge acknowledged in court that I was a truthful witness by saying that, 'I am entirely convinced that Mr. Ivey did not consider that what he was doing was cheating.'
"I believe that what we did was a legitimate strategy -- we did nothing more than exploit Crockfords' failures to take proper steps to protect themselves against a player of my ability -- clearly today, the judge did not agree."
Wednesday's ruling is not good news for Ivey, who is involved in another legal battle in the U.S. Borgata Casino in Jew Jersey is suing Ivey for the $9.6 million he won, using the same edge-sorting strategy while playing mini baccarat in 2012.
The sides are expected to engage in a telephone status update on Nov. 10, and depositions are expected to continue through next summer.
Do you consider Phil Ivey's strategy of edge sorting to be cheating? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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