Mike Postle (born 1978 or 1979) is an American professional poker player who grew up in Wisconsin.He was the central figure of an alleged poker cheating scandal that caused controversy throughout the poker community. In July 2018, Postle started a prolonged poker 'heater' (a hot streak where everything seems to be going right for a particular player), winning $250,000 in $1–3 and $2–5 no. Poker commentator Joey Ingram made two YouTube videos, totaling 10 hours, examining Postle's play. He estimates Postle won $250,000 over more than 250 hours of play in relatively low-stakes games.
The cheating scandal involving Mike Postle and Stones Gambling Hall was brought to light after former Stones commentator Veronica Brill (pictured) posted a series of tweets, exposing Postle’s alleged misconduct during livestreamed games at the poker room in Northern California.
Brill claimed she had a firsthand experience of Postle’s unscrupulous act, which allowed him to amass massive sums of money, amounting to more than $300,000 in just one year. Postle played mostly $1-$3 games.
Brill’s accusations were initially brushed aside by management who previously said the claims had already been investigated and no evidence had been found. But as the poker community did their own investigation into the scandal by scouring game footages, the result of which appeared to favour Brill, Stones was forced to reopen their inquiry and hired a specialist team to dig deeper into the cheating allegations.
Weeks after the scandal broke out, Brill opened up about the accusations and what motivated her to expose what would become the biggest cheating scandal in the history of livestreamed poker.
Doug Polk Poker
Brill’s Working Relationship With Stones
Brill, who considers herself a recreational player who usually plays cash games and tournaments, was among the first players at Stones when the venue first opened its doors in Northern California and began livestreaming games. Roger Bailey, who pioneered the Stones Live show, was friends with Brill. Roger was the one who put Brill, alongside partner Jake Rosentiel in the commentary booth during the early days of Stones Live.
When the show progressed, more commentary staff were brought in, and Brill slowly moved away from the booth, though she still commentates occasionally.
First Encounter with Postle
Brill said Postle was among the regulars at Stones and also frequently played in the Sacramento area. He took part in a lot of tournament and cash games, and many considered him just a regular cash game grinder, until his impressive winning streak during livestreamed games at Stones.
Brill revealed Postle was not that popular as a player among poker circles prior to 2018 when he started crushing every livestreamed game at the venue. Brill said she had some friends who had tried playing against Postle in $5-$10 and most of them would attest that he was a losing player.
Cheating suspicions then started to circulate about Postle only choosing to play livestreamed games and avoiding bigger ones. Brill said Postle, most of the time, walked away as the biggest winner in every cash game sessions he took part in.
If someone is displaying a probability of cheating on a live stream you don't make the entire room not be able to use their cellphones in an attempt to reduce everyone's anxiety and then still promote the player as one of the best.
Mark Postle Poker
— Veronica 2.0 (@Angry_Polak) September 28, 2019