Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Cheating on Camera

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mattalvis

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You can't be this stupid, can you?

Pokémon TCG Indiana Regional Round 3 - Andrew Newman vs. Ryan Soles

Skip to 8:15. Newman has played an N and begins to shuffle his deck when a Pokemon Catcher falls face-up onto the table. Watch closely to where that Pokemon Catcher ends up: Newman places Pokemon Catcher on the bottom of the deck, shuffles it to the very top of the deck, and shuffles a few more into the middle of the deck (being careful not to change the top card of his deck, of course). Soles does not cut, and lone behold the top card of Newman's deck is a Pokemon Catcher.

Skip to 21:00. After Soles knocks out a Garchomp, Newman sees he needs an energy to do Dragon Blade with his second Garchomp, which sits on his bench as he decides what to promote. Despite having a free-retreating Emolga on his bench, he confidently promotes the Garchomp. He plays an N, places his hand on top of his deck, and then proceeds to actually LOOK THROUGH HIS DECK before shuffling. Newman "shuffles," Soles does not cut, and what do you know - he draws an energy.

Skip to 22:45. Newman plays a Random Receiver, revealing the remaining three cards of his deck, which includes a Garchomp. With no supporters remaining in his deck, Newman "shuffles" his three remaining cards. Normally after you search a deck with only 3-5 cards remaining, you give it a nice long shuffle so as to be sure you are sufficiently randomizing your deck. Not Newman! He "shuffles" his 3 remaining cards by simply moving the Garchomp from the front of the deck to the back, and then to the front again. Next turn he draws - wait for it - the Garchomp, and then uses Rare Candy on his last Gible.

I mean, c'mon. Normally I probably wouldn't say anything, but Soles is a friend and so I am especially angered to see Newman taking advantage of Soles being trustworthy enough to not cut Newman's deck.
 
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15:55 - Newman plays an N, needing to draw a Catcher to KO Ryan's Hydreigon. He notices the Catcher on the bottom of his deck, so he shuffles it to the top, where it never moves again. His opponent doesn't cut, and he draws the Catcher.

Seems pretty suspicious to me.
 
Wait... he put his hand on top of his deck and then proceeded to look through his deck???
How the heck was this allowed?
Where on N does it say to look through your deck?
 
I believe Andrew was previously suspended from organized play for similar reasons. One great thing about the Pokémon is that the cheaters tend to weed themselves out. This happens because cheaters notice they don't make many friends playing in such a way. Because of this, we rarely encounter persistent cheaters in Pokémon - they usually just go play other games instead.

Because I had heard from so many people about Andrew's antics, I spoke to him at Regionals about it. My words went something like this, "I don't know that you cheat, nor am I accusing you of cheating, but I hope you play fairly. It's just not worth it. You won't make many friends playing that way." Perhaps I was a round too late, I don't remember precisely when we spoke. ;)

Around 8:00-8:30 I notice a very suspicious shuffle. Once the Pokémon Catcher falls on to the table, Andrew appears to shuffle, moving the Catcher to the top of his deck. It appears to make it to the top (or towards the top) of the deck, and his two subsequent shuffles do not re-arrange the top card of his deck. He does not appear to offer a cut to his opponent, either, though I would ask Ryan if he verbally declared that he would not cut the deck, since there is no audio. After Andrew draws his hand, you can see that the first card drawn was indeed a Pokémon Catcher. According to Sucevich, Andrew drew no other Pokémon Catcher in his hand, so if we can assume the Pokémon Catcher Andrew was shuffling towards the top of his deck was in the top six cards (I most definitely do, based on what I can see in 720p), it was indeed placed on top of the deck - and although I'm hesitant to implicate someone, being more concerned for the integrity of the game, I'll give my opinion that this was done intentionally.

Throughout the game, other shuffles Andrew performs appear suspicious to me as well, however, I do not believe there is conclusive proof of cheating in the other instances. Let me reiterate, though, that what we see around 8:00-8:30, IMO, appears deliberate.

Two lessons to learn from this:
1) Don't cheat (especially on camera).
2) Even a stacked deck can't make Garchomp/Altaria good.
 
I sat near him during R4 and overheard him telling his opponent that he took some time off from the game but then decided to come back and that he was this fantastic player from his area. It's funny to hear that the reason he didn't play is because he was banned.

You would think the absolute last place you would try to cheat would be on a recorded live stream at a regionals.
 
Ness said:
Two lessons to learn from this:
1) Don't cheat (especially on camera).
2) Even a stacked deck can't make Garchomp/Terakion good.
Click to expand...

^Fixed*

I've seen enough false shuffles to recognize what I'm seeing here. It's even more surprising that he'd have the guts to try something like this while be recorded.
 
Aside from the whole alleged cheating issue, I ask that you all not attach emotion to shuffling or cutting. While it may be true that Ryan's lack of cutting suggests respect, you should never feel embarrassed to shuffle ANYONE'S deck (not like he did - I know Ryan and am positive his motive in not cutting was respect).

Even if you're up against a good friend, more shuffling is always a positive thing so long as it doesn't take away from time too much.
 
I'm certainly hoping that this video is shown to TPCI and something CAN be done about this. We do not need people like this in the game, or want folks like this playing. I was one of the judges during the tournament, and this table was set in the very front of the room, as it was the very top table during the round. I was judging another division, but was given a heads up by another judge that this was a player worth keeping an eye on. I walked over and glanced at things a couple times during the match, but of course the things that did happen during the round would be when a judge wasn't nearby.

I am thoroughly disgusted by this.
 
To anyone passing by this thread that isn't bothering to watch the video...
Seriously- check out 8:15 onward. It actually makes me feel sick.
 
First off this is disgusting. Secondly, getting your opponent to not cut your deck doesn't have to come down to respect, trust, or making them feel bad. Psychology can play a large part in getting your opponent to not cut your deck. All you have to do is establish a sense of rapport and tell your opponent what action you want them to take.

As an experiment, I'd recommend you play a few games at league. DO NOT stack your deck, but try to get your opponent to not cut your deck. Typically all it takes is when your opponent offers you their deck, say "no cut" firmly, and give your opponent a smile. The firm statement means that that is the action you want to take place and the smile establishes a sense of rapport. After a few examples of these, the opponent will stop cutting as long as you refrain from cutting. From the cheater's point of view, if neither player cuts, the cheater is ahead (assuming the opponent isn't stacking either). Stopping a person from cutting your deck is honestly fairly easy even if you have never met your opponent.

To any players reading this, make cutting/shuffling your opponent's deck a habit. If your opponent draws without offering, make sure you call them on it. Demand a reshuffle. Experienced players do not make this kind of mistake. 9/10 times, if your opponent is experienced (been playing for a while), they're trying to cheat if they don't offer cut. Be a good person, offer your opponent cut, and make sure you shuffle/cut your opponent's deck. You aren't the bad-guy for demanding to cut. You're just a reasonable player playing a reasonable game. If your opponent makes a big deal about it, that means you probably nailed them on it. Don't feel bad about exercising your right to ensure that you aren't getting cheated.
 
...And another thing: You aren't some holy figure just because you refuse to cut your opponent's deck. Just because Ryan doesn't cut Newman's deck doesn't mean that he respects him; instead, Ryan respects him for all of the reasons why Ryan is such a great guy.
 
Ideally, you should change what you do(cut, no cut, shuffle) a few times during the match. Makes it difficult for less scrupulous players to do funny business or so I've heard.

But what do I know, I'm lazy and almost never cut. Maybe I should change that?
 
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