Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Once A Cheater, Always A Cheater


This weekend I played in GP DC. As my team dwindled down the ranks, I couldn't help but notice one team climbing.

If you don't know who Alex Bertoncini is, that's okay. That was once me too. I remember the first time I met Alex. Four years ago (2014), I was at a random SCG in Ohio and wasn't doing well in the tournament. I decided to go out to the bar with three people who seemed to know me, even though I didn't know them. Among them was Alex. I found him to be super nice and personable. We kept in contact for a few months following the tournament. Around this same time, I moved to Las Vegas to be with my then-boyfriend. When he discovered I was talking to Alex, he becomes agitated, told me he was cheater, and that I should stop talking to him. I have never liked people telling me what to do; that fact paired with Alex's charisma made it hard for me to believe him a cheater. Alex gushed charm. He's hard to dislike. If I thought he was a cheater, I would have no longer liked him. I pressed on.

Shortly after, I was talking to another friend of mine who said I didn't have to take anyone's word that Alex was a cheater- I could see for myself. He linked the article he wrote. I saw a critique of this article saying we are taking one person's word over another's. In that article is the infamous "two Explores." Other links no longer exist, but I have dug up the Kira cheat video. After Drew's article, Alex was banned until 2017. After his ban was lifted he immediately cheated (here is a video detailing this). That was his third ban. Now he is back on the scene and from what I have witnessed, cheating again. **Editor note: I could spend all day posting the videos of his prior cheats. You can Google them and get many results. If you have never heard of Alex, I encourage you to do so.**
In the last round of the GP, I happened to be watching a match that was close enough to Alex's match that I could see the entire match. I didn't intend to watch his match, but when I looked over to see how it was going, I could not help but notice how Alex was shuffling his cards. Most of us learn early in Magic, either from an opponent telling us or intuition, not to look at your deck when you're shuffling. I watched closely as Alex would lift his cards and almost fluidly peek and look away from the cards he was bridging. While doing this, he would joke, talk to his teammates, and pause shuffling anytime his opponent would watch. I wanted to be sure before I called, I judge. I observed the behavior 4/6 times. I was sure and had a judge observe. He started shuffling...once- he didn't do it, twice- he didn't do it. I started to get nervous the judge would see, but time three (and the last time before he presented), he glanced at his deck again. I whispered to the judge, "that's the behavior I observed." What happened next is truly unbelievable. His opponent did not cut his deck! Alex played one drop, two drop, three drop. Sure people can curve out, but his three drop happened to be Goblin Chainwhirler, a fairly unbeatable card on turn 3. They go to game three, and I happen to notice a judge watching Alex shuffle. **Note: Some arguments "pro-Alex" I have gotten is how closely judges watch him, but until I called a judge no one was even close to observing his match.**

By this time, a friend had joined me, and I explained to him the behavior I exhibited in game two. He watched and saw the same behavior, and I thought the judge watching could as well. At this point, another judge had passed by me, and I commented again. He must have taken the accusation more seriously because he quickly got the head judge for me to tell my story to. Before leaving, the judge asked a question that I think is a very important point to this whole story. He asked, "Why don't you think his opponents noticed?" Team tournaments are a cheaters paradise. Your opponents are distracted. They are either talking to their teammates or trying to see what is going on in their match. I explained to the head judge when the shuffle cheating happened, his opponent was covering his mouth (and therefore his face and eyes) with his hands, so Alex's team could not see what he was saying. As I said, I only saw the behavior 4/6 and then 1/3 times. When Alex's opponent was paying attention, Alex was mindful of shuffling correctly. The HJ took note and walked away to speak with the other judges. I went back to watching Alex shuffle. Without fail, he looks while shuffling. The judges were still watching. I thought we had him.

After game three, the HJ pulled him aside, and they started discussing. They spoke for about ten minutes, then Alex came back. Nothing happened. If this were anybody else, I could understand the judges giving him the benefit of the doubt, but this is seasoned cheater Alex Bertoncini. Think about how many game rules violations he has used his charisma to sweet talk his way out of. He has been caught cheating three times and banned, but he has cheated many more times.

In closing, I have two messages, one to the judges and one to the players. To the judges I spoke with at GP DC and observed this behavior: please reconsider what decision was made. A cheater that is caught cheating, but not punished is only encouraged to cheat again. Judges who will be at tournaments he will be at in the future: have one person dedicated to watch Alex. That might seem costly and ineffective, but it is not as costly as the blind robbery that is taking place otherwise. Players: if you are paired against Alex and there is not already a judge present, call a judge at the start of the match. Request they stay from start to finish. As a player, it is hard to watch your opponent every second of every round, and if you give Alex even a second, he will cheat you.

In the future, maybe WOTC will consider a lifetime ban for multiple-time offenders, but as of now, this cheater will constantly play among us. We have to be diligent. Share your stories, whether they are big or they are small. Don't brush them off. Don't let the time he fumbled his cards at an FNM slide; it matters. It all matters.

16 comments:

  1. I'm friends with a old school magic pro who was around the competitive MTG scene back in the 93-95' era who knew Mike Long. The way he tells it is that guys like Mike Long and Alex B. consider cheating to be part of the "skill" of the game. If your opponent is not focusing enough on what you are doing to catch you cheating, then he deserves to lose. Honestly, so long as players are allowed to handle their own decks whilst shuffling and allowed to hold and fiddle with their cards in their hands, cheating will always be an issue. Watch the WSOP tournaments. Players are not even allowed to pick their cards up off the table and they never touch the deck.

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    1. I agree. I think you are allowed to have a judge shuffle your opponent's deck. I think players who thinking cheating is part of the skill should get a lifetime ban. Their opinion on the matter will never change, so they should never be allowed back. By not lifetime banning they are enforcing your statement. They are punished for being caught, not for the act itself.

      Thanks for the insight.

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    2. There was a time when the "cheating as skill" thing wasn't completely crazy. Believe it or not, cheating-without-getting-caught actually is traditionally viewed by many as a fundamental part of some games (there is a regional Bridge derivative around here called "Euchre", and it's just sort of understood that if you are playing at a high level then part of the game is crossboarding and even reneging without getting caught -- early Magic seems to have been much the same). But it's been almost 20 years since those days, and the DCI has been pretty aggressive in cleaning things up. That philosophy should have been extinct long ago.

      I agree about lifetime bans for multiple cheaters. And I'm someone who actually thinks there should be a huge amount of leniency for first-time cheaters... First, because the line between an honest mistake and intentional cheating is so hard to draw; and second, because opportunistic cheating is the kind of thing that otherwise good people will rationalize away -- I think a lot of people can be reformed after they realize how serious it is. Of course, with someone like Bertoncini, he certainly already knows how serious it is. There's no reason to have him still playing sanctioned Magic.

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    3. I love Euchre. I'm form Ohio. I get it :)

      As far as Alex goes, I would venture to say he doesn't view it as serious and other cheaters don't either because of how lightly WOTC seems to take multiple offenses, and how easy it is for him to talk his way out of it after he's been caught. With his reputation I think there was no excuses for the judges ignoring his behavior once I reported it. In a DM I mentioned that *maybe* I had a better vantage point that the judge standing behind him to see what was going on. If I am telling a judge he is looking at his cards while he is shuffling, you can't stand behind him and expect to see where his eyes go as I did.

      The sentencing of multiple offenses needs to reflect the seriousness of the charge and there needs to be a no tolerance policy. Reformed cheaters need to behave beyond reproach. Otherwise we can and SHOULD assume you are up to the same tactics. If you need an example of how to behave look at Saito.

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    4. Haha I happen to be in the one place outside of Ohio where people play euchre (far upstate NY like Rochester).

      So yeah, you get it, lol :D 😂

      Agree completely with all of that.

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  2. If you're ever paired against him, don't just cut his deck, full on shuffle it. You're completely allowed to do so. Bonus points if you pretend that you don't know who he is and make awkward jokes like "Man, how dumb do you think someone has to be to get banned for doing something and then still keep doing it? I mean, come on Lance, stop juicing already, amirite?!"

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    1. I used cut to mean manipulate his deck before giving it back to him in this context.

      Also, lolololol. Please tell me someone has done that! XD

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  3. " Judges who will be at tournaments he will be at in the future: have one person dedicated to watch Alex. That might seem costly and ineffective, but it is not as costly as the blind robbery that is taking place otherwise. Players: if you are paired against Alex and there is not already a judge present, call a judge at the start of the match. Request they stay from start to finish."

    I have several problems with this statement. If we do this for one player, we should do this for all players, as judges treat every player equally. We simply don't have the staff available to watch every single player in the tournament all the time. And if you want to give Alex a special treatment, I encourage you to spell out a clear line where we start watching players more closely than other players.

    And talking about costly... we can do it. If we raise entrance fees significantly. It would make judging very boring, and it would make playing very costly. It would lead to witch hunts. It would damage the game; in a different way than cheaters do, but it's not an easy solution to solve all unfun situations.

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    1. Alex is not a normally player. I think his behavior shows that he should not be treated like any other player. If there is a judge call and you have to leave your post that's understandable, but I think roaming the hall until something happens is a much worse use of your time than watching Alex 24/7.

      I think the fact you view Alex as a regular player shows the exact reason he wasn't DQ'd this weekend. Thank you for that insight.

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    2. Once again, I kindly encourage you to spell out a line where we should start treating players differently. Clearly, lex is on one side of the line and you're on the other, but how should judges know and how should judges make this distinction? Should Alex call in advance if he wants to attend a tournament, so we can staff an extra judge just for him?

      Lady Justice is always depicted with a blindfold, as justice should be blind. Judges (both legal and Magic) look at the facts, the actions, the intentions... but never at the person. If we start treating Alex differently, we open the gates to a whole lot of new unfair problems. Including discrimination, racism, sexism and what not.

      I appreciate your sentiment, I understand your desire to solve this. I just encourage you to look at it from a more objective standpoint, and to see that no better alternative exists than treating all players equally.

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    3. But don't normal judges also rule differently when someone has a criminal record? I dont see how this is "not treating everybody equally". As far as i know your even not allowed to vote if you are a convict in the US, right (german guy here, sorry for my english)? If someone has a proven record of cheating he just has forfit his right to be treated like everybody else. Im 100% sure that this kind of thinking is compatible with common concepts of law.

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    4. If there is established evidence of a pattern of criminal history, it can be used to show likelihood of committing the same act again (i.e. somebody who has been convicted of rape numerous times in the past on trial for rape can have this brought into evidence but someone who has a history of theft on trial for rape won't have their history brought up). This is the case with Alex. He has a documented history and "convictions" for cheating in the game. Any judge calls involving Alex cheating should be investigated more heavily than that of your average player because he has established a pattern of doing so despite any punishment he has received. Is this prejudicial? Yes. Is it unfair? No. He brought this upon himself and continues to do so because of the relative slap on the wrist he receives compared to what he can earn if he is not caught. His cost-benefit analysis is right on spot with the current investigatory/punishment system.

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