Poker Community in Uproar
ClubWPT Gold, the World Poker Tour’s sweepstakes-based platform, is facing intense backlash over its newly launched “Reveal Hands” feature—a paid option that allows players to view all hole cards at the end of a hand. The move has sparked outrage among poker professionals, who say it compromises the integrity of the game and amounts to a blatant monetization of player data.
A Controversial Twist to Gameplay
The feature, introduced via a flashy promotional video referencing the infamous Garrett Adelstein hand from Hustler Casino Live, lets users pay three times the big blind to unlock everyone’s private cards post-hand. For example, in a $2/$4 game, the cost would be $12 per reveal.
While ClubWPT Gold has long marketed itself as a boundary-pushing platform offering daily prize opportunities to U.S. players, this latest innovation has drawn comparisons to “selling out the game” for profit.
Poker Pros Sound Off
The poker world didn’t hold back. On X (formerly Twitter), the reaction was swift and scathing:
- Matt Berkey, PokerOrg advisory board member, called the feature “actually sick,” criticizing the platform for charging what he dubbed an “idiot tax” without redistributing the funds to affected players.
- Brian Rast, Poker Hall of Famer, slammed the idea as “one of the worst” he’s ever seen, arguing that monetizing hand reveals purely for house profit is indefensible.
- Alec Torelli, high-stakes pro and coach, likened the feature to a live dealer accepting bribes to expose cards—calling it “moronic on so many levels.”
- Greg Himmelbrand, with over $2.5M in tournament earnings, said, “This may be the single worst feature I’ve ever seen offered in history.”
- Shaun Deeb, fresh off his 2025 WSOP Player of the Year win, warned that the feature could “kill the site” long-term, calling the decision “awful marketing.”
Ethics, Rake, and Player Trust
Critics argue that if the revenue from the Reveal Hands feature were redirected to the players whose cards were exposed, it might be marginally defensible. As it stands, however, the house profits from revealing sensitive in-game information—raising serious concerns about fairness, transparency, and the future of online poker ethics.
ClubWPT Gold has yet to respond publicly to the mounting criticism.
