professional poker star has lost a Supreme Court challenge to get back £7.7m in winnings from a London casino. <br /> <br />Phil Ivey was accused of cheating by using a strategy known as edge sorting while playing a version of baccarat in Crockfords Club in 2012. <br /> <br />The 40-year-old American – often referred to as the “Tiger Woods of poker” – admits using the technique but maintains it is a legitimate way of playing. <br /> <br />However, five Supreme Court justices on Wednesday unanimously upheld the Court Of Appeal’s decision and said that dishonesty was not a necessary part of “cheating”. <br /> <br />The court said the poker superstar had “staged a carefully planned and executed sting” on the Mayfair casino over two days. <br /> <br />Edge sorting involves a player taking advantage in irregularities in the pattern on the back of a card. <br /> <br />Edge sorting exploits tiny differences in the pattern on the back of some playing cards <br />Image: <br />Edge sorting exploits tiny differences in the pattern on the back of some playing cards <br />Patterns often vary very slightly when they reach the edge of the card; so at one edge there could be a full diamond pattern and just three-quarters of a diamond at the other edge. <br /> <br />The gambler will manage to trick the croupier into rotating the cards so that some – for example low value cards – end up with one way and higher value cards the other way. <br /> <br />Eagle-eyed players can tell which edge is which by sight. <br /> <br />The player can then get a good idea of whether a low or high value card will be dealt next. <br /> <br />During his visits to Crockfords on 21 and 22 August 2012, Mr Ivey – with another gambler Cheung Yin Sun – persuaded the croupier to rotate the most valuable cards by pretending to be superstitious. <br /> <br />The Supreme Court court said the croupier had no idea of the significance of what she was being asked to do. <br /> <br />“Mr Ivey staged a carefully planned and executed sting,” said a summary of the judgment.
