Poker World Shaken by DDoS Attacks and Major Tournament Wins

August 2018 was a tumultuous month for the online poker community as three major poker rooms—America’s Card Room, partypoker, and PokerStars—faced DDoS attacks. The first attack targeted America’s Card Room on August 5, disrupting their Mini Online Super Series tournament, which had a total guarantee of over $10 million. The attack forced the cancellation of four tournaments on the first day, and issues persisted for two more days before stabilizing on August 8.

Partypoker was the next target, with a DDoS attack on August 9 causing tournament disruptions and preventing players from accessing the client. The attack was confirmed by partypoker's managing director, Tom Water, who stated that it lasted for several hours. All affected tournaments were canceled, and the issues took more than two days to resolve. The poker room apologized to all players for the inconvenience.

PokerStars faced a significant DDoS attack on August 12, which halted several tournaments, including the popular Sunday Million. The attack affected the main room and reservations in India and Italy but spared players from Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Romania. These players continued to play while others were stuck, leading to the eventual cancellation of the tournaments. Additional complications arose from the payouts, which had to be calculated based on the stacks at the moment of disconnection. The issues persisted into the following days, raising concerns about the vulnerability of poker rooms ahead of major series like WCOOP and Powerfest.