Back in 2008, a group of sharp-eyed poker players stumbled upon one of the wildest software glitches in online poker history—on Betfair Poker’s ‘Six-Pack’ sit & gos. The bug was simple but insane: if all six players went all-in on the first hand with equal stacks, the winner took first-place money… and every other player was credited with second-place payouts.
Chaos Unleashed
With Betfair’s offices closed overnight, the glitch went unnoticed for hours, giving coordinated players a golden opportunity. By exploiting the flaw, some quickly climbed the stakes ladder, netting hundreds of thousands of dollars. Rumors on poker forums suggested total losses may have reached $1.7 million before Betfair intervened the following afternoon.
Once discovered, the sit & gos were immediately suspended for a software upgrade and remained offline for over 24 hours. Withdrawal limits and account freezes helped the site recover some funds, while some of the ill-gotten gains flowed into high-stakes heads-up cash games.
Forum Frenzy
Poker forums, particularly 2+2, erupted with disbelief and excitement. One poster summarized the chaos:
“The winner got the standard 1st place prize money. The 2nd place person got the 2nd place prize money. And the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th players also got 2nd place prize money!!!”
Players tested the glitch repeatedly, going all-in every hand, confident they were guaranteed to profit. “I just wish I had been part of it,” one forum user lamented.
Betfair’s Response
Eventually, Betfair began freezing accounts and demanding repayment from those who exploited the bug. The company initially issued a “no comment” statement as investigations unfolded, but emails to affected players clarified the situation:
“You recently received payments from Sit & Go STTs on Betfair Poker in circumstances that resulted in greater payouts than intended… The games were incorrectly set up to pay everyone involved in certain all-in situations, and this was exploited… The winnings received as a result of this exploitation must be returned.”
The story made headlines in The Telegraph, but after Betfair’s intervention, it quickly faded from public view.
Legacy of the Glitch
Though nearly 15 years have passed, the incident remains legendary among online poker enthusiasts. It’s a rare example of a bug so generous that everyone—literally—felt like a winner, even if only briefly.
This glitch serves as a reminder of just how unpredictable online poker can be when technology—and human ingenuity—intersect.
