Everything was going well… until the break
Bosnian-American professional poker player Ali Imsirovic again found himself at the center of negative attention after being excluded from one of the tournaments in Florida. According to information published on PokerNews, for the first time since his February disqualification in Texas, Imsirovic played in the $1.200 Main Event of the RunGood Poker Series, where he was allowed to play.
In the past, Imsirovic already had trouble participating in games, as many series and casinos have him blacklisted. Here, however, he managed to register and join the play, and at first things looked very good. Ali gradually built up the largest stack at the table and went to the dinner break as the overall chipleader. However, when he returned after the break, he found out that his chips were gone and organizers simply informed him that he had been disqualified from the tournament.
Back to a dark past: Multi-accounting and RTA
Imsirovic's stellar career began to crumble in 2022, when several professional players, including Alex Foxen and Bill Perkins, accused him of several major rule violations – particularly multi-accounting (playing on multiple accounts in online tournaments) and using so-called RTA (Real-Time Assistance), i.e. software that advises players during the game on how to make decisions.
These practices are considered cheating in online poker and Imsirovic received bans from several operators and series because of them, including PokerGO Tour, Triton SHRS, and European Poker Tour. Several players also demanded his exclusion from live poker, but since live tournaments do not have a central body to enforce such sanctions, Imsirovic would from time to time appear at tournaments around the world – until the organizers themselves would ask him to leave. The only exception is the WSOP series, where Ali appeared in 2023/2024, making two semifinal tables.
Silence on his part and criticism from the community
Since his scandal broke, Imsirovic has almost completely withdrawn from public poker life. He appears only sporadically, mainly at smaller or unofficial tournaments, as his attempts to return to the mainstream poker scene repeatedly fail. Imsirovic has not commented publicly on this latest situation in Florida, nor did he on most previous incidents.
Opinions on this whole case in the community mostly lean toward such cheaters getting a lifetime ban. Many agree that Imsirovic no longer has any place in serious tournament poker. After the incident in Florida, it is clear that Ali Imsirovic's return to the elite will, at least in the USA, be almost impossible. The door to mainstream poker is closing to him for good, and it seems that only private events or anonymous online rooms remain open for him.
Source – X (Twitter), PokerNews, Reddit, Youtube