Subject: Pissichio trial Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 12:20:54 +0100 (WET DST) From: Marko Cicin-Sain To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Hy Frank, I have to react to all this talking regarding cheating and players playing incorectly. YES, there is a cheating factor that should be judged, but there is also a great factor of judge will. Many times can happen that a judge favorite a player (for ex. the player and the judge are friends) and then they wreck another player to make his friend win. EX. this year I played the sumer marathon in Trieste, Italy, and two of my friends was given match losses. For 1 of them I agree, since he forget to return to deck some cards that previously was taken from his deck by a jester cap, but look at the other situation: my teammate makes a mana check, the opponent allows it, then he riffle shuffle his deck two or three times, offering then to the opponent to shuffle it by himself. He instead call the judge, acuse my friend for cheating, the judge looks his deck, and gives him a match loss for not randomising his deck enough. I try to complain, trying to explain how the things realy was, but he don't listen to me. Later I found the same guy talking and joking with the judge about the experience they had in another tournament... I don't know what the names of the judge (he was the head judge at the event) or the player (he was from Bologna) was. My teammate name vas Vedran Vrsalovic. Nothing to hide here. We where awarden a game loss thnx. to, what I think, is not only abad judge decision, but a volontary will of a judge to award a game loss to make his friend win. Regarding the Pissichio affair. I don't know the guy since I'm playing magic for fun, and not for money. The only comunication I ever had with him was a leter of support where I wrote mostly the same things that I'm writing here now. It was yesterday, and he asked me to write to the Dojo. It was a very hard decision for me, since my english is bad and since I'm nobody in the magic comunity. Then I started to think, and finaly realised that this are the things that will make me more objective than any other person who could write something about the case. So I decided to write this article. It is strange to me why is it always the same persons involved? You could say because a cheater is a cheater, and that's it. But if I would be a cheater, I would wait a long time before I would try to cheat again. I wouldn't do it again and again, especialy if I am a bad one and get easily caught. If I'm playing magic, and if I'm doing it good, it means that I'm not stupid, since this is basicaly a strategy game requiring a lot of thinking. And why they didn't allow mr. Pissichio to see the land mark? It looks very much as my case when the judge wouldn't give me the deck of my friend so that I can see if it randomised enough or not. I think that mr. Pissichio has probably cheated in some events, perhaps he is only a victim of unfortunate ocasion, I don't know, but regarding to Worlds: eliminating a player for cheating without showing to him how did he cheat? I don't think so. Why didn't they allow to Pissichio to shuffle his deck, and then to pull the cards, while the judge guesses what cards is he pulling?I think that some people who don't like him has done this. I was mad for a match loss on a minor event. I can think how mad was him for being eliminated from the biggest event of the year. Since I read Dojo all the time, I can see many persons don't like him, mostly Americans (I don't refer to mrs. Nicoloff, even if she especialy seems to dislike him. I think that thnx. to her some things has finaly been setled down, and some other important issues have been finaly discussed. And, of course, I don't know her). IS it on racial bases or what like italians pointed it out? I don't know. I think that is all about money. My personal opinion is that mr. Pisicchio is a scapegoat. If somebody wanted to say a different thing, they should have allowed the deck check in front of him at the tourney. Since they didn't, I must objectivly say that they eliminated him from the game without a) giving him the oportunity to defend himself and b) for a not prooved crime Ex. I'm a judge on a event. I could say you have a card marked in deck, you are eliminated from the game. "Show me the card". No, I will not. You are eliminated (while the deck is 100% OK). This is how I see things were. What I want to say: 1. There is a cheating factor, and yes it must be reduced by severe laws, but... 2. There is also a bad judging factor, and WOC allows many persons who don't know very good the rules to become high level judges. The tests can be solved by a friend of them, higher judge. Why not? I discovered that I know the rules better than some higher level judges (level 2 and 3), and I am just a part time player. 3. Pro magic is no game anymore. It is a way to make money for some of the best player. It is more a sport. Bribery/cheating and similiar things are to be expected. Conclusion: I think that the world affair has tought us a very good lesson. I think that all of it is now on the judge staff. Try to become better, since what I have seen from you till now is bad. Players ARE cheating, but not always. Do random tests, not only on persons who you know as the "marked one" (even if they should be checked on every ocasion), but also on the mr. Nice guys. And be objective. You are judges, you have to be objective. Thnx. for reading even with my bad english. P.S. I'm not from Italia, I'm from Croatia. This should excluse me as an "italian who is protecting his own kind". The italian judges are the one who misjudged me in several ocasions. This should make me talk all but nice about them or their players. We are neighbour countries, and we don't love or hate each other. I'm not a pro player, so this should exclude me of knowing mr. Pissicio. I'm an observer, and I tryed to be as objective as possible.