ClubWPT Gold criticised for paying to see hole cards

PokerioMokykla.comUpdated at 2025 m. August 20 d.

ClubWPT Gold is back in the headlines for a controversial new feature that allows players to pay to see their cards dropped.

Many members of the poker community are opposed to the new feature, which is only available to ClubWPT Gold users. Poker professionals are divided on whether this is a good or bad move for the game. Professional poker player Matt Berkey called it an "idiot tax".

wpt gold pay-to-see folded cards

How this feature works

Online poker sites usually only show cards that reach the showdown, which usually occurs when a player bets all in and the other player calls.

Until now, there has been no site where users can pay to see all the cards dealt at the table.

ClubWPT Gold announced the feature on Thursday. Professional poker player Rob Kuhn X (formerly on Twitter) posted a video showing how the feature works.

When the hand is over, players will see a button on the top left of the table that allows them to reveal the combinations of the cards they have discarded.

The site will show all discarded card combinations for three big blinds. Let's say the big blind is $5 (SC 5 sweeps in coins). Then the cost of revealing the discarded card combinations is $15. For the largest bets on the site, the price drops slightly to two big blinds.

Berkey immediately spoke out against this decision:

“It's really unhealthy. It's not healthy to have a stupid fee as long as it goes to the players – it happens all the time in live games.

But a site that sells players' data during the game, on top of that, is already a big rake… Please do better.”

Various reactions from the poker world

Many professionals agreed with Berkey that the feature is an annoyance, but some said it could help protect the game.

Poker player Hayley Hanna said it might even reduce people's desire to cheat:

“I don't think the negative repercussions will outweigh the gains. A lot of players will still pay for it.”

ClubWPT Gold has published a video with Garrett Adelstein jokingly alluding to the famous jack-four controversy to promote the new feature.

ClubWPT Gold controversial story

The site received a lot of attention when two players were banned from the WSOP during the 2025 WSOP series after receiving a $1 million prize. However, ClubWPT Gold performed well last winter when it hosted a $5 million freeroll tournament at the Wynn Las Vegas during the WPT World Championship.

We will have to wait and see whether the new online poker feature will be retained or removed after the initial negative reaction. But one thing is clear: ClubWPT Gold gets people talking about poker.