Online Poker Tips: Recognizing Collusion

Poker Tells, Online Poker
January 14 2009

Online poker presents some opportunities for cheaters to try and beat the game. Collusion is the term used to describe when two or more players work together to cheat at a game. They will play at the same table and connect through another form of communication like the telephone or MSN. They know each other’s hands and will force the action to steal pots. Their money is usually pooled, so it doesn’t matter who wins a particular hand.

It’s not difficult to detect if collusion is going on at your table. The action is usually hyper-aggressive, and it seems like the same two or three players are in every hand. The aggression is to force players out of the hand and steal as many pots as possible. Once everyone else is out, the remaining players back off the aggression, even folding to a river bet after they reraised the turn. They’ll also soft-play with big hands that you’ll get to see at showdown.
 
If you think that the betting patterns are odd, watch for two players who are in most of the hands. They’re often from the same place, and they’ll usually leave the table at the same time. If this happens during a game you’re in you should make a note of the hand number and send an email to the poker room support. They will investigate, and most online poker rooms are very good at banning players that are in collusion.

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