One of the banes of any poker game is when one or more players are colluding. Collusion – when two people or more are working in concert with each other to improve the chances of someone from the team winning – has been a part of the game since the riverboat days on the Mississippi. A recent collusion ring found on a popular site not only has now been shut down but steps have been taken to prevent the act in the future.
The online site partypoker has been around for much of the history of online poker. With this in mind, it is likely that someone alleging collusion on the site wasn’t a first-time occurrence. Thus, when a player by the moniker ‘DukeOfSuffolk’ went on the board at Two Plus Two late last month with his allegations of online collusion, people were skeptical. Only after looking at some of the actions on the virtual table did people begin to believe ‘DukeOfSuffolk’ and his allegations.
On that Two Plus Two thread, ‘DukeOfSuffolk’ found that a group of six players were always on the felt together. From the start of May through October, these players often were found playing in the same events. ‘Suffolk’ compiled his evidence and the finishes of those players, in which one of the six was usually going very deep in the events. Repeatedly this occurred, which finally saw ‘Suffolk’ voice his concerns to a partypoker representative.
As the investigative team at partypoker sprang into action, other players did some investigating on their own and found other players likely involved in the collusion ring and passed it through the Two Plus Two boards. There was also discussion of what would happen to any winnings if they were to be seized from those allegedly colluding, a premature but, as it would be seen, thought that partypoker would address.
In a post on the Two Plus Two forums, a partypoker representative by the name of “Colette” reported the findings of the investigation. “I can confirm a group of accounts were found to be playing in teams in order to collude against other players,” the representative’s post began. “BOT and collusion detection techniques can require a large number of hands to accurately analyze the information and identify rogue accounts. Therefore, sometimes players can identify suspicious activity faster, depending on what they have experienced at the tables. We have sophisticated fraud control mechanisms in place that are continually being updated to counter new and more advanced fraudulent techniques.”
The representative would continue to talk about how partypoker was going to combat collusion in the future. “We have set up a new email address, collusion@partypoker.com, where players can send their suspicions directly to the team who will review the case immediately,” “Colette” wrote. “We have also formed a player panel of elite online players who will review hand histories in difficult cases and make a fair and impartial decision. Over the coming months we will be rolling out some highly advanced detection techniques that we are building.”
The result of the investigation? Although there was no financial amount mentioned by partypoker, the investigators felt that there was enough evidence to prove collusion between several accounts. The winnings of the collusion ring were seized, and the accounts were banned from play on the site. Those seized winnings were “redistributed to the affected players,” again without mention of how much money was involved. The tournaments themselves were $109 buy-in “turbos,” meaning the potential for a sizeable amount of cash being seized was likely.
Collusion is alleged frequently online, but it is highly difficult to prove. Because of the anonymous nature of the game (and the ability for players to change their names frequently), it is tough to pick up a trail of possible colluders. In ‘Suffolk’s’ case, however, he was helped by the fact that partypoker doesn’t allow for frequent nickname changes and there is an ability to track the players through their performance on the various tournament leaderboards that the site presents. While a single player can have success in these leaderboards, when a group of players appear at the top – as was the case with this collusion ring – it could be indicative of players teaming up.
The situation is a lesson for players on any poker site. If you believe that there has been collusion in a game you played, make sure to have adequate information and report the issue to the investigative department of the online site you play at. After that, it is up to the investigators, who are more than trained in detecting these issues if they have occurred.
