When you enter a poker room, can you be sure that you’re not being set up? Unless you know who you’re playing against (which you won’t if you’re playing honestly), you can never be sure.
You can be playing with four guys who are sitting in the same room (or connected via another method) whose job it is to take your money, and you’ll never know.
What follows is a guide to help you figure out if the people you are playing against aren’t playing against each other.
The most common form of poker cheating you are going to run into in the online venue is known as “collusion.” It’s when a group of players are working together and working against one other player (you). This is hard to detect in the online world. In the real world, you can see telltale signs of players giving each other signals as to their cards and such. In the online world, unless you are aware of the possibility of this particular cheat, you will likely lose all your money and go on your merry way without a clue. Remember: If you aren’t particularly skilled at poker, you may just be losing. Either way, it’s a good idea to get out before you lose too much.
Your first sign that you’re in a room with a bunch of players on the same team is that you’re a skilled player losing an inordinate amount of times. You won’t have the disadvantage of being dealt bum cards at a legit poker site, so if you can’t win every once in a while, you should know something’s up. Unfortunately, that may be one of the few tells of this particular brand of cheating. Remember: You have to be on an even playing field to succeed at poker. If you feel like that’s not the case, don’t hesitate to cash out and find some other players to sit down with.
Another form of cheating you may encounter online is a “bot” player. This player is a computer program designed to eliminate the flaws that human players are prone to. They’ll play the odds, know the cards that have been thrown and not make bets that they aren’t likely to win. Bots don’t suffer from the same sort of they-don’t-have-the-cards or if-I-could-just-luck-out hubris that human players do. Because of the missing human element, these players are very difficult to beat. Your chances of winning go down significantly when you’re up against them. Unfortunately, dishonest poker sites have been known to actually employ bots to work on their behalf.
If the bot is working on behalf of the poker site you’re on, they will know the cards coming up. Occasionally, sites will employ humans who are aware of the cards instead of bots. They may allow you to win every once in a while to keep you off their scent, but you will end up in a huge hole by the time you cash out. If the cards keep falling one players way or another player has an uncanny ability to know when to hold ‘em and fold ‘em, then get out. It’s not worth sticking around to investigate the behavior of other players while your money disappears.
If you suspect you are a victim of poker collusion, a bot or an informed player, you must notify the site where you’re playing. If the site is legit, it may hold the money you lost and will definitely ban the player who cheated. You will have to present solid evidence of the cheating to properly indict another player in the eyes of the casino, but if you are sure of the situation and stand your ground, you should be able to prove your point.
Once you’ve established that you’re playing with cheaters, your last move is to help out the poker community. Find every message board and watchdog site you can find that will allow you to tell your story. The best way to stop these people – who might as well be faceless computer programs – or these sites is to make others aware of their tendencies.
