I will paraphrase the words of the Bodog Network VP:
As always, Bodog Network agrees that poker bots and collusion are a threat to the online poker industry. With the launch of the new poker software they have also improved their back-end and they have systems monitoring suspicious behavior and notifying the poker security team.
I cannot go into any more detail than that, but Bodog Network is clearly not interested in short-term gain- they are thinking about the long-term health and fairness of the poker network and the industry as a whole.
Also, if you ever notice any suspicious behavior, please call the CS of the poker site on which you are playing and report it.
Thank you!
Becky
If I ever notice any suspicious behaviour? How can I if I don't even know who the player ('number') is?
There's been times where I've come across colluders (on other sites) who were playing same tables together (I've seen this in ring games & in SNG's).
One example of where I reported the individuals was only because I was able to track & watch their activity 'over a period of time'. I was also able to run their player names through a game stats. tracking software that clearly showed that over 85% of their play was on the same tables. (it wasn't just that they were on same tables obviously... initially came to may attention because of how they'd played a couple/few
hands in later levels of a SNG).
I reported the individuals & I never ever saw them again (& know for a fact that they no longer played on the site because they never had another game show up when I checked on the game stat. tracking software). This left me feeling quite satisified. Knowing that the site wasn't able to divulge any info. about the situation to me (which sometimes leaves one wondering " Did they really even do anything about it?") but being able to check for myself that indeed both players were booted off of the site.
How could I ever possibly dream of doing anything like this on Bodog? Obviously I can't so to me as a player there is no re-assurance that anything is being done at all.
To suggest "... if you ever notice any suspicious behaviour" this is really a joke (imo).
The example I gave above re: looking for suspicious activity & then actually being able to research it a bit for myself is only one of many that I've dealt with. I've observed & reported a handful of cases in the past 4yrs. It's also comforting to know that there are MANY other players who play far more than myself & have much better tools/methods to identify cheats are out there in the community helping to keep things on the up & up on the tables. None of this is possible on Bodog.
On another note, the whole anonymity thing is just so ridiculous. Even to a newbie who's learning the game. Taking out the ability to gain reads on opponents & to work on exploiting their weaknesses & tendancies turns the game into little more than a video game.
I played the CC Bodog priv. tourney last night (the only game I've played on Bodog since the 'down'grade) & the only thing I found even remotely entertaining & amusing was > trying to figure out who was player 12, who was #11, etc. It turned what is typically a good game (lots of metagame stuff) into a boring game. I can't see how even a rookie could be interested in this.