Is This Cheating? (SoftPlay)

[Rational Madman]

Keep your head down, mouth shut and tell the mods that you simply find it very hard to read that player so you bet soft in fear.

Make sure to not play often with that person, this will support your case that it's fear as opposed to mercy.

Corruption only works if you don't speak of it.

 

[Syltan]

Cheating when 6 friends sit at the table and perform the task
at pokerstars

 

[Acunaaldje]

Is it cheating "NO" Is it unethical "ABSOLUTELY"

Completely agree, but it happends....so you'll have tot deal with it unfortunatly...

 

[MikeCarasone]

Definitely. Softplaying a friend is cheating. If your going easy on a friend or a nice person, hot member of the opposite sex it's giving them an unfair edge that your not going to everyone.

 

[CallmeFloppy]

If a player is playing differently against another player in a way that benefits that other player, I would define that as collusion, which is a form of cheating.

 

[AKbadboyAK]

Has anyone ever written in big buy-in tournaments ?

It happened to me and it was not very good.

 

[dlam]

I starting to go to new poker room and immediate notice soft play between two player. Another regular tells me they are buddies and he never seats down when they are together playing. This really irritates me as dealer and other players allow it. I’m on the look out for more collusion

 

[gwj63]

without more information.....
if they bet aggressively against everyone except each other
yes, its cheating
its collusion
it can look like soft play but if its hard against everyone else but soft against each other.....
its collusion

 

[charliej]

Yes

 

[myquickwit]

Yes it's definitely cheating.

 

[NBDG8477]

its a touchy situation but for me YES it is

 

[FoxMS]

Yes, I think that such actions of the players can be called a conspiracy to deceive other players. This is forbidden by the rules.

 

[aasdehaas]

Any form of teamwork is riggin the game.

 

[SubZero111]

No its not cheating. Let them have their buddy buddy fun and go somewhere else like another table if possible..Or even better, take all their chips!!!!

 

[BoyNamedSude]

I agree with you on this, and while the verbiage "collusion" is an intrinsically criminal one, and is not often applied to those it should be applied to... (I am referring to Governmental, International, Banking, Insurance, Energy sectors among others).
On the poker table, collusion could be even an unconscious act, based on feelings we may have, or things we consider may be inappropriate at the time.
I was faced with such a situation the other day when i called an "all in" against Mr. Hugh... I had J9 suited.
Now, it was early in the game, but it was also part of my strategy to go hard early. I had to shake off the weight of "who" i was against, and go with the feeling... if I had not done that, then I would have been guilty of collusion.
In many "organizations" there is favouritism, and collusion amongst friends... I consider it to be "human".
Is it collusion if you don't play hard against your friends?
How does one attribute a penalty for it...?
If you thought about it, in a poker table sense, how could you make it work for you?
I can think of two ways...
1. when they are both in a hand, drop out and leave them.
2. use the chat tool, and outright accuse them of it...so everyone else will see it...that would reverse the collusion on them.

 

[xpvictor1]

Requirements

There are still requirements to become a freeroll club member. Then they wouldn't be aspiring anymore.

You joined in Aug 2007 and you're still an Aspiring Member?!!? Tough Moderators on this website!!!

More information is needed to make that assessment. Is it two buddies that 'raise and bet aggressively against everyone at the table' until it is the two of them heads up? Or aggressively betting until it is the three of them (the two buddies) against one? In reality, just a version of the first scenario. Is it one or both betting/raising aggressively every hand to isolate?

One solution could be to bring it to the attention of the poker room manager but I'm not sure the PM will be able to do too much about it. And if it become obvious to the infraction players that it was you that was causing the commotion, they may turn their aggression against you...

At my B&M, I have several players that play to win every single hand, regardless of their holdings. They show up with everything under the sun. I've found the very best way to avoid their play every hand, raise/reraise style, is to table change or find a different room to play in. If you think there is cheating going on, find a different table and/or casino.

 

[gjwalk]

Most of the time this would be considered to be "soft play" or collusion. But, another explanation could be the players know each other's skill well and would prefer not to play against each other. If they get a great hand like AA and fold it rather than play against their friend, that's cheating.

 

[uros1991]

Why is it cheating ? First of all you need to build up stack to get to that situation so you can bully all on the table And second as soon as you see something like that,you eather stand up or report that type of play

 

[57noona]

I think that it is a form of cheating. Not a major form of cheating, but a small one.

 

[yoejslattery]

It creates a problem because everyone else at the table is on there own but you have essentially teamed up.

 

[German629]

First of all, I think any play, if this not forbidden rules in the present time - this normal.
This is fact! Secondly, if cheating not proven security service poker site - means only one:
the all OK! All simply. Because Poker is a democratic game: everybody playing how wants
and how can at the moment, and if (I repeat) this not forbidden rules, etc... That all!

 

[fundiver199]

First of all, I think any play, if this not forbidden rules in the present time - this normal.
This is fact! Secondly, if cheating not proven security service poker site - means only one:
the all OK! All simply. Because Poker is a democratic game: everybody playing how wants
and how can at the moment, and if (I repeat) this not forbidden rules, etc... That all!

Softplay is against the TOS of all poker sites, so if two players actively agree about it, its definitely cheating. In cash games it does not really matter, but in SnGs its pretty important especially on the bubble.

Lets say, the two cheating players are in the blinds, it folds to them, and everyone have a similar stack size. SB look down at QQ, but he just complete. BB look down at AK, but he just knock his option. And after the flop they do the same and check all the way to showdown, where one of them win a very small pot.

This is cheating, because against anyone else QQ would have raised, AK would have jammed, and QQ would have called it off, which is good for the two players not involved in the action.

 

[German629]

Softplay is against the TOS of all poker sites, so if two players actively agree about it, its definitely cheating. In cash games it does not really matter, but in SnGs its pretty important especially on the bubble.

Lets say, the two cheating players are in the blinds, it folds to them, and everyone have a similar stack size. SB look down at QQ, but he just complete. BB look down at AK, but he just knock his option. And after the flop they do the same and check all the way to showdown, where one of them win a very small pot.

This is cheating, because against anyone else QQ would have raised, AK would have jammed, and QQ would have called it off, which is good for the two players not involved in the action.

Hi, Bro! The all that you written I'm agree. Who against?! If you read my post attentively, second that I written - this about security service poker sites. Let them work, this their work - catch violators: they get money for your work, let working...
And else: everybody can write a letter in the security service, if he or she has the suspicions on the cheatings, and (I repeating again) let security service of poker sites checking, monitoring and etc. written claim(s)...That all! Let everybody doing your case: players playing, poker sites give services, and security service doing his case! This all how in life: someone doing own cases, but police and similar services doing their case...

 

[alienat3d]

It really depends on circumstances I think.

If two buddies registered to a tournament and happened to play at the same table and trying to avoid playing against each other big pots, it's not really can be called cheating, until they exploiting some third player in obvious way.
For example making "sandwich" situation for him (where one raises, villain calls and another one re-raises), forcing him to fold and then slow down aggression. Then it's kind of collusion if it happens more than just once.

On other hand if they just stealing blinds from each other less, than from the others, it's not a thing at all, it's their choice to lose opportunity in favor of their buddy.

But if those buddies sat at the same cash table and showing soft play + exploiting together someone third in a hand, that's simply "rounders thing" and must be warned or even forbidden.

 

[Poker_Mike]

Live play and Player 1 arrives to the table being loud and announcing how good of a player he is because he is a regular in the room.

Player 2 arrives to the table and everyone knows his name and he is even louder than Player 1. They both claimed to know each other well....fine.

They get into a hand where they are the remaining 2 players on the river. The river brings the 4th heart on the board.

Player 2 bets OOP and Player 1 just calls with the Ah for the nut flush. Player 2 shows the Kh and mucks.

I ask if I just witnessed Player 1 NOT raising Player 2 with the stone cold nuts. The table turns to look at me and Player 1 states that "He would not have called a raise." I answer that he would have called at least a minimum raise with his 2nd nuts hand.

I ask you….do you think Player 1 would have raised a different player in the hand (maybe me)?

You might think that soft play is just friendly play between people that know each other and there is no harm to other players at the table that are not in the hand. But what it results in - is half the table NOT playing hard against each other - but just playing hard against me!

Think about it.....and Good luck !