As soon as the first online poker website went live people began to consider whether there would be opportunities to cheat the system for financial gain. People started to wonder how they could exploit the system by colluding over the telephone with another player. Obviously nobody would be able to hear people talking with each other.
The strategy of working with a partner is by no means new in the world of gambling. At traditional casinos players have been trying to beat the house with teamwork for as long as the casinos have existed.
It works something like this. Two players enter the cardroom and they sit at the same table. They will have created a system already whereby they can communicate with each other via body language. They believe that they can manipulate the betting and win money. In theory this does not sound too complicated but in practice this scheme can be very difficult to pull off due to the casinos being very aware of these practices.
When it comes to online poker it may appear much easier to get away with collusion. You do not need to use body language to collude as nobody can hear or see you. You can simply talk with your strategic partner over the telephone. But working in this way is by no means a recipe for success. Many people who have already worked in collusion with other people have actually given up on the idea. Players notice that they are not making any more money then they were when they were working alone. Sometimes players actually make less than they were before. Sometimes it’s too much bother. So what do players in cahoots do wrong?
Poor communication is a reason that is cited for not winning. Players will not have worked out an effective system of communication before playing online. In other words they begin blabbing on the phone.
One player may not actually play well and let the other player down. They do not concentrate on what they should and they will play too many poor and marginal hands. They will be too concerned with their perceived advantage.
Sometimes players will try to collude with a team of three but this makes things far too complicated. Also, two players colluding at a table of ten will make no real difference on the outcome of a game.
In short, if you think you are going to get rich through colluding at online poker then you are most probably mistaken.