Chip Dumping is another form of collusion seen in tournament play. There are several ways to dump chips to another player. The goal is for two or more players to move all of their chips to a single player so that this player with the large stack will have a better chance of wining the tournament.

Early in a tournament, colluding players will simply go all-in against each other regardless of what cards they hold, whomever wins the hand will double up. The colluding players are going to split any winnings, so who wins the hand is not an issue. Later in tournaments, members of chip dumping teams will isolate hands against each other with the small stack playing very risky hands and losing those chips to the big stack.

Some very amateurish chip dumping attempts can be easily detected at the table but teams who have worked out their moves in advance can and do dump chips in tournaments. Other players should be watchful for players who seem to play only against each other and are reluctant to show their cards on the river.

-this is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #162

Soft Play: To go easy on another player at the table (e.g., not betting or raising against him).

Suppose you and your poker buddy are the last two people left in a hand. On the river, you have the nuts, but he bets out. With the best hand you would raise anyone else, If you don’t raise your buddy, you are “soft-playing” him. Soft-playing is collusion, you are playing to benefit someone else at the table and not playing your own hand to your own benefit. Soft Play is prohibited in tournaments and can result in penalties, up to and including forfeiture of winnings. Some tournaments actually impose a penalty if you do not bet the absolute nut hand on the river because not betting is soft play.

One situation sometimes arises in a tournament that is not soft-play. A short stack moves all-in and gets called by more than one other player. These other players check it down, meaning they do not bet the flop, turn or river. While they are cooperating, what they are doing is trying to have more than one hand to hit the board and eliminate the all-in player. Generally, these players have drawing hands, if they hit big they will bet but when they do not, they check it down to increase the odds of eliminating a player and moving up themselves. This is not considered soft play.

-this is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #161

Collusion is a form of cheating involving cooperation between two or more players.

Poker is an individual game, each player plays to win chips and increased their stack, which means they are also playing to take chips from the other players at the table. Any attempt to cooperate or collude is cheating and can result in players being removed from a card room. In tournaments should players be found to be playing “together” to their advantage and the disadvantage of the other players, they can be removed from the tournament and have their chips taken out of play.

There are several forms of collusion that we will cover in the next several posts but the essence of poker is individuals playing for their own benefit and not engaging in any form of cooperative play. One of the most common debates at the poker tables is whether or not a player may ask to see cards at showdown when the losing player prefers to muck their hand. While the rules clearly say you can ask to see those cards, most professional players will say it is bad poker etiquette to ask unless you suspect collusion. You can see why some players get upset when asked to show their cards because it implies they were cheating by cooperating in some betting scheme to throw the hand to the other player.

However, should you suspect collusion of any kind; it is your responsibility to inquire with the floor staff or tournament staff and make your suspicions known. All players have the responsibility to protect the game and other players. If you have any suspicion of collusion, make those concerns known.

In the next several posts we will discuss forms of collusion including: Soft Play and Chip Dumping.

-this is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #160

Rule #26: Raises: There is no cap on the number of raises in no-limit games. A raise must be at least the size of the previous raise. In limit events there will be a limit to raises even when heads-up until the tournament is down to two players; the house limit will apply.

In most card rooms there is either a four or five bet cap on each round of betting. Be sure you know the house rule. Also in many rooms there is no cap when heads up or perhaps no cap heads up on the river in cash games, but the TDA rule is there will be limits on the number of raises until the tournament is heads up. The reason for the cash game rule is simple: either player in a heads up betting duel can stop the betting at any time by calling instead of raising. The TDA, in an interesting decision, decided not to take on this convention for limit tournaments.

Notice that in No Limit games there is no cap on the number of bets, sometimes players get confused because the third or fourth bet in a No Limit game is usually an “all-in” bet, but bets can go back and forth as long as players have chips in front of them in a No Limit game.

Also note that in No Limit the raise must be at least the size of the last raise not the last bet. So if the blinds are 100/200 and a player opens for 700, the next raise would have to be at least 500 more (the previous raise) not 700 (the amount of the last bet) and the next player could also raise 500 (or more, of course).

-this is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #159

When playing in tournament poker there will frequently be a situation when a short stack goes all-in and there are two or more callers. A standard practice here is for the players who called the all-in to check the hand down in order to increase their chances of eliminating the all-in player. However, checking the hand down may not always be the smart move. The strategy of checking the hand down has one huge weakness: it depends on the cooperation of the other player. If the other player does not cooperate, you can find yourself folding your hand to a strong bet, only to see the all-in player win the pot with a hand you could’ve beaten had you stayed in.

Say you are holding A-Q and call an all-in from the short stack of the table. Another player calls behind you, and the two of you go to the flop with the short stack. The flop comes down A-10-9, giving you a pair of aces. Not wanting to force the other player out of the pot, you check, and he checks behind you. The turn card is a 3, and you check again. The other player checks behind you and an 8 falls on the river. You check and the other player fires out a small bet. The bet is so small that you feel you have to make the call in case you do have the best hand. Your opponent turns over Q-J for a rivered straight, defeating your pair of aces. In this situation you would have been better served firing a bet on the flop in order to force out the possible draws. But you (and perhaps the QJ) were going to check it down.

Think about when you may want to check a hand down but be ready to change your thinking on the flop or turn. It is always very tempting to check the hand down, but you must be aware of exactly what the situation is and how it changes on the flop, turn and river.

Checking it down is not cheating nor is it a form of collusion no matter how uncomfortable it may make the short stack who is all-in. But weigh the value of eliminating the player against the chance of losing the pot when you let the other player see 1 or 2 or even 5 free cards.

-this is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #158