One thing you should be keenly aware of when playing online poker is to be able to spot possible collusion in a game. They may be in number anywhere from 2 to several players working together to trap you in hands therefore lowering your odds of winning greatly. I've caught a few in my time of playing online, but its normally tough to justify. We suggest either contacting the card room support to watch these players, find a new table, or sit and wait for a nut hand to set them up, take their money in the hand and then leave the table. If people are caught in any type of collusion, their funds are quickly confiscated and they are banned from the card room.

   Poker tournaments can also bring about some collusion by groups looking to get a hustle on. In my earlier days playing online poker I overheard a guy chatting about his team of lowlifes that entered online poker tournaments and waited till they figured out which one was getting the good cards and the rest would try pass chips to that person or they can try to knock people out by trying to trap them in a hand all the while connecting through Internet messaging (IM) exchanging card holding information. At times this could work to your advantage. But for the most part it goes against you and you need to be fully alert at all times on every hand whether you are in the hand or folded.

   Online poker room hustlers are often related in some way or another, always plotting, lazy, and are some of the worst influences for the younger generation, not to mention kids for that matter. They will get neighbors to give them information and offer money in exchange for using their ID's or using false ID's to set up multiple accounts to play in the same game, or get unscrupulous relatives and other plotters to contact each other via free long distance calling plans or connect through outside or private servers, chat using Internet Messaging (IM), microphone, headsets, and other such mediums exchanging card holdings in games. Often times, they burn all the bridges around them and turn on each other. They'll then try relocating or finding other unscrupulous minded people or relatives, and unfortunately, start the process all over again. They also tend to be less than average poker players, and normally wouldn't dare enter games individually. If they do, it is for a much lower limit then when they enter as a group. They don't have the guts to play individually. Obviously, if they were good poker players they wouldn't have to resort to such tactics. A site confiscated about $100k from the home of a person for playing with 6 accounts. I'm not sure if he was playing all the accounts on one table or what, but they busted him. I heard he was a good poker player too. Disgusting shame isn't it...  It takes certain type of people to fit this persona. Does "evil, cowardly, and greedy" seem to fit?

   Another type of cheating which is common to online poker games and tournaments is the use of bots. I'm not too familiar with how they actually work except that they are programs that can actually calculate odds and play hands automatically. At one site 22 bots were found to be playing in a tournament amid an online poker tournament of about a thousand real players. Happy to say they were all banned. I've actually played against one that I know of for sure and have suspected others. They play very machine like, betting in timely intervals, calculating odds and rarely play bad hands. I'm fairly certain that they can be programmed with a variety of settings though as I said before, this is all beyond my expertise. This is just another reason to diversify your playing style, and diversifying your playing style can actually make you a better player in the long run. If you suspect a bot, e-mail the support team at the site and they will take a long look at the players hand history in the past and also be watching very closely whenever that person plays. Its always good to hear that sites are aware of these things and do take action against them. But online poker rooms still don't have a sure-fire way to detect bots yet. 

   When you suspect collusion or a bot, you should have a detailed account of why you've suspected it. You need as much information as you can get. It is very difficult and time consuming for online poker rooms to investigate and actually ban people from an online card room. But that's their responsibility to their poker customers and they will investigate any claims of foul play aggressively. Hundreds of hands must be analyzed before they can come to a conclusion. If they don't have enough evidence, they'll flag any suspects to watch for future evidence if needed. For the most part, it is up to the player to report suspects and the card room will handle it from there. Most online card rooms go through extensive researching to prevent cheating. With the popularity of online poker on the rise, and computer technology going through the roof, collusion and bot players will also ride the wave.

   Another type of hustle I've seen happen online is based on someone having a personal tragedy, serious illness, physical problems, loss of a loved one, a forgotten veteran, unfortunate unemployment, to name a few. They're basically out to get you to be sympathetic with them and befriend you, and eventually get you to give them money, loans, personal information or whatever they can get from you. These ploys are also used to distract you from concentrating on the poker game. Most of the times, there will be more than one person involved. They'll have an accomplice or 2 that will act as if not knowing them and will offer some money to that person or distract you with other means to get you to feel comfortable with the person. The best thing to do when someone gets off the subject of poker and starts rambling about how unfortunate he/she may be is to tell them that "there are a lot of self-help groups out there that can help you with your situation, but we're playing poker here". Most of the times this will quiet the person down or you'll see the person/persons leave the table to look for another victim or possibly seek help for their problem. Remember though that hustlers have no shame and may continue on, trying to distract you from paying attention to the game at hand. The real shame of it all is, there are actually people who do suffer from some of the problems I've listed above, but in all due respect, they shouldn't be gambling, but be seeking help at many other sites that can help them. A lot of these instances can happen to you in a live poker room also, but once again, online, hustlers can much easier hide their true persona behind a computer screen.

   These are a few reasons why I prefer to play at some of the larger online poker rooms and you should check out our recommended poker sites list to insure you're playing at a quality top-notch online poker room. Smaller less-established online card rooms may sometimes turn a blind eye from these situations to have players on the tables. You also have a much better choice of tables and limits to choose from at the larger poker rooms. I strongly suggest watching a game a bit before you decide to play on that table. Don't be in a hurry to get your money on a table or be on short time. Patience and picking a good table will add a few bucks to your bankroll in the long run.

   I hope I didn't put too many doubts into your mind about playing online poker. These are just a few things I've learned over the many years participating and watching the online poker industry successfully grow to where it is now. I've had many, many more enjoyable experiences in my years of playing poker online that greatly out-weigh the few bad instances that I've come across. However, I believe we should include this information so that our friends and guests will be well prepared to enjoy their online poker experience to the fullest.

   I play online poker to learn and better my poker game, as do thousands of other people that compete online from all over the world, hoping to some day play live in a big tournament in the future. But others are out there with other ideas, and you should be keenly aware of this when you're playing online poker.

   Play well rested, ready to play, and be alert!

Good Luck everyone!    USATeamPoker.com