April 2006 Ramblings Page: 1
April 28, 2006, 2AM:
my first published article.
For the week, it is top center of http://thehendonmob.com home page,.
Here is the article, but please visit the site to comment on it, other than the one mistake, where i left anextaword, (to) in the body of the article, please excuse the error.
Note the footnopte and where it leads to...lol
Smart Play, or Collusion?
You are here: Home » Features & Articles » Articles by Barry Gerber 'poker_ido' » Smart Play, or Collusion?
It is always a challenge for a poker floor person to recognize that collusion is taking place. However, once the determination is made comes the really tough part – how to properly handle it, while taking into consideration the spirit of the rule, as well as the rule itself.
The quoted rules used for this article are taken from the published “Tournament Directors Association Rules,” revised in 2004, which, according to one of the original members of the Tournament Directors Association (TDA), is the latest revision and the one currently in use.
Does “The TDA” think there are no more revisions needed? Well that’s a subject for another discussion.
Rule # 7 “ Penalties: A penalty MAY be invoked if a player exposes any card with action pending, if a card(s) goes off the table, if soft-play occurs, or similar incidents take place. Penalties WILL be invoked in cases of abuse, disruptive behavior, or similar incidents.”*
This topic has been, in part, the subject of an article recently written by a friend and colleague of mine, Neil Johnson, as well as an issue at just about every late-stage satellite or tournament table in which I have been involved. Whether as a player, dealer, Satellite Director, or Tournament Supervisor/Acting Director, the subject of collusion almost always comes up.
As previously stated, this situation comes up in single table satellites or when approaching the money in a multi- table tournament. A typical situation might look like this: there are three or even four players in a hand, and one goes all in. The rest of the players check it down to increase the odds of knocking the all in player out of the event. This could result in either advancing the other players in the hand closer to or in the money, or actually ending the satellite in many cases. Some satellites have two winners, and even if not, many times once they knock out the short stack, there is a deal made, which achieves the same result, ending the satellite.
The question is this: is this just tournament strategy or is it collusion/cheating? Prior to being the dayshift Satellite Director of three WSOP Circuit Events in 2005, and then running satellites, tournaments, and sit-n-goes at one of the newer premier poker rooms in Las Vegas, as a player or a dealer, I would often be involved in these types of situations. Of course, human nature takes over and says, “If you are on the positive end of this strategy, it is just that, good strategy. If you are on the negative side of the same situation, it seems more like collusion, and unfair.” So which is it? Let’s go back to the rules to find out. Well unfortunately, there are flaws in to the rule, leaving it open to interpretation of the floor person, which makes it a very subjective rule.
Rule # 7 “ Penalties: A penalty MAY be invoked if a player exposes any card with action pending, if a card(s) goes off the table, if soft-play occurs, or similar incidents take place. Penalties WILL be invoked in cases of abuse, disruptive behavior, or similar incidents.”*
In examining the rule, immediately, the word, ‘MAY’ jumps out, which already makes it subjective. Next, who is to determine what ‘soft play’ is? That’s easy; just refer to rules number 1 and 31, which are identical.
Rule #1 “Floor people are to consider the best interest of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances can, on occasion, dictate that the technical interpretation of the rules be ignored in the interest of fairness. The floorperson's [sic] decision is final. (Note, this rule used to be rule #31, but TDA members voted to move it to rule #1.)” *
So once again, we are left with a very subjective rule, and until the, “TDA” rules are revised, in most cases, the house rules will take precedence.
I have been called to make a ruling on this type of situation more than once. Admittedly, depending on the house and --when I was green -- the Tournament Director’s decision, the outcomes were not always the same. Of course, the situations were not always the same, either.
Currently, I work at one of the newer premier poker rooms in Las Vegas, and during my duties running satellites, tournaments, and sit-n-goes, of course the issue has come up. I will give you the situation, my ruling, and my feelings on the ruling.
During a satellite, when we used to run them, the dealer called me over for a decision. He told me that two players were soft-playing, and he had explained to the players that soft-play was not allowed. I asked the dealer to describe the situation, and by now I’m sure you can guess what it was -- one player was all in and the other two players in the hand checked it down quickly, obviously trying to eliminate the all in player. I asked the dealer if anything was said during the course of the hand. His reply was, "no, but they looked at each other, and knew what was going on.”
My decision was to warn the players that they would be penalized for “soft-playing” if it happened again, since in our poker room we adhere to TDA rules for satellites, tournaments, and sit-n-goes.
I was not 100% comfortable with my decision even though I was confident it was the correct one for the circumstances. I checked with our Tournament Director, who is very experienced, well–known, and respected in the business, and he agreed with my decision.
In conclusion, I put it to you, was it “Smart Play, or Collusion?”
Footnote: * The following footnotes were taken from TDA rules published at: onlinepokerlog.com/pages/tda.html.
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Last Update: April 28, 2006, 2:35AM | Permalink
April 25, 2006, 11PM
things that make you go..... what an idiot
o.k many of you know me. most of you know that I have a slightly warped take on just about everything. I have decided that I will use this space to relieve some of the stress in my world by venting, not about bad beats or any of that other junk, but by sharing some of the wonderful things that I hear or read at and around the poker table.
Today's instant classic NL hold'em @FT.... Player A raises all in under the gun with pocket sixes. Player B calls off all his chips with A 10 diamonds. The raise is like 8 million times the blind. blah blah blah... player A catches a 6 on the river. Player B (now a disgruntled observer) what a suckout. Mykulvee can not resist and types not really. Player B asks catching a 2 outter on the river? Mykulvee says player A was fav b4 when chips went in Player b says yeah but not by much. Like I said ... not really. I remember something similar on t.v. from this years tourney. But that wasn't quite as much fun for me.
Last Update: April 25, 2006, 11:44PM | Permalink
April 22, 2006, 9PM:
Deiyuo then and than...
Hey Donk,
I think you need to revisit grammar 101. You seem to get the words "then" and "than" mixed up often. For further clarification you can either call me, or go to dictionary.com and look up each word and their proper use.
Also, The "cutoff seat" is referring to the position directly in front the button or in other words, to the right of the player in the button position...
Don't feel dumb or anything, at least you asked...lol
**No offense was intended, and no animals were harmed, while making these remarks**
Last Update: April 22, 2006, 10:08PM | Permalink
April 21, 2006, 6PM:
General Question
 Has anyone heard anything good or bad about www.noblepoker.com?
Last Update: April 21, 2006, 6:09PM | Permalink
April 20, 2006, 1AM:
Blatant Cheatiing in PP WSOP Freeroll Qualifiers
I will fill in the blanks later, as I Have the information particulars on a different computer; the Freeroll tournament # and table #, as well as a link to the screen shots and what little chat I was able to copy and paste before the table broke and was closed. What little evidence, I was able to extract from these screen shots and chat, copied and pasted, will be so obvious is was in fact blatant cheating, the average person might be shocked. Most of you who use this website, will not be surprised at all. You might be surprised however, that someone is willing to and IS doing something about it. For 3 straight weeks, "my horse" and I have been reporting the screen names, table and tournament #s of the offenders. Until tonight, what we observed and reported, was from one to three of the final 6 tables, all agreeing to just fold to the big blind until the rest of the players knocked out enough people to allow everyone at their table to qualify for the Saturday, "WSOP Freeroll Satellite", as only the top 50 players advance. After reporting these people 3 weeks in a row to the supervisors, then investigations team at PP, and were assured each time, "The appropriate action would be taken.", we saw each of those players playing in the corresponding Saturday's events. Which means, between ten and thirty people cheated their way into this event, and the same amount of players were denied entry into the same tournament.
In this man's opinion, the offenders should have been disqualified and not allowed to play in the Satellite on Saturday, and the next 30 highest players should have been allowed in, or the fields should have been shorter by the # of offenders. To date, we have received no updates from PP as to the disposition of the actions they took. The reason why is obvious to me, they have done nothing.
I informed PP that all the evidence I have will be published in part as an article on an international poker website, who just happens to have their own poker website, thus, I believe they will be anxious to publish the article, If nothing is done now!
Tonight was a little different, although I didn't stay around to see the final six tables, to observe if the same offenses were going to take place. Tonight, people were dumping off their chips to other players at their table, my table. I will copy and paste what I have written shortly on another computer, so please check back shortly...
Last Update: April 20, 2006, 2:05AM | Permalink
April 19, 2006, 3AM:
True friends
 I was utterly amazed tonight as I tried to catch up with an OLD (age) friend that I used to play with for five years, and he worked for me as a prop player. He didn't give me the time of day, and have came to realize that he only keeps his buddy's that he wants for financial gain. Basically what I am trying to get at is that he is a complete fake, and a complete greed monger. I really feel sorry for him and his life.
The moral of the story is: Be careful with your friends and co-workers and who you can trust. It is hard to say that you really know someone, especially in the poker business. Money is the root of all evil, and it makes people do bad things, and ruins friendships. I consider my myself good at reading other people and keep my friends close. I was way off on this one, and I had to get it off my chest. Thanks for listening poker log!
Last Update: April 19, 2006, 3:11AM | Permalink
April 17, 2006, 11PM:
Recent Comments Page
 Now the header has a link called "Entries with Recent Comments". I have a lot of feedback from people telling me they wish they could see entries that others felt compelled to comment on. These are often the most entertaining entries to read, and will typically include a good question or story to talk about. My hope is that this page will lead to more interaction on the site and will help us all become better players. Well, everyone except me.
Last Update: April 17, 2006, 11:28PM | Permalink
April 14, 2006, 7PM:
Day of dealing
Wow, I didn't have to jump in the game today, mainly because I didn't choose to, but the game stayed strong all day long. I have been really concentrating on player tells as I am dealing and logging them in my head. My problem is I can see a lot of things when I am dealing, but I mask them when I am playing. Somehow, I need to control my focus to concentrate on the things that I see when I am dealing and not worry about my money! Do whats right, and it will pay off!
Last Update: April 14, 2006, 7:12PM | Permalink
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