In 1999, Planet Poker launched the first on line poker site that made poker games, for real money, available to anyone with a computer and access to the internet. And with it, poker was forever transformed from a game that could only be played face-to-face to a game that could be played on line by people from all over the world, sitting at a virtual table, but competing for real cash.

I remember well the discussions that preceded and followed this major step in the history of poker. “What’s to stop two guys from talking on the phone and colluding during the hand.” one person remarked. “Hey, they could Instant Message each other” another one would insightfully add. “You guys are naïve” weighed in someone else. “Any person could have a bank of computers; each signed on separately, and play every hand but one, ganging up on the poor sucker who unknowingly sat down with him.”

And so the conversation about cheating on line began.

Recently, this discussion has popped up again, though with a slightly different spin. It seems that a few enterprising folks have developed a product that claims to be able to “see” the down cards of opposition players. For $49.95 you can buy their software and use it to gain an advantage over everyone else. Intriguing.

I do not claim to be an expert on computer technology. And I have not tried any of the many cheating techniques that are oft discussed by many in the poker industry. But I have had a chance to ask many of the experts in the industry to comment on the possibility that such a device – a program that allows players to peak at opponent’s cards – could actually work. I’ve decided to share my conclusions with you in this article.

Here’s what I’ve concluded.

Cheating is certainly possible. Players can easily collude by speaking on the phone, instant messaging, or playing next to each other in a computer room with many terminals and players all signed on separately. They can cheat in a very active way, by manipulating the size of the pot to assist each other with their draws or to protect the pot from having too many opponents drawing cheaply. They can cheat in a more passive way by either overtly playing “best hand” – where only the player with the best hand stays in the hand – or they can more independently cheat by using the information of what cards their fellow cheater has to make decisions about poker action.

There is no question but that all of these levels of cheating are possible. But do they occur? If so, what games are likely targets for them? Are there any countermeasures that you as an aware player can take – other than not playing on line?

I can tell you this. I am sure that some players share hand information while they are playing with other players. I know this because players whom I know have told me that they do this. They told me innocently, not thinking that they were “really” cheating. And I have no reason to doubt them.

I can also tell you from anecdotes I credit with truthfulness, that players actively cheat by colluding. They deliberately gang up on unsuspecting opponents and manipulate the pot to extract extra bets from the unaware. I believe this to be true because of behavior that I have seen, especially in Omaha8 and Stud8 games on line.

I have heard vague rumors of poker rooms with banks of computers; and I’ve heard of players having more than one account and playing with more than one computer in the same game. But I have no direct evidence of this; nor has anyone I’ve known and trusted ever said that they or anyone they know does this. So I’m not sure if it exists in more than someone’s imagination. – though I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t exist. I just don’t know of anything like this.

But here’s the important consideration. Live games, in poker rooms and casinos, have cheating as well. There’s no question but that collusion takes place. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen the passive type – between friends who don’t want to bet against each other – and between partners who deliberately raise and re-raise to drive out hapless opponents. I’ve read about, but don’t have hard information, about all sorts of other cheating that goes on in casinos and card rooms – card marking, hold outs, crimping, card passing to confederates, dealer collusion, cold decks, shaved decks, etc. All of these methods have been used and are still being used against live players.

Online play can’t be judged in a vacuum. It must be judged against the alternative forms of play. And in that light, I’d say that it does fairly well.

Consider this. If you believe that you have been cheated with collusion or signaling or even holding out or passing cards in a casino you have, really, only one recourse. You can hope that the cameras caught something on film. If not, then you only have the ethereal words of the players. There’s no hard evidence.

But online there is evidence – hard evidence – facts. You have the permanent record of the hand and the behavior of the participants. If you think that two players ganged up you can look at their action and look at their hands after the hand is over. You can’t do that in a casino. You can check for patterns of play – determining if certain players play a certain way when they are in a hand together. You can search for as long as you have had games. And then you can also confiscate money from their accounts and distribute it, if you wish, to the players who appear to have been harmed. These are all protections that don’t exist in a live casino.

So yes, cheating exists on line – just as it probably does in live poker rooms. But unlike live poker rooms, there are additional remedies for identifying a problem and correcting it. I’d say that these safeguards more than balance the risks of being cheated online.

Ashley Adams has been playing poker since 1961 when he learned it literally at his grandfather's knee. He started playing seriously in 1993 when Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut opened their poker room. He can usually be found there at the $20/40 stud or the $2/5 no limit hold 'em table.

Ashley also runs charity poker tournaments, teaches poker privately and at the Boston Center for Adult Education, is a frequent guest on radio and television programs (having appeared on WBZ-AM, WHDH Channel 7 TV, WGBH-TV, NECN-TV), and has a regular radio show that can be heard 24/7 on www.houseofcardsradio.com.

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