To the Multi-Accounters : some thoughts before this upcoming Sunday

[ActionJeff]

I've been considering making this post for a couple weeks, and I think right now is the ideal time.

Over a year and a half ago, there were many top players who put multiple accounts in the big Party Poker tournaments. It was sketchy. It was clearly at best "treading on a gray line", as I believe Shaniac put it in the big p5s thread on this topic when it first arose.

Well, there is no longer a grey line. There is no excuse. Multi-accounting tournaments is cheating! The sites have all specifically stated that this is cheating. Examples have been made and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been taken from people, accounts banned and more, to make it clear that this is cheating.

I may not be the best person to post this, as it is somewhat hypocritical of me. I'm friends with many who have gotten in trouble in the past for multi-accounting. I've had financial stakes in people who were multi-accounting. I've bought peoples seats deep in tournaments (that I hadn't entered on my account of course) and won. Was this at least mildly unfair? Absolutely. Was it against the rules at the time? No, it definitely was not. I will be completely honest: If entering an MTT on multiple accounts was not prohibited by the sites in their TOCs, there is a decent chance I would be doing it in the big field tournaments right now. I know that I would never play 2 accounts at one table, but who knows whether these other guys would? I don't trust them not to, and I know of a few who have in the past. Every $1k tournament I enter is a few thousand dollars expectation, and I would love to greatly increase my chances at a big win in every major tournament. I'm not one to pass on a big advantage- but that advantage has to be within the rules. Multi-accounting is clearly not within the rules, and I am not going to sit here while I grind a living playing poker while others around me cheat and gain an unfair advantage while hurting my expectation, and do nothing.

I don't ever want to be deep in a tournament again and be up against some top pro who played three accounts and not know its them. And lets face it- they aren't quiet about this, and lots of people know who they are. There is absolutely no reason for the poker community to put up with this. I've gotten deep in massive online MTTs with hundreds of thousands for first and never taken one down once. I'm not going to stand for others having multiple shots and then bragging in my face about how much money they are winning.

That's it. You know who you are, I know who you are, and if you really have the nerve to keep doing this crap out of greed and disrespect for the rules, then you better at least not tell one [censored] person, because you are putting a lot of faith in your peers right now, and not all of them are as considerate and discreet as I am.

-Jeff

[RandALLin]

Agree 1000%

[Event Duality]

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Agree 1000%

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[THAY3R]

I don't think one's opinion on multi-accounting should change so much just because the rules were changed. It should either be okay or bad in your mind, and I don't think a poker site's decision should effect your morals.

[ActionJeff]

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I don't think one's opinion on multi-accounting should change so much just because the rules were changed. It should either be okay or bad in your mind, and I don't think a poker site's decision should effect your morals.

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I don't really care about morals or any of that crap, as long as no one is outright colluding. But I play online poker for a living, respect the sites' rules, don't want people having an advantage I don't, and want online poker to be legit- so from that perspective it is unethical.

[shaundeeb]

I agree a few people in vegas I've met I've told them straightup that what they are doing is sooo wrong and they should stop because they won't keep getting away with it. People have too much ego to not brag about winning so and so tourney even when their most common account was out in first hour.

[Jonathan]

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I agree a few people in vegas I've met I've told them straightup that what they are doing is sooo wrong and they should stop because they won't keep getting away with it. People have too much ego to not brag about winning so and so tourney even when their most common account was out in first hour.

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I would appreciate it if you would give an example of this. Most of us are
not "in the know" to the same degree as you and ActionJeff are. But my
money goes into the pool just like yours. I thought this whole messy
business was cleaned up a few years ago when several accounts were
very publicly confiscated. To hear that this sort of thing continues makes
me incensed!

Shawn, rather than tread on tiptoes on this issue, I think you would be doing
the community a great service is you showed the results of a few
tournaments where Player X claimed to win (or place high) and his
primary account got knocked out early. This would go a long way towards
making the game fairer for all, including yourself.

Thanks,
jonathan

[NHFunkii]

good post jeff

[nath]

I'm one of the people whothought it was a pretty shady practice to begin with (and by that I mean "obviously unethical"). For people to still be doing it after it's been explicitly made against the rules shows a complete lack of regard for the standards of our profession and for the other players in the game (and call me old-fashioned, but I'm one of the people who believe the ethical standards of poker matter for their own sake).

I think I yelled something about this the other night at O'Shea's; perheaps whomever I was talking to can recap it.

[KneeCo]

Good post Jeff.

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I don't think one's opinion on multi-accounting should change so much just because the rules were changed.

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My opinion hasn't changed. My willingness to consider excuses and even engage in the debate though have become a lot shorter.