[Daliman]

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The reason I consider this cheating is because of a few reasons. The main reason has to do with the fact that I would NOT have checked it down against any other player. The difference between cheating and good poker strategy, in my mind, is asking yourself if you would do such-and-such against another opponent of the same caliber. If you answer yes, then there is no cheating. If you answer no, you have purposely cheated according to TDA and Stars tourney rules. For example:

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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.

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This is from the TDA. Softplaying was definitely a factor in my case. I only softplayed to improve my chances of eliminating a verbally annoying, maniacal opponent.

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Soft playing or chip dumping is grounds for disqualification from the tournament. Any unethical play may result in the termination of the offender’s account.


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This is from Poker Stars tournament rule page. It was a Stars tourney.

I may use a more strict interpretation of the TDA rules than others, hence the reason that Roland Waters did not disqualify the cheating team at the Four Queens, whereas the next day, David Lamb barred both of them from the Classic, as well as firing Roland Waters.

Things like these are very tough to enforce, unless they are so blatant that one cannot help noticing what is happening (the case at the Four Queens).

I have seen very obvious colluding, chip dumping and softplaying occur where nothing is done. Then I have seen two complete neophytes who were unaware of the softplaying rule check down a hand, only to be accessed the maximum penalty.

It is a tough line to hoe.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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This is all fine and well, but if you did not hold the nuts in position on the river, there is no way in the world anyone can say you were softplaying. You couls EASILY be trapping, and would be smart to do so versus many opponents.

The "would I do it vs a different player of same caliber" argument is also ineffectual, as different opponents require different strategies. Ultimately, your strategy was to knock your opponent out.

With such a strict interpretation of rules, A Huge stack keeping a small stack alive at the bubble could EASILY be construed as chip dumping. As with anything else, context is key. You have/had plenty of other things to worry about, Felecia; your play on this hand shouldn't be one of them