[ QUOTE ]
I posted this in RGP, but I know there isn't much cross-pollination now:
I was in semi-awe of the "team" and their accomplishments:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/hgfalling/18076.html
Matros, Chen and Jerrod are playing as a team. This is jaw-droppingly amazing to me.
[/ QUOTE ]
[posted to RGP and 2+2]
First, Glantz and Matros are not part of the team, and have never been.
The Matt who is on the team is a non-rgper, as far as I know, and
probably not anyone most of you would know.
Second, I am unaware of any site that has any rule to the effect of
"You may not consult other people or resources in making decisions on
this site." If a site had such a rule, then we would first try to
convince the site that their rule was stupid and unenforceable; if they
persisted in having the rule, we would likely stop playing there or
perhaps play without discussing hands.
The team, because noone apparently seems to understand what's going on
here, started out as just Bill Chen and myself. Then we added one more
player, whose name happens to be Matt (hence the Glantz and Matros
controversy). We share some action on multi-table tournaments and we
participate in a weekly conference call. During the call, we discuss
hands in play at our various tables. Mostly, of course, we just make
the routine plays that are obvious, but when interesting or otherwise
critical hands pop up, we consult with the other team members in making
a decision. When two team members are at the same table (which happens
occasionally, but quite infrequently), no discussion of the hands at
that table takes place. All players play to maximize their own
tournament equity without regard to the equity of other team members.
Normally we bend over backwards to minimize the team equity in close
situations because we are so averse to accidentally colluding or
creating the appearance of collusion.
These actions are not collusion; we never act on shared information or
for mutual benefit other than the mutual benefit that we accrue by
discussing the hands or pointing out situational elements that we might
have missed in the absence of the discussion.
I do not believe we have broken the rules of any site, and I have
always been completely forthright and honest about the activities of
the team. I realize that not all current RGPers know me or Bill; we've
been sorta submerged playing poker and writing our book. If it's
significant to you, we articulated this arrangement to Lee Jones at one
point and he said he thought it was fine.
I'm sorry that I don't get as much chance to read RGP as I used to, nor
comment on posts. I actually plan to do this once the book is complete,
which should be in the next few months. I'm also sorry that individuals
believe that we are somehow cheating. It seems that this line of
comments has ignited somewhat of a firestorm; hence I thought it would
be best to at least state the reality of the situation, rather than
allowing rumors and the like to dominate the discussion.
Also, please, leave Matt Matros out of this. We invited him to play a
Sunday's worth of tournaments with us, but he has so far declined and
has never had any part in this arrangement.
Jerrod Ankenman