Overzealous security spoiling the game?

[AdamL]

I recently found out that the Party/Empire/etc. poker group has an interesting policy which to me, seems overzealous, but I thought I'd post and see what you guys think.

My wife and I are close friends with another poker player and enjoy playing with him online and live frequently as a way to keep in touch and socialize. The social friendly side of poker has always been a central part of the game for me. The human element is what makes the game entertaining to watch, live or on tv, and to play.

Well, recently we were over visiting him. He had to prepare to head out so we got on his machine, logged on and played a few rounds while we waited.

When we got home, we found out we can never play at the same table anymore. Apparently, you get an automatic "association" in your accounts. I emailed and found out the policy goes futher:

Any kind of association between players is grounds to ban them from playing together. If you obviously know one another, and they find out, that's it for you. (They still let you form a private table or play in multi-table tournaments.)

"This is simply a standard security restriction that applies to all of our players. It does not imply any suspicion on our end regarding the activity of your accounts on our card room."

"Associations are links that our system has identified between two or more players who know each other."

In sum: You aren't allowed to play with people you know. All gaming must be with complete strangers.

Seems overzealous. I don't think it will help the game, I don't want purely social players being told they can only play with anonymous opponents from now on. I know they'll just cash-out.