Reporting collusion on PartyPoker - phone call or email?

[TT_fold]

I just encountered a situation in which I was the victim of two players colluding in the PartyPoker chat box. (See enclosed hand history)

What is the best way to voice my displeasure to PartyPoker? I am hopeful that PartyPoker will refund my buy-in and/or ban the offending player - as a semi-regular 4-tabler, they would hate to lose my business.

#Game No : 1621225529
***** Hand History for Game 1621225529 *****
NL Hold'em $30 Buy-in + $3 Entry Fee Trny:9738110 Level:4 Blinds(50/100) - Sunday, February 20, 16:53:33 EDT 2005
Table Table 12772 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 1: jgeibig ( $1450 )
Seat 2: LooneyPlayer ( $1075 )
Seat 3: ejs24 ( $800 )
Seat 5: FugitivSlave ( $110 )
Seat 6: ledhead80111 ( $575 )
Seat 7: usurebouthat ( $1305 )
Seat 8: diegojeff ( $590 )
Seat 10: eagles_fan22 ( $2095 )
Trny:9738110 Level:4
Blinds(50/100)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FugitivSlave [ 9h 9d ]
>You have options at Table 12284 Table!.
jgeibig folds.
LooneyPlayer folds.
ejs24 folds.
>You have options at Table 12284 Table!.
FugitivSlave is all-In [110]
ledhead80111 folds.
>You have options at Table 11828 Table!.
usurebouthat calls [110].
diegojeff calls [60].
eagles_fan22 folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 3d, 4d, Qd ]
diegojeff checks.
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
usurebouthat: check thru if ya cant beat her
usurebouthat checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ah ]
diegojeff checks.
usurebouthat bets [100].
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
>You have options at Table 11828 Table!.
>You have options at Table 12284 Table!.
FugitivSlave: stop colluding
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
>You have options at Table 11828 Table!.
diegojeff: u said check
usurebouthat: its only proper
>You have options at Table 11828 Table!.
diegojeff folds.
** Dealing River ** [ Jc ]
usurebouthat shows [ Ts, Ac ] a pair of aces.
FugitivSlave shows [ 9h, 9d ] a pair of nines.
FugitivSlave finished in eighth place.
>You have options at Table 11828 Table!.
usurebouthat wins 100 chips from side pot #1 with a pair of aces.
usurebouthat wins 430 chips from the main pot with a pair of aces.
FugitivSlave has left the table.
Game #1621231300 starts.

#Game No : 1621231300
***** Hand History for Game 1621231300 *****
NL Hold'em $30 Buy-in + $3 Entry Fee Trny:9738110 Level:4 Blinds(50/100) - Sunday, February 20, 16:54:42 EDT 2005
Table Table 12772 (Real Money)
Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 7
Seat 1: jgeibig ( $1450 )
Seat 2: LooneyPlayer ( $1075 )
Seat 3: ejs24 ( $800 )
Seat 6: ledhead80111 ( $575 )
Seat 7: usurebouthat ( $1625 )
Seat 8: diegojeff ( $480 )
Seat 10: eagles_fan22 ( $1995 )
Trny:9738110 Level:4
Blinds(50/100)
** Dealing down cards **
usurebouthat: she wins alotta these games
LooneyPlayer raises [250].
ejs24 folds.
ledhead80111 folds.
usurebouthat: im glad shes gone
usurebouthat folds.
diegojeff folds.
eagles_fan22 folds.
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
jgeibig folds.
>You have options at Table 11828 Table!.
LooneyPlayer does not show cards.
LooneyPlayer wins 400 chips
Game #1621233396 starts.

#Game No : 1621233396
***** Hand History for Game 1621233396 *****
NL Hold'em $30 Buy-in + $3 Entry Fee Trny:9738110 Level:4 Blinds(50/100) - Sunday, February 20, 16:55:08 EDT 2005
Table Table 12772 (Real Money)
Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 7
Seat 1: jgeibig ( $1350 )
Seat 2: LooneyPlayer ( $1225 )
Seat 3: ejs24 ( $800 )
Seat 6: ledhead80111 ( $575 )
Seat 7: usurebouthat ( $1625 )
Seat 8: diegojeff ( $480 )
Seat 10: eagles_fan22 ( $1945 )
Trny:9738110 Level:4
Blinds(50/100)
** Dealing down cards **
jgeibig: you told diego to check through then you raised??
ejs24 raises [200].
ledhead80111 folds.
diegojeff: yep
>You have options at Table 11828 Table!.
>You have options at Table 12284 Table!.
usurebouthat: i said check thru IF ya cant beat her
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
>You have options at Table 11828 Table!.
usurebouthat: obviously i had the ace after i bet
usurebouthat folds.
diegojeff folds.
eagles_fan22 folds.
jgeibig folds.
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
LooneyPlayer calls [100].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7h, Ah, 7d ]
LooneyPlayer checks.
ejs24 bets [200].
LooneyPlayer raises [400].
ejs24 is all-In [400]
LooneyPlayer calls [200].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 6c ]
** Dealing River ** [ 4s ]
LooneyPlayer shows [ Ac, Jh ] two pairs, aces and sevens.
ejs24 shows [ Kd, Th ] a pair of sevens.
ejs24 finished in seventh place.
LooneyPlayer wins 1650 chips from the main pot with two pairs, aces and sevens.
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
>You have options at Table 11828 Table!.
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
ejs24 has left the table.
Game #1621237693 starts.

#Game No : 1621237693
***** Hand History for Game 1621237693 *****
NL Hold'em $30 Buy-in + $3 Entry Fee Trny:9738110 Level:4 Blinds(50/100) - Sunday, February 20, 16:55:58 EDT 2005
Table Table 12772 (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: jgeibig ( $1300 )
Seat 2: LooneyPlayer ( $2075 )
Seat 6: ledhead80111 ( $575 )
Seat 7: usurebouthat ( $1625 )
Seat 8: diegojeff ( $480 )
Seat 10: eagles_fan22 ( $1945 )
Trny:9738110 Level:4
Blinds(50/100)
** Dealing down cards **
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
>You have options at Table 12284 Table!.
usurebouthat: there woulda been no reason to bluff in that situation. thats all
>You have options at Table 11828 Table!.
usurebouthat folds.
diegojeff folds.
eagles_fan22 folds.
jgeibig folds.
Table Closed

[JackWilson]

IMO, they won't do too much about this. I'm guessing they'd block his chat. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Greg J]

I hope Party does something about this. These clowns should be drug out into the middle of a soccer stadium and castrated.

[deacsoft]

I e-mailed them a few possible collusion hands once and they do plenty about it. Here's part of thier reply that I recieved very soon after sending them the hands...

"We have looked into all the necessary aspects of their account history
on our card room and we would like to share with you the following
important facts that helped us to come to a conclusion:

1. These players have been confirmed to play from different states.

2. They together played only on one table from the day they created
their account at our site.

3-They opened their accounts at a different time and do not have any
common information on their financial profile.

4- We have gone through all the game records and have confirmed that
there is no sign of collusion at all. We have focused not only on the
hands in which you have been included, but also all the hands in which
they have been together by themselves.

5-We have further studied the frequency of their logins and logouts, in
order to confirm any pattern that suggests that they are scheduling
their presence at the tables, but no strange coincidences have shown up
either.

We are glad to have players who care for partypoker.com integrity, and
will always investigate fully any suspicious activity submitted by our
players.

Please feel free to contact us if you need any clarifications in this
regards."

[TT_fold]

[ QUOTE ]
IMO, they won't do too much about this. I'm guessing they'd block his chat. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

You were right... nevertheless, I am pleased to see that usurebouthat will no longer be allowed do what is 'proper.'

Dear XXXXX,

Thank you for bringing this to our notice. We do see that the conversation between these players was indeed inappropriate. Hence we have conducted a detailed investigation on both the accounts to check for any possible team play between them.

We have looked into all the necessary aspects of their history in our card room and we would like to share with you these important facts that helped us arrive at a conclusion:

1- Both these players are coming from DIFFERENT STATES in USA.

2- This is the ONLY TOURNAMENT where they have shared tables, in their entire association with this card room.

3- We have gone through all the game records of this tournament and confirm that there is no sign of collusion involved. Also note that we have focused not only on the hands in which the player has been involved, but also all the hands in which they have been together by themselves.

However, we do agree that the table conversation that transpired between these players is inappropriate to say the least. As a result of this report and consequent investigation, we have now

1) Blocked the chatting facilities of the players ' usurebouthat' and ýdiegojeffý.
2) Flagged their accounts to periodically review the activities in these accounts.
3) Issued stern warnings to both the players, informing them about possible sterner actions in case such activities are repeated in their account.

Linda, we thank you for getting this to our notice, as this is in keeping with our priority of keeping up the integrity of this card room. It indeed is heartening to have players like you in this card room who care about the integrity of our games.
Contact us anytime, we are available around the clock to assist you with your account related questions and suggestions.
Best regards,

Shekar
Investigations Team for Poker
alerts@intertopspoker.com

[sfwusc]

I would email them back saying i should be refunded my buy in, since I was cheated.

Otherwise,
I will be playing elsewhere.

Party Sucks.
SWUSC

[Greg J]

I agree -- I think you should ask for restitution TT -- though I doubt you will get it.

[TT_fold]

You guys are right... I should have asked for restitution. Ironically, I did end up asking for restitution, since another player behaved ten times worse than usurebouthat. Here is an excerpt of a long complaint I sent to IntertopsPoker (the angry comments are intended for Intertops and not the 2+2 populace [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]). If you weren't already aware, I'm FugitivSlave, and my female avatar (even though I'm a male) tends to result in many sexist comments when I eliminate players. In the case of twentyputts, though, sexism extended to outright cheating.

----------------

#Game No : 1627760288
***** Hand History for Game 1627760288 *****
NL Hold'em $30 Buy-in + $3 Entry Fee Trny:9775871 Level:6
Blinds(150/300) - Monday, February 21, 20:50:52 EDT 2005
Table Table 12715 (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 5
Seat 2: twentyputts ( $840 )
Seat 3: NWMOJO ( $2230 )
Seat 4: crazyapk ( $240 )
Seat 5: FugitivSlave ( $3060 )
Seat 10: AznAngel1004 ( $1630 )
Trny:9775871 Level:6
Blinds(150/300)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FugitivSlave [ Jh Kh ]
FugitivSlave folds.
AznAngel1004 calls [300].
twentyputts calls [300].
NWMOJO folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 5c, 3c, 2h ]
AznAngel1004 checks.
twentyputts: hell no
NWMOJO: gl all in
twentyputts: bet 300
twentyputts: then ck
FugitivSlave: stop colluding
twentyputts: ck this
twentyputts is all-In [540]
FugitivSlave: you'll be reported immediately
AznAngel1004 folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ad ]
** Dealing River ** [ 5h ]
crazyapk shows [ 6c, 8h ] a pair of fives.
twentyputts shows [ 3s, 3d ] a full house, Threes full of fives.
crazyapk finished in fifth place.
twentyputts wins 660 chips from side pot #1 with a full house,
Threes full of fives.
twentyputts wins 870 chips from the main pot with a full house,
Threes full of fives.
crazyapk has left the table.
Game #1627766188 starts.

As you can see, twentyputts tells AznAngel1004 how to play his hand while another player is all-in. I tried to warn twentyputts that his behavior was out of line. However, he responded, "ill do as i da mn well please."

#Game No : 1627773162
***** Hand History for Game 1627773162 *****
NL Hold'em $30 Buy-in + $3 Entry Fee Trny:9775871 Level:6
Blinds(150/300) - Monday, February 21, 20:53:04 EDT 2005
Table Table 12715 (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 4
Seat 2: twentyputts ( $1530 )
Seat 3: NWMOJO ( $1780 )
Seat 5: FugitivSlave ( $2760 )
Seat 10: AznAngel1004 ( $1930 )
Trny:9775871 Level:6
Blinds(150/300)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FugitivSlave [ 9d Jd ]
twentyputts: ill do as i da mn well please
AznAngel1004 is all-In [1930]
twentyputts folds.
NWMOJO folds.
FugitivSlave: you'll have your chat privileges suspended within a few hours
FugitivSlave folds.
AznAngel1004 shows [ Ts, Ah ] high card ace.
AznAngel1004 wins 2380 chips from the main pot with high card ace.
you'll see
Game #1627775499 starts.

He continued harassing me in the chat box, inserting spaces into his cuss words to bypass the censor. During hand #1627801279, he TYPES HIS HAND INTO THE CHAT BOX BEFORE GOING ALL-IN! This is clear evidence of collusion, and it played a part in my elimination from the tournament.

#Game No : 1627801279
***** Hand History for Game 1627801279 *****
NL Hold'em $30 Buy-in + $3 Entry Fee Trny:9775871 Level:7
Blinds(200/400) - Monday, February 21, 20:57:50 EDT 2005
Table Table 12715 (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 3
Seat 2: twentyputts ( $3320 )
Seat 5: FugitivSlave ( $2300 )
Seat 10: AznAngel1004 ( $2380 )
Trny:9775871 Level:7
Blinds(200/400)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FugitivSlave [ 3d Ts ]
twentyputts: take that
twentyputts: heres some more
twentyputts: ace 9 su
twentyputts raises [3200].
FugitivSlave folds.
AznAngel1004 is all-In [1980]
** Dealing Flop ** [ As, Kh, 8h ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 6d ]
** Dealing River ** [ 5d ]
twentyputts shows [ 9h, Ah ] a pair of aces.
AznAngel1004 shows [ 5h, 5s ] three of a kind, fives.
twentyputts wins 820 chips from side pot #1 with a pair of aces.
AznAngel1004 wins 4960 chips from the main pot with three of a kind, fives.
hahahaha
nh
Game #1627805438 starts.

Then, to add insult to injury, twentyputts types, "lets take here out," in an effort to eliminate me from the tournament, during hand #1627807478.

#Game No : 1627807478
***** Hand History for Game 1627807478 *****
NL Hold'em $30 Buy-in + $3 Entry Fee Trny:9775871 Level:8
Blinds(250/500) - Monday, February 21, 20:58:53 EDT 2005
Table Table 12715 (Real Money)
Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 3
Seat 2: twentyputts ( $1880 )
Seat 5: FugitivSlave ( $2100 )
Seat 10: AznAngel1004 ( $4020 )
Trny:9775871 Level:8
Blinds(250/500)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FugitivSlave [ 8d 4d ]
AznAngel1004 folds.
twentyputts: lets take here out
twentyputts is all-In [1630]
FugitivSlave folds.
twentyputts does not show cards.
twentyputts wins 2380 chips
wise choce
Game #1627810161 starts.

I have no tolerance for players who attempt to cheat or try to gain an unfair advantage over others. There need to be serious consequences for players like twentyputts who need to cheat to win tournaments. I will cash out my ENTIRE balance and never play another hand at IntertopsPoker or PartyPoker unless something is done immediately to repay AznAngel1004 and myself, who were cheated out of a chance at 1st place in tournament #9775871. Please respond to this urgent issue as soon as possible.

[sfwusc]

Good luck. There are tons of sites to play at.

Ultimate bet is the best for tournments anyway.

SWUSC

[TT_fold]

[ QUOTE ]
Good luck. There are tons of sites to play at.

Ultimate bet is the best for tournments anyway.

SWUSC

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry if I made myself unclear... I was merely THREATENING to leave so that Intertops would actually pay me something instead of just banning this clown's chat privileges. I would never play on another site unless clearing a bonus.