How on earth can psychology change online?

[Baz501]

Just playing a 3$ entry SnG tournament. Was doing really well - started with 1.5k stack and got to 4.2k. All of a sudden I am then accused of collusion because the other guy who keeps raising me is English too!!!

All of a sudden my game went downhill - I even folded when i could've checked!

How have you dealt with such accusations? - its quite embarassing to be labelled a cheat - you never know whos observing the game....

Sorry for naive questions
Baz

[ciaran]

I can't speak to the psychology involved, but I normally respond to cheating accusations (if I respond at all) by telling them to contact support and report me. If nothing else, that usually makes them madder, which I normally find quite amusing.

[nsidestrate]

You can always ask if all their decision-making is that poor. I find that amusing.

[taz115]

I recommend that you just ignore this kind of banter. I wouldn't respond or change my play one bit if I was accused of collusion or if I was insulted or whatever. Just have to get some thick skin I suppose.

[Piemaster]

Actually I can totally empathise with the OP here. I am (broadly speaking) a law abiding person and tend to get very jumpy when I'm accused of something, even if I didn't do it. It's not a stretch at all to think that this might put somebody on tilt.

If you think you are on tilt in a cash game, the best thing to do is just stop playing, or at least take a break. However, in a tournament there is no point in doing this because you have already paid your money.

Tilting in tournaments is a subject that we cover in The Poker Mindset. If you find yourself on tilt during a tournament, then try the following:

1. Take a short break (this is more applicable to live games or to multi-table tournaments where the action moves slower and you can afford to miss an orbit or two).

2. Tighten up - This will protect against loose tilt and will stop you getting involved in too many marginal situations.

3. Play ABC Poker - If you are on tilt, you don't want to be trying anything fancy. Keep it simple and play the way you know how.

4. Play pre-flop - Try to either raise or fold pre-flop and not see too many flops. Again, this will stop you getting involved in too many marginal situations and having to make difficult decisions.

[toronexti]

Ask yourself if you really care what this "person" thinks . . . I usually don't even treat the people I'm playing with as people at all so I could care less. My typical response is along the lines of "damn you caught me" and then I keep trying to get all the chips.

BTW is it just me or is there an endless supply of chips in cash games? I mean if u clean out 1 table the next pops up with just as many chips . . . the longest MTT ever.

[Tyhunt]

Don't pay the least attention to the accusation. By you changing your game he achieved his goal and got you to play differently. I have been and probably will be accused of this. I just ignore it but if they continue I just tell them to "e-mail support but be prepared for their own play and chat to be reviewed, I have nothing to hide do you. Even better want me to e-mail them for you?" That usually shuts them up. The key is to remember that online people will say and do anything as they are not face to face. Don't let it bother you in the least if you are doing nothing wrong.

[Baz501]

Thanks for the replies guys

Think I'll stay to the $1 STT's where the 'gamesmanship' isn't as frequent

[Dogs]

You'll get more thick-skinned as you play more. I remember when I first started, someone started berating me for a terrible play (he actually wrote 'Jesus, can you even spell poker?'), and someone else at the table agreed with him. This absolutely threw me: I started questioning whether I should be playing at all, even if it was a $5 SNG. As it happened, I'd doubled up and left him as the short stack. Next hand he pushed and I was looking down at AQ or similar. It should have been an instant call, but I folded.

The only way I can explain it is that I wanted to be accepted as a poker player, and was worried about upsetting him further. If it happened now, I'd probably laugh. And then bust him with that AQ.

Don't forget you can always turn off the chat if you find it hard to ignore.

[kinnipak]

Turn off chat.

Problem goes away instantly.

Or:

Respond to every thing he says by saying:

"I can dodge bullets baby!"

and call him "sir" a-lot. That really get's them steaming imho.

Best,
K

[Musicca]

I think that every reply to this post has merit. I'm sure nobody likes to be called a cheat and the way you deal with it depends on a few factors. Your style of play and your current emtional state are just a couple of the major ones that come to mind. Personally, I have had this happen a few times. Each situation was a little bit different, therefore i handled it in different ways.
If the comment occurred while say, i was becoming impatient or distracted or waiting for decent cards or for some reason the comment hit me funny and put me on edge, then a nonconfrontational attitude was the direction i went. however that being said, the majority of times this issue has arose, I have tryed to use it as motivation to bear down and focus on making proper decisions. And yes the odd shot back at the complaintent helped me with this mentality. ( if I can stay on track and use his anger against him........ good! )
Overall your actions i believe are situational. Perhaps the polite thing to do would be ignore him and go about your own, but there are benefits to a little confrontation aswell.

[eonny]

Stay out of chat box and play blissfully in ignorance of chat.

[Bugsbunny]

On the topic of being called a cheater. Recently I was accused of being a "staker" (and it was definitely meant as some sort of cheater) and the person announced it to the table and said she had been reporting me to FT CS on a daily basis.

Now none of this bothers me in the least, I got a good laugh out of it. I do have one question though, if anyone can answer it. What the heck is a "staker" when used in this sense? Anybody know?