Implicit Collusion

- Implicit collusion occurs in tournament poker when a player has bet all of their remaining chips and is called by more than one player. It is the decision made by all remaining players in the hand to cease betting into a side pot, and it is the only form of teamwork allowed in the game (it is allowed in fact because it is implicit). This strategy has two advantages. The first is that an eliminated opponent helps everyone at the table move higher up on the payout scale. Secondly, the main pot won’t be won by either remaining player if the all-in has the best hand. Therefore a bet into the main pot may not return anything.

- I came to know about implicit collusion the same way many poker fans have. While I was watching a televised tournament two players used it to eliminate another. The announcer stated that checking down to the river is almost a forgone conclusion when a player is all in. Indeed many players will get outright offended by a bet when implicit collusion can be used. However, like everything else in poker, implicit collusion should be used only after all factors are considered.

- I had a recent chance to use implicit collusion. I was at the final table of a $4.40 buy-in 180 person tournament. Sixth place payed $36 and fifth payed $46.80, a significant jump for my online bankroll. The winner would receive $216. Here is the hand history with my comments:

PokerStars Game #22802198942: Tournament #126155012, $4.00+$0.40 Hold'em No Limit - Level XIII (600/1200) - 2008/12/10 18:21:48 ET
Table '126155012 4' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 3: Player1 (47926 in chips)
Seat 4: Player2 (5401 in chips)
Seat 5: Player3 (111977 in chips)
Seat 6: CgCook38 (31569 in chips)
Seat 7: Player4 (46108 in chips)
Seat 9: Player5 (27019 in chips)
Player1: posts the ante 125
Player2: posts the ante 125
Player3: posts the ante 125
CgCook38: posts the ante 125
Player4: posts the ante 125
Player5: posts the ante 125
Player1: posts small blind 600
Player2: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to CgCook38 [As Jc]
Pretty good starting cards in pretty good position. I have been showing down cards of high value and most of my raises pre-flop were respected.

Player3: raises 3600 to 4800
Player3 is a solid player that seems to know hand values pretty well. I had not seen him make any silly moves since being seated next to him. I felt that a re-raise would do a few things here – First, it would keep the players behind me from entering the hand. My AJ is a pretty weak hand and I don’t want to play it out of position. Second, I really don’t want to see a flop with my weak ace, and I felt that Player3 might possibly fold if he was raising with a weak ace or a small pocket pair. If he has me beat and doesn't fold, he will likely raise all-in and I can easily fold.

CgCook38: raises 7200 to 12000
Player4: folds
Player5: folds
Player1: folds
Player2: calls 4076 and is all-in
This was unexpected. Player2 has played extremely solid values and I didn’t expect him to come in. He must have AA, KK, or QQ or perhaps AK.

Player3: calls 7200
This is unfortunate. I really didn’t want to see three players go to the flop. There is 17,178 chips in the main pot that Player2 is eligible for and 13,448 in the side pot.

*** FLOP *** [6s Ac Qh]
Is this the proper spot for implicit collusion? I have top pair. If I bet and Player3 folds I will win 13,448 and a possible total of 30,626 chips if I beat Player2 in a showdown. That would put me squarely in second place with 5 remaining. If I bet and Player3 can beat me, he will raise and likely Player2 will be eliminated anyway (again, likely). It would be the proper decision to bet here, but for some reason (since it is so ingrained in my brain to implicitly collude) I chose not to pay attention to how much money was in the side pot, and I checked and cost myself a shot at a lot of money and perhaps a win.

Player3: checks
CgCook38: checks
*** TURN *** [6s Ac Qh] [9d]
Player3: checks
CgCook38: checks
*** RIVER *** [6s Ac Qh 9d] [5s]
Player3: checks
CgCook38: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Player3: shows [5h 5c] (three of a kind, Fives)
Whoops… Player3 easily folds this to a bet at any point before the river card comes out. Player2 mucked [Js 9h] below and I would have won the hand outright (Note that I was way wrong about what hand Player2 was holding. Late in a tournament you never know what a player will do when short on chips). I was forced out of the tournament a few hands later because my chip stack was so low. Note that Player3 chose to use implicit collusion on the river. He could have bet here safely, as I will raise with anything that beats him, but will likely pay him off with a hand like AK or two pair.

CgCook38: mucks hand
Player3 collected 13448 from side pot
Player2: mucks hand
Player3 collected 17178 from main pot
Player3 said, "gg"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 30626 Main pot 17178. Side pot 13448. Rake 0
Board [6s Ac Qh 9d 5s]
Seat 3: Player1(small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: Player2 (big blind) mucked [Js 9h]
Seat 5: Player3 showed [5h 5c] and won (30626) with three of a kind, Fives
Seat 6: CgCook38 mucked [As Jc]
Seat 7: Player4 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Player5 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)