After being alerted to a group of accounts that had demonstrated signs of collusion and after reviewing the historical play of the identified accounts, the Security Team at the Merge Gaming Network found there to be no “true markings of collusion.” Unfortunately, there is strong evidence that suggests otherwise.
An email disclosing the names of three accounts suspected of colluding and multi-accounting in Pot Limit Omaha 8 or better tournaments was sent to the Merge Network. Within hours its Security Team responded indicating the team had performed a historical review of the accounts in question. As if to indicate that it went above and beyond standard procedure in its investigation, the Security Team added, “As an extra element of our review we have traced their IP addresses.” However, no evidence of wrong doing was discovered.
In stark contrast to the findings, 2+2 users began posting evidence obtained from SharkScope, a tournament result data provider, which clearly demonstrated chip dumping had occurred. Data from the site also produced the most telling piece of evidence. It revealed dramatic increases in the ROIs of the accounts in question when they played together in the same tournaments versus when they played alone.
As the forum thread grew in popularity and users with hand histories containing the suspected accounts came forward, the accusations of collusion and multi-accounting mounted. In addition to the hand histories, prior accusations of similar offenses involving the same player on other networks, including Cake, Full Tilt, Cereus and PokerStars have surfaced.
Security at the Merge Network was questioned earlier this year as a result of chip dumping and multi-accounting related to the José “Girah” Macedo scandal.
