{"id":8590,"date":"2018-06-19T15:11:13","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T15:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=8590"},"modified":"2018-06-19T17:14:41","modified_gmt":"2018-06-19T17:14:41","slug":"did-pokers-new-power-couple-cheat-or-is-soft-play-intrinsic-three-handed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/did-pokers-new-power-couple-cheat-or-is-soft-play-intrinsic-three-handed\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Poker\u2019s New Power Couple Cheat, Or Is Soft Play Intrinsic Three-Handed?"},"content":{"rendered":"
ICM considerations can make for strange bedfellows.<\/p>\n
In poker,\u00a0taking it easy on someone, otherwise known as\u00a0soft play<\/strong>, is considered collusion<\/strong>. Obviously, collusion is against the rules. However, short-handed at the final table of a tournament, there may be several situations where it simply makes sense to play a little softer against an opponent than one normally would.<\/p>\n Imagine you were three-handed in the $5,000 buy-in Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian Main Event<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0this past weekend. Finish third and you\u2019ll earn $120,000. However, there\u2019s a big pay jump up to second, where you\u2019ll earn $169,000. Plus, an even bigger one if you can win and collect the $270,000 first-place prize.<\/p>\n Now imagine you have 45 percent of the chips in play, one opponent has 45 percent as well, and the other player holds just 10 percent. It just makes sense to avoid confrontation with the player holding an equally big stack. You\u2019re naturally going to focus on getting rid of the short stack first. That means playing a little softer against that equally stacked player, and by definition, you would be guilty of collusion.<\/p>\n However, it\u2019s the kind of collusion that seems to be standard practice in poker. Perhaps because it\u2019s just common sense, this kind of collusion has even been deemed acceptable.<\/p>\n Now imagine that player is a good friend. Perhaps you have a backing arrangement, or maybe you\u2019re in a relationship together.<\/p>\n Real-life couple Alex Foxen<\/strong> and partypoker<\/strong><\/a> pro\u00a0Kristen Bicknell<\/strong>, who have been killing it everywhere from Las Vegas<\/strong><\/a> to Macau lately, don\u2019t have to imagine this scenario. They just went through it in that MSPT Venetian Main Event.<\/p>\nCollusion or standard practice?<\/span><\/h2>\n