Why Poker Rooms Do Not Allow Chip Dumping
- Published 2005-08-16
- Author Pokeraddict
Almost all of us have had a friend that wanted to play online for the first time and did not have a way to deposit or a friend that needed a small loan. Going to a private table and purposely losing chips to your friend is not the way to go about it. This is called chip dumping and many players have had their accounts locked and funds confiscated for doing this. There are many reasons why this is not allowed.
The biggest reason is because a player who sets up a fraudulent account using a stolen credit card or other stolen funds can use this method to transfer money to an accomplice who would then cash out the funds. The fake account creator sits down and plays heads up with a friend with a legit account. The fake account holder then plays every hand raising every step of the way until the river. Then they fold the last bet sending a large pot to the legit account holder, their accomplice. The accomplice then cashes out the fraudulent deposit. The actual credit card holder then finds out his credit card has been used at an online poker room, they then dispute the charge and win. The poker room is now out these funds. Long ago poker rooms caught onto this scam and catch on very fast. People still try this often and virtually never get away with it. The poker rooms often associate this kind of transfer with fraud and will consider it chip dumping.
Another reason poker rooms have stated this is not allowed is because of the money laundering possibility. Poker rooms are there for players to get together and play poker, not for you to do your personal banking. Online poker is gaining international recognition and becoming more and more mainstream. The last thing an online poker room needs is to be thought of a way for criminals to transfer their funds.
There are also processing fees each and every time you make an online deposit at a poker room. These fees range from 3%-5%. There are also fees often when cashing out that the poker room must absorb. This is why poker rooms sometimes limit the number of free cashouts in a month, or have an outright fee for them. If two players get together and dump chips to cash out to another player to pay back a loan, to initiate a loan, or to make some sort of payment the poker room is now stuck with the fees involved in this transfer. The rake in a quick chip dump will not cover these fees that add up quickly. This is also why many rooms now require play requirements on transfers. They do not want to be the middle man for players to use to avoid the transfer fees involved in Paypal or Neteller person to person transfer.
Online poker rooms are also intent on offering fair games. Two players sitting down and playing heads up with the sole intent on losing is obviously not a fair game. If another player sits down at this heads up chip dumping then the other two players are colluding. The third, unsuspecting player, will not be getting a fair game. There will be raises that will force player #3 out of the pot where they otherwise would not have folded, only to see one of the colluding chip dumpers fold to the other at the river.
Tournament chip dumping is also forbidden. This is downright cheating. Players that know each can end up at a tournament table together. If one is short stacked it might seem like a good idea to dump the rest of your stack to your friend. If you get caught, and you probably will, the poker room will lock both of your accounts and seize your funds. This is known as collusion and everyone knows that collusion will get you banned from the poker room forever.
Most poker rooms offer some sort of inter account transfer. This is either in the software, or you can transfer with a simple email to support. For just 1.9% you can transfer funds to a certified Neteller account. There is no reason to go to the tables and purposely lose chips. If it is a legitimate transfer then there is not any reason to pay the rake when it can be done for free. This sends up a red flag to the poker room's security department that they must investigate. If you do not make a legit transfer you risk losing all of your funds in a poker room. The next time someone asks you to transfer funds at a poker table think about all of the potential consequences.