Originally posted on 11/13/2017:

KLC, it's a valid concern. A few items:

1) Was the Eventual Winner just joking? Sometimes, guys will call Light, if they know the raiser is a maniac.

2) Are the hands documented? You can file a complaint. At least hope to get a refund.

3) On the math end, I've always wondered about situations like this. Let's say the buy-in = $100. Well, two buy-ins = $200. If two colluding players know that they want to shove H2H, all those chips go into one stack. In tournament poker...we know that the Bully Stack has power and that the short-stack is hamstrung.

Main reason for this is that the short-stack normally has little Fold Equity. If they move All-in, a potential caller is usually catching appropriate odds w/ any reasonable holding. Ergo, if an Average player represent an Average Payout share...how much does the Colluder's Average payout go up?

IE, does the 2.00 stack now have an Expected Payout of 2.50? Or more? If that were the case, then colluding strategy would be a +25% scheme. If we allow for Tournament Rake, colluding Strategy would still be worth > +10% Net ROI.