It is important for online poker companies to be able to detect and terminate cheaters. Cheaters ruin the game for everyone else and can cause online poker sites to lose legitimate customers if cheating becomes commonplace.

Bots and Collusion are the two main ways players cheat at online poker.

Bots and Collusion definitions:

• Bots are automated software programs that can sit at multiple tables and track the history and style of opponents at the table to know when and how to bet. They are not influenced by emotions and are capable of running millions of calculations to determine their best course of action.


• Collusion can best be defined as two or more players sharing information to aid in their decisions. This shared information puts the rest of the table at a distinct disadvantage. Players cheating in this fashion can raise each other's bets to force out other players or fold because they share cards in common thus lowering the odds of them showing up on the board.

Bots and Collusion prevention:

• Bots are a growing concern for online poker companies. They are often difficult to detect (or more importantly prove). A bot acts like a calculating and careful player, just as many legitimate players act. To curb the use of bots many companies extract data from customers' computers to detect known bots. If a player is caught running a bot they are either suspended or banned. In extreme cases the company will confiscate the winnings the bot has made. Many companies also rely on player-submitted complaints and professional analysts to detect suspected bots.


• Collusion is typically detected by two methods.
  
  First, most online poker companies run checks on hand histories to determine when collusion is likely. If the same two (or more) players tend to be at the same table and betting in suspicious ways the operators of the site are alerted. Folding strong pre-flop hands to minimal bets is one suspicious sign. Folding strong hands to small bets can often be suspicious as well. The sites usually store hand histories and if two players tend to fold to one another in this fashion repeatedly it could indicate collusion.
  
  Second, this form of cheating hurts the legitimate players at the table. If they suspect players are cheating in this fashion they are encouraged to report the situation and the company will then look into it.