They continue to do it, somehow believing that they will not be caught using more than one account on an online poker website. But players who blatantly ignore the rules of the sites, not to mention the very public reports of others caught and punished for doing so, almost always get caught. This time it was Nick Grudzien, the founder and head coach of StoxPoker, an online poker training website.
 
Accusations of multi-accounting by Grudzien came via members of the 2+2 online forum, and they were accompanied by claims that the StoxPoker creator, coach, and author (as well as moderator of one of the 2+2 forums) was also colluding with other players and soft-playing others.
 
The initial post was started by high-stakes online player David “Viffer” Peat on March 12, 2010. Grudzien initially denied all allegations against him. “At no point have I ever colluded. This is a categorical denial without exceptions,” he wrote on the forum. But he ultimately admitted owning and playing more than one account, though not simultaneously. He confessed to playing on two accounts at Full Tilt Poker and another two at PokerStars for four years but used them at separate times—one account was used to create StoxPoker videos, the other to play lower stakes games without recognition. He created new accounts on each in January 2010, and then played only on them for about one month. He acknowledged breaking the “terms of service” on both sites and said he would not play any of his accounts on those sites until the companies themselves completed their investigations.
 
It took only one day for Grudzien to make another decision regarding his wrongdoing. Though no results were reported from the PokerStars or Full Tilt inquiries, he wrote on 2+2, “It is with a heavy heart that I must announce my resignation as a StoxPoker coach today. I have put the company in a difficult position given the recent negative publicity surrounding my breaking poker sites terms of service, and refusal to publicly explain my January 2010 account switch ... Because of this, StoxPoker and I will be parting ways.”
 
Grudzien’s errors in judgment cost him a position at his own company, but more importantly, they may have been the final nail in the coffin of the website. It was only weeks prior that a controversy arose when StoxPoker instructor Jason Ho was accused of faking portions of his poker history and was fired from the training site. With Grudzien’s decision to step down, it became apparent that not much was left of the site, which had been one of the original poker training outlets in the industry. But since CardRunners purchased the site in 2008, it made the decision to fully incorporate it into one site under the CardRunners name. Pulling up the StoxPoker site now brings readers directly to CardRunners.
 
But the Grudzien tale may not be complete, particularly if the tenacity of 2+2 players are any indication. Accusations of collusion remain, and players looking for access to hand histories often find a way of obtaining them. If there was collusion, analysis of those histories will prove it. And with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker now aware of the situation, past play from Grudzien’s accounts are being investigated to see if other players were cheated at the tables.
 
Many players multi-accounted in the past, but it has since become one of the most taboo actions a player can take in the online poker world. But those who claim to know enough to coach others and teach winning poker ways should probably not break the rules and continue to do so. The stakes are too high, and Grudzien found that out the hard way.
 
Jennifer Newell is a compulsive writer. In addition to Poker Player Newspaper, she writes for numerous publications and blogs at Pokerati.com as California Jen. In her little bit of spare time, she plays poker, too. Contact her at jen3351@msn.com.