While we poker players know that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 is a pile of garbage, it did, to some extent, have its intended effect. As e-wallets and other online poker funding methods started drying up for United States residents, it became harder to get money in and out of poker accounts. Obviously, we all know that there are still decent ways to move money around, but that doesn’t mean it still can’t be a pain sometimes. Cashouts tend to be slower and fees are often higher.

Because of the unfortunate funding hassles that are becoming inevitable nowadays, a very popular method for getting money into online poker accounts is through a player to player trade. If you need money on poker site ABC, but have some on poker site XYZ, you can transfer money to someone else who needs it on XYZ, while at the same time, this person will transfer you money on ABC. If both parties are seeking a trading partner, the trade is usually an even swap. If only one person is asking for a trade and the other is simply obliging him, the trade seeker may end up having to pay a small fee for the convenience; it all depends on the parties involved.

While trading can be an extremely quick and convenient way to get money in your online poker account, it is also dangerous. It is extremely easy to get scammed. All that has to happen is for you to transfer money to someone’s account first, only to never receive the return transfer. Now your account is lighter and there is likely not much the poker room can do about it, especially if the scammer already lost the money to legitimate opponents. While no amount of precautionary measures will ever keep you completely safe, I do have some tips for you if you do ever want to trade money with another poker player.

Quick disclaimer: I am assuming you do not know your potential trading partner personally. There is not much risk, and thus not much advice needed, if you are trading with your grandmother or your best friend.

First, bring your trading partner out from behind the curtain. Exchange personal information, such as real names, addresses, and phone numbers. Heck, you could even ask for information about where he works and give the employer a call just to make sure the guy really exists (I wouldn’t necessarily tell the employer why you are calling, just ask if he works there or ask to be connected with him). Asking him to e-mail you from his work e-mail is not a bad idea, either, as a scammer would be less likely to perpetrate a fraud through his work account.

Second, make sure the other person actually has the money. Ask him to go sit at an empty table at the online poker room where you need the money and put his entire bankroll down. If it is more than enough to cover the trade, that’s a good sign. If putting the entire bankroll on display is unrealistic, at least ask him to put down the maximum buy-in at a table with stakes high enough to given you a good indication as to his ability to handle the trade amount. Another way to get an estimate whether or not the other person has the money is to go to a poker results tracking site such as thepokerdb.com, officialpokerrankings.com or sharkscope.com. At sites like these, you can enter the screen name of your potential trading partner and see what sort of stakes he plays, and how successful he has been. If he normally plays $1 Sit & Gos, yet wants you to transfer him $1,000, that’s a red flag. If he’s been on a tremendous downswing lately, that’s a red flag.

Third, do some research into the person’s reputation. Google his screen name, for starters, and see if anything interesting comes up, good or bad. Head on over to a poker forum (TwoPlusTwo.com is great for this) and see if he has made trades with anyone else. Ask him directly for references, if he has made trades before. Sure, there is a chance that any positive feedback he has received from other players is phony, but chances are, if you read good things about the other person, you can feel better about the transaction. On that note, once you do make a trade, successful or not, seek out the appropriate discussion area of a poker forum and let people know how it went. That way, other people can benefit from your experience down the road.

Fourth, do not post your contact information in a public forum, especially your instant messaging screen name. It is way too easy for someone to grab it, IM you, tell you some lie about how they know so-and-so and heard you were interested in a trade, and then turn around and steal your money once you trust them enough to make the transaction.

Fifth and finally, just like you should not gamble more money than you can afford to lose, do not trade more than you can afford to lose. If you get ripped off, you will be angry, but at least you won’t go hungry. If possible, try trading in increments so that a) you can build some trust, and b) if the other person does scam you, it will be for a small amount. Also, try to transfer the money second when possible, for obvious reasons.

Now, even if you do all your due diligence, there is still no guarantee that you won’t get scammed. And even if the trade goes through just fine, there is still a chance that things can go wrong later. For example, if the person you traded with does something to get himself banned from the poker room (cheat, defraud the site, etc.), your account may get flagged a security risk because of your connection with your trading partner. If you do end up getting ripped off, contact both poker rooms. The chances are not great that you will see your money, but you can at least save other people trouble by alerting the poker rooms to the scammer.

Personally, I try to avoid doing any sort of transfers to other players, just in case. But if the need ever arises, I feel confident that I can limit my exposure to risk by following my own advice and maybe, just maybe, having a little bit of faith in my fellow man.

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