[bodhisoma]

>> Heads-up play will prevent collusion based on sharing your known hole cards with others, but it of course can't prevent the "asking a friend sitting next to you their opinion on the hand"-type collusion. The webcam video feed would prevent that, though. =)

Not unless you require nobody listens to music on headphones.

Even then, people using micro earpieces which sell for under $100 would go undetected.

If you required an inspection of every player's ear over the webcam, an app which allows two SMS devices to do Morse code with the player having vibrate turned on would suffice. One buzz for check/fold, two buzzes for bet/raise followed by a pause then binary for bet size.

I like the idea of the webcam as a novelty but I don't see how it offers anything but the illusion of honesty.

[Wingman4l7]

Funny that you came up with an SMS-based "buzzer" -- a technique similar to this was used to gain an edge in casino blackjack decades ago. A custom microcomputer was hidden in the player's shoe, and IIRC they used vibrating motors to communicate the correct plays in one version of the device.

The webcam I think isn't there for an "illusion of honesty" but rather for a more personal / "human" game experience.