how would it be possible to get other players' moves? one or many nicks, cloak or not cloak doesn't make any difference here.

Please, leave ponds as they are. Problems like this will always happen in multiplayer games, they cannot be eliminated by more complicated rules. Making the game more complicated takes away some of the motivation for pawns to become paying members.

rabbitoid: no, there will be many draws for 1st and last bets (as it is in regular ponds).

Thad: There is no formula that can guarantee a win. But there is a formula to optimize whatever you want (e.g. number of wins, or high BKR) over a large number of games.
Any such formula will not work if other players know about it and collaborate against it.

BIG BAD WOLF: It's possible to get this info from people's profiles as well. Would it be cheating to use a web robot to dig that info out automatically?

I thought that a paying member whos membership expires still can continue playing? At least that's how it also works with the number of games and tournaments

ok, I hadn't read the previous posts carefully enough. That's not possible of course (except in some special situations, like you have more points than all others together). But then it depends very much on how he defines "cooperation", it could be different from the everyday meaning.

Most people here seem not to understand math. As with all games that need a mixed strategy, there can be no assured win, but there is a strategy that assures at least the same number of wins as the opponents. I don't know whether Ed has found this strategy, but nevertheless the strategy exists