Firstly I will clarify what most people mean when they say that online poker is rigged or fixed. This idea is suggested because a lot of people believe that the cards are dealt in set patterns so that certain hands will be specifically chosen by the site, resulting in numerous bad beats for players.
So maybe the next time you call out an online poker site for being rigged, start by making sure your gameplay is solid. Now, you can focus your efforts elsewhere, like on your video poker strategy. Is Online Poker Rigged? By Greg Walker. Firstly I will clarify what most people mean when they say that online poker is rigged or fixed.This idea is suggested because a lot of people believe that the cards are dealt in set patterns so that certain hands will be specifically chosen by the site, resulting in numerous bad beats for players.
Therefore due to this frequency of bad beats, a player may claim that the site is rigged and that no hands and cards are dealt out at random.
So anyway, is online poker is rigged?
No.
Every site uses a RNG (Random Number Generator) to randomly choose cards from a 52 card deck on every singly hand. Rigged online poker is just another one of the many online poker myths.
Theories for online poker being rigged.
I could end the article at that, but now you will be asking the question of why I am so sure that it isn’t rigged, so I will continue and hopefully explain why it is not rigged and dispel some common rumors about Internet poker at the same time.
Many people have different suggestions as to why Internet poker is rigged, so I will address the most popular theories in the next few paragraphs and give the reasoning to why they are incorrect.
- There are too many bad beats.
- Cards are fixed to keep people playing.
- Cards are fixed to build bigger pots.
1) Too many bad beats.
Theory: The number of bad beats online is substantially greater when compared to the number of bad beats in live play. Therefore, if online poker isn’t rigged, then why are there so many bad beats?
Explanation: I will admit that it is true that you will see far more bad beats online than you will during live play, but this is not because it is rigged. There are two reasons why you see such a high frequency of beats online:
- The action at an online poker table runs much faster than the action at a live table. More hands = more beats.
- You are not sitting face to face with any of your opponents whilst playing online.
To elaborate on point #2, players are happier to call down large bets and raises on unlikely draws, as they do not have to worry about being berated by other players at the table (except for a few words in a chat box). If a player is playing at a live table, they are more likely to avoid calling with terrible odds for a draw because they would not like to be criticized because of their bad play.
Because online players are calling with worse hands and worse odds, you are likely to suffer more bad beats.
Top 2 safest online poker rooms.
In all fairness, if any of the rooms on this site were rigged or unsafe I would not link to them. Nonetheless, I would say the following rooms are the safest of an already incredibly safe bunch.
1) PokerStars - This is the biggest online poker room by quite some margin. I'll eat my hat if this poker room ever goes south. Amazing support at hand to answers questions too.
2) Cards are fixed to keep people playing.
Theory: The online rooms fix the cards so that the bad players will get luckier to stop them from losing too much money and leaving the room. The rooms want to keep as many players as possible so that they generate more rake, so by fixing the cards to make it ‘fairer’ for the bad players, they will able to make more money for themselves.
Explanation: The chances of a room fixing cards to help the bad players save money are almost non-existent. Only when you start to think about the side effects of such a system can you appreciate the absurdity of such a theory.
If a room is helping a bad player from losing money, at the same time the room will be taking this money from the good players to compensate. Therefore there would be no such thing as the online pros that make a living from playing online poker, because they will find it too difficult to win money due to a ‘fair’ system.
In addition, the site would have to scrap the use of its RNG and design a system that is able to detect a losing player and be able to deliver ‘good hands’ to those players. Not only would this be incredibly difficult for the sites to create, but it would also be illegal. If a site were found to be utilizing such a system to help make them more money, they would incur a staggering amount of fines and be heavily prosecuted. The poker rooms know this and so it would be dangerously unwise for them to even consider using such a system.
3) Cards are fixed to build bigger pots.
Theory: Poker rooms have pre-set ‘action hands’ that give two or more players very strong hands. This helps to create larger pots, which in turn generates more rake for the room.
Explanation: As already mentioned above, the poker rooms would have to knowingly break the law to achieve this system. With so many people involved working with the rooms, there is a high chance that information of such a system would slip out into the public eye and scar the integrity of the room.
Furthermore, the room would be forced to close and they would face large fines and legal action due to their exploits. If a room were using a system like that, you would know about it by now. As far as the poker rooms are concerned the juice just wouldn’t be worth the squeeze, and they would rather invest their time in making the room more attractive to new and old players.
Is online poker rigged overview.
These are the most popular arguments for why online poker may be rigged. As you can see the explanations make it incredibly unlikely that the poker rooms will ever rig poker for the online player. If you browse through a poker room’s homepage you should be able to find information on how each hand is randomly generated. If this is not available on the website then you should be able to request information about it by emailing the poker room.
If you really wish, you can test the RNG of the rooms by tracking the results of your play using tracking software and comparing the statistics you obtain against the mathematical likelihood of each situation over a large number of hands. However, you must obtain a large amount of data if you intend on doing this to make sure the results are fair and accurate. If you are still unsure about the room you are playing at, simply move onto a different room.
Go back to the interesting Texas Hold'em articles.
How Much More Money Could
You Be Winning?
“I played break-even online poker for 4 years before finding
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- liquid_quik, DC Member
Whether you’ve never been exposed to poker or you’re a regular player online, many have asked and wondered about this question: Is online poker rigged?
The answer is NO. And these operators have proof. Poker sites use regulators and highly sophisticated random number generators to keep their games safe, secure and fair for the players who use it.
1. PokerStars
Security
PokerStars starts making sure the software is secure from the minute the software is downloaded. At the time of the download, the installer has a built-in feature that signs the file using a RSA 2048-bit code certificate, issued to Rational Services Limited and verified by VeriSign, a major public certificate authority.
This process ensures that the client installer came from PokerStars and that it wasn’t altered in the time between publication and installation. The software should contain the same certificates as those assigned in PokerStars’ own Certificate Authority and is authenticated on their servers. Everything clients input is validated on the server side.
PokerStars’ software uses the industry standard TLS protocol and PokerStars’ bit RSA key (which RSA states will be sufficient until 2030). These server keys are updated every three months. PokerStars supports the following ciphers: AES128-SHA (128 bits) and DES-CBC3-SHA (168 bits).
Each PokerStars account can increase its security by adding other methods of logging in: security questions, Stars PIN, SMS validation and a RSA token.
Fairness
PokerStars uses shuffle algorithms for its software, with two independent sources for the random data: user input and Quantis. The former, user input, summarizes mouse movements and takes into account event timing directly from the client software.
Quantis, comparatively, is a hardware random number generator from ID Quantique, a Switzerland-based company. According to PokerStars, this company uses quantum randomness as an entropy source.
ID Quantique states on its website that it was the first to develop a quantum random number generator in 2001 and remains a market leader when it comes to hardware random number generators (RNGs).
So, in a typical shuffle, PokerStars uses typical probability and statistics, shuffling 52 cards in 52! ways or 80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660,636,856,404,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ways. To get an even and unpredictable statistical distribution, PokerStars uses 294 random bits from user input and the quantum randomness.
Thus, if a user does not meet the required amount of entropy as gathered from both sources, the next hand is not played until that amount is met from the Quantum random number generator.
They also use a cryptographic hash algorithm and pseudo-random number generator to mix the entropy levels for greater security and to protected against user data attacks.
The algorithm changes bit data into random numbers without bias by converting them into numbers (ex. 0-31 in a range of 0-25) and then discarding numbers and recalculating if outside that range.
When it comes to actual shuffling, a random card is taken from the deck and placed in a new deck. This process is continued until all cards have moved from one deck to the other. This process and the algorithm that creates it protect against a bad distribution.
All the information provided on the random number generator on PokerStars is submitted to an independent organization, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) who audits PokerStars to confirm the randomness and security of the system, according to PokerStars Support.
So don't uninstall your PokerStars account just yet; they have a reputable system to show their games are fair. So head on over to PokerStars and decide for yourself.
2. 888poker
Security
888poker also utilizes RSA public and private key encryption technology to make sure that all data is securely transferred online. Payment details are on a secure server protected by a firewall, according to 888poker.
The processing services for payments are handled by Cassava Enterprises (Gibraltar) Ltd., which also utilizes this method of encryption.
Fairness
When playing with 888poker online, a random number generator determines the outcome of the games. According to 888, the system has been tested through millions of rounds, examining the results along the way. The dealer in each game is actually a computer in most cases (with the exception of sports betting and live games).
Games that are outside the purview of 888 undergo additional procedures to make sure that they adhere to the appropriate standards and that they pass 888 in-house testing on both the system and the random number generator.
888 uses independent auditors to review the casino’s payout percentage on a regular basis and these are available to the public here.
Don't let us be the deciding factor! Experience 888poker firsthand!
3. partypoker
Security
Is Wsop Online Poker Rigged
Partypoker’s operator, bwin.party, has its evaluation certificate from iTech Labs with a range of poker games found compliant to iTech’s standards: ring games, Texas hold’em, Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo, Bad Beat Jackpot, partypoker Million, Sit & Go, Single Table and Multi-Table. Blackjack and regular and special tournaments have also been evaluated.
Are Any Online Poker Sites Not Rigged
In the past, the poker games had already passed these tests, which including verifying that partypoker used a random number generator for card shuffling.
iTech tested the functionality of all games and tournaments, made return to player calculations and verified game rules and procedures for software integrity.
This last evaluation, in July of 2005, also ensure that the change control mechanisms and regular monitoring of critical modules were allowing the software to respond accordingly.
All game information is sent between the player’s computer and the partypoker servers with 128-bit encryption and SSL.
Fairness
The random number generator and other systems, algorithms and practices ensure that partypoker remains fair to each player, the site states.
The deck is shuffled and the cards are generated through a random number generator. These numbers are scaled and shuffled from 32-bit raw numbers to generate a 52-card deck.
According to partypoker, this is an acceptable, statistically sound method to create randomness. This algorithm and shuffling code were used to generate over two million shuffled decks and met the test standards on a monthly basis. The source code is also reviewed by iTech to make sure that the internal state is secured and seeding is from an entropy source.
A study that statistically tested random number generators at the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that new metrics to investigate randomness helped to gain additional confidence that random number generators are acceptable from a statistical point of view.
Thus, random generators should continuously be tested to ensure quality, but “are very important in the construction of encryption keys and other cryptographic algorithm parameters.”
So maybe the next time you call out an online poker site for being rigged, start by making sure your gameplay is solid. Now, you can focus your efforts elsewhere, like on your video poker strategy.
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