Ask the Poker Pro - Are Online Poker Sites Rigged?
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Date: Auguest 2nd, 2006
By: Tight Poker Staff
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Q: Dear Poker Pro,
Playing online poker, I have found that a number of poker sites seem to reward
players that play very loose and frequently go all-in. In addition, there seems
to be an abundance of premium hands and monsters that occur, such as full houses and
quads.
Can you tell me which online site(s) offer truly random card selection and is not
rigged?>
- Allan
A: Ah, hello Allan! Quite the question that you've come to ask here to
the Poker Pro now. No matter however, as I am more than delighted to answer this common question and often misconception that has pervaded the online poker world for quite some time.
It's true that if you play online poker more than a chap in the brick and mortar casino, that you will see more premium hands and more devastating defeats on the felt. But does that mean online poker is rigged? Good question! It would be not-so-prudent to simply assume that the honest fellows at such reputable off-shore companies are trying to nickel and dime you out of an honest paycheck. Just like you shouldn't trust an alley way game where you don't know the owners, you should be on your toes when deciding where you want to play.
Facts about Online Poker Sites
"Nothing but the facts ma'am." is how we are going to try and play this answer, because speculation can run with the wind depending on who is making them. The facts are that online poker sites are mostly run off-shore in places like Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Costa Rica and other small micro-nations in places you haven't heard of. In addition, a number of these sites such as Party Poker and soon to be PokerStars are listed and traded as public companies on the London Exchange. Cryptologic, which runs a network of sites such as Caribbean Sun as well as InterPoker is also a long time company on the London Exchange.
What does it mean if a company is public though? It means that their financial records (earnings, losses, liabilities) all need to be reported, in addition to the company holding shareholder meetings, board of director meetings and other such gatherings to inform the public (and mainly shareholders) of what the company is up to. While this hasn't stopped the truly nefarious from cooking the books (look at such figures as Enron over in the States), it does force a company to operate much more transparently than it once did before.
On a whole, this means that the public companies are generally more trustworthy than the non-public companies, who do not have government oversight or regulations. That said, most online poker sites do voluntarily undergo an oversight committee or commission that verifies both their financial stability and oversees player relationships.
Gaming Commissions and Random Number Generator Testing
Groups such as the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (based in Canada) are popular among a number of the poker sites for regulating and overseeing the poker sites. These commissions don't check the validity of the deal however, and instead just act as regulators to ensure that a site is operating under the bounds of their agreements. In all honestly, this more or less means the commission is paid to act as an authority, because there's not a lot of power they have over the poker sites!
The real deal (pun intended) is the random number generator evaluation, which occurs by having a 3rd party come in to look at the poker sites' source code. The "source code" is the actual software that the site uses to create the random numbers, which can have many different methods. Most current generation random number generators use chaotic events such as atmospheric conditions, keyboard input across a wide scale or other wacky things that scientists and mathematicians come up with. Two sites that have submitted their code to random number generators are (again) Party Poker (iTech Labs) and PokerStars (Cigital).
Having a third party test the code is quite imperative to ensuring that a site is operating within ethical boundaries. Without third party testing, a site could hot swap the deck at-will if they so wanted to. Of course, it's my personal belief that none of the major sites would do this because of the trouble they'd get into if they did (risking the whole business to make a few more bucks), but my speculations are no more fact-based than the speculations from those claiming the sites are biased. In short, if you're worried at all, play at a poker site with a verified random number generator!.
Here are a list of the most popular poker sites and the commissions or groups they use to certify their sites:
I hope this answers your question Allan. I know most responses on poker forums would have been something to the effect of "Oh you bloke, you're crazy for thinking such things" but my view is that if it is such a concern to someone like yourself, then just play at a poker site where you can put your mind at ease. Glad to be of service from your Poker Pro.
-Poker Pro
Answers from the Poker Pro
Ask a Poker Pro is a weekly column dedicated to answering any and all questions
from beginning, intermediate or advanced players of texas hold'em. Question and answer
columns from the Poker Pro are archived below for your reading enjoyment.
July 14th, 2006 - Week #1: How to Read Players
July 21st, 2006 - Week #2: How to Play Pocket Pairs
July 28th, 2006 - Week #3: Bankroll Management
August 2nd, 2006 - Week #4: Are Online Poker Sites Rigged?
Getting better at reading people? Then play at
PokerRoom.com, a recommended
site by the Poker Pro for beginning poker players.
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