There are always two sides to any controversy, argument, or debate. This expose will present both sides to the online poker rigged controversy and allow you to decide the truth.
Online Poker Is Rigged
You can find many players who claim that online gambling is rigged by searching forums, chatboards, and even on poker sites. However, few posters can provide concrete proof of online poker being rigged. Opponents of the argument may respond with ‘rigtards’ or ‘you don’t play well’, but they fail to prove their point.
The proof isn’t in whether sites are fixed. It is more in how poker sites deal and shuffle poker, creating hands that seem to be out of the statistical norm.
Let’s first look at how poker rooms deal and shuffle cards. It is a computer-generated game and requires no human intervention to deal and shuffle cards. Therefore, poker dealers must use software programs. This software is often referred to as a random numbers generator (RNG)..
Most people accept that a RNG is fair and random in how you deal with cards and how they are shuffled. A RNG is not able to be truly random. Randomness, by definition, is the absence of any such order, in other words, if I were to ask you to give me 20 different alphanumeric symbols for a password, you could easily create a RANDOM sequence (such as 45tsk3uyeasa9j2udt1), and that password would clearly and truly be a random number as there is obviously no ORDER in the way you selected it. Your brain just churned out 20 random letters and numbers.
However, I can use a software program such as a hardware random numbers generator encryption source to generate the 20-character password. A computer program cannot choose random sequences, so it will have to order the code. Poker sites may claim their software is unpredictable and that no one can crack poker. However, the truth is that the RNG cannot and will not be random.
Every poker site has additional poker algorithms to stop players from winning hand after hand. This is done in order to keep anyone from hacking the RNG. This was done in response to the Absolute Poker scandal in which a player accessed insider information and dominated a $1000 buy-in tourney, winning every hand except the first two.
Online Poker’s use of a computerized mathematical function to give the appearance of randomness, combined with additional poker algorithms that prevent players from consistently winning lends credence to the Online Poker is Rigged debate.
Online Poker is NOT Rigged
Online poker is not rigged. They will claim that hand histories are a reflection of the true statistical odds of the game. This combined with poor play style by many players is what causes too many suckouts in online poker.
These debaters will also argue that rigging poker games would not compromise their relationships with customers or their profits. Online poker is a multibillion-dollar industry. However, their bottom line is their profit margin. They also keep customers and create new ones.
Online poker is not rigged arguments are largely based on those who have faith in the RNG as well as the integrity of online poker sites. But, there has never been any concrete evidence from the side of the online poker isn’t rigged to prove that the sites are rigged. Every major poker site such as pokerstars and full tilt poker will state that the integrity of their software has been audited.
However, there is no definitive evidence that their poker software and algorithms can be examined by outside sources. The poker rooms won’t provide hand histories for all hands played on their sites, so outside analysts can’t analyze them. The ‘Internet poker isn’t rigged’ side expects players to believe that their sites are fair and honest.
You decide! You decide!
Paul Westin, a professional poker player at several online poker sites, is also a former software engineer for an gaming company.
His recent research on poker code algorithms revealed the inner workings and effects of software programs on online poker sites.
