Randomness of the shuffle
As with other forms of online gambling, many critics question whether the operators of such games - especially those located in jurisdictions separate from most of their players - might be engaging in fraud themselves.[citation needed]
Internet discussion forums are rife with allegations of non-random card dealing, possibly to favour house-employed players or "bots" (poker-playing software disguised as a human opponent), or to give multiple players good hands thus increasing the bets and the rake, or simply to prevent new players from losing so quickly that they become discouraged. However, there is no more than anecdotal evidence to support such claims, and others argue that the rake is sufficiently large that such abuses would be unnecessary and foolish. Any attempt at manipulative dealing would run a significant risk of third party detection due to increasingly sophisticated tracking software that could be used to detect any number of unusual patterns.[citation needed]
Many players claim to see lots of "bad beats" with large hands pitted against others all too often at a rate that seems to be a lot more common than in live games. However, this might actually be caused by the fact that online cardrooms deal more hands per hour. Since online players get to see more hands, their likelihood of seeing more improbable bad beats or randomly large pots is similarly increased.[citation needed]
Many new players fail to understand that there is a great deal of variation in poker (like most card games) whether the game is played live or online. On the other hand, newcomers who experience a run of bad luck are more likely to suspect foul play when simple variance is the most likely cause.[citation needed]
Many online poker sites are certified by bodies such as the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and major auditing firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers to review the fairness of the random number generator,[18] shuffle, and payouts for some sites.
Insider cheating
Insider cheating can occur when a person with trusted access to the system (e.g. an employee of the poker room) uses his position to play poker himself with an unfair advantage. This could be done without the knowledge of the site managers.
Perhaps the first known major case came to light in October 2007, when Absolute Poker acknowledged that its integrity had been breached by an employee, who had been able to play at high stakes while viewing his opponents' hidden "hole" cards.[19] The cheating was first brought to light by the efforts of players, whose saved histories of play showed the employee was playing as only someone who could see their opponents' cards could.[20]
In 2008, UltimateBet became embroiled in a similar scandal, with former employees accused of using a software backdoor to see opponents' cards. UltimateBet confirmed the allegations on May 29.[21] The Kahnawake Gaming Commission announced sanctions against UltimateBet as a result.[22]
Collusion
More mundane cheating involves collusion between players, or the use of multiple accounts by a single player. Collusion is not limited to online play but can occur in any poker game with three or more players. Most poker rooms claim to actively scan for such activity. For example, in 2007, PokerStars disqualified TheV0id, the winner of the main event of the World Championship of Online Poker for breaching their terms of service
As with other forms of online gambling, many critics question whether the operators of such games - especially those located in jurisdictions separate from most of their players - might be engaging in fraud themselves.[citation needed]
Internet discussion forums are rife with allegations of non-random card dealing, possibly to favour house-employed players or "bots" (poker-playing software disguised as a human opponent), or to give multiple players good hands thus increasing the bets and the rake, or simply to prevent new players from losing so quickly that they become discouraged. However, there is no more than anecdotal evidence to support such claims, and others argue that the rake is sufficiently large that such abuses would be unnecessary and foolish. Any attempt at manipulative dealing would run a significant risk of third party detection due to increasingly sophisticated tracking software that could be used to detect any number of unusual patterns.[citation needed]
Many players claim to see lots of "bad beats" with large hands pitted against others all too often at a rate that seems to be a lot more common than in live games. However, this might actually be caused by the fact that online cardrooms deal more hands per hour. Since online players get to see more hands, their likelihood of seeing more improbable bad beats or randomly large pots is similarly increased.[citation needed]
Many new players fail to understand that there is a great deal of variation in poker (like most card games) whether the game is played live or online. On the other hand, newcomers who experience a run of bad luck are more likely to suspect foul play when simple variance is the most likely cause.[citation needed]
Many online poker sites are certified by bodies such as the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and major auditing firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers to review the fairness of the random number generator,[18] shuffle, and payouts for some sites.
Insider cheating
Insider cheating can occur when a person with trusted access to the system (e.g. an employee of the poker room) uses his position to play poker himself with an unfair advantage. This could be done without the knowledge of the site managers.
Perhaps the first known major case came to light in October 2007, when Absolute Poker acknowledged that its integrity had been breached by an employee, who had been able to play at high stakes while viewing his opponents' hidden "hole" cards.[19] The cheating was first brought to light by the efforts of players, whose saved histories of play showed the employee was playing as only someone who could see their opponents' cards could.[20]
In 2008, UltimateBet became embroiled in a similar scandal, with former employees accused of using a software backdoor to see opponents' cards. UltimateBet confirmed the allegations on May 29.[21] The Kahnawake Gaming Commission announced sanctions against UltimateBet as a result.[22]
Collusion
More mundane cheating involves collusion between players, or the use of multiple accounts by a single player. Collusion is not limited to online play but can occur in any poker game with three or more players. Most poker rooms claim to actively scan for such activity. For example, in 2007, PokerStars disqualified TheV0id, the winner of the main event of the World Championship of Online Poker for breaching their terms of service
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