Are Online Poker Sites rigged or not?

December 1, 2009 · Posted in Online poker rooms 

No matter which online poker sites you play poker at, there will be players who (for some reason or another) claim that the poker site they currently play on is rigged, biased or is cheating.

Oftentimes you will hear stories about online poker sites being rigged from players who have just had a nasty badbeat or are perhaps experiencing a bad downswing. This can best be described, if I just give you an example.

For instance, you are holding KK and at the same time someone has AA. Of course, in situation like this chips will be flying all over the table as both of you have monster hand are more than willing to commit whole stacks pre-flop.

But as soon as you see your opponents, you realise how big of an underdog you are. The only two cards that can save your ass from busting out are the 2 remaining Kings.

The chances of hitting one of the Kings by the river and winning the hand are therefore very slim. To be more specific, you have around 18 % chance of winning with KK when some else holds an AA.

But despite being in such a bad spot (or shape perhaps), in the long run you will still win 18 hands out of 100 when holding KK versus AA. Now lets say that the above mentioned situation is one of those 18 hands, which means you hit your King on the river and win the hand.

This makes a player with AA very upset as he just lost the best (pre-flop) hand possible and claims that the online poker site is rigged. Of course, we can not blame him for saying that as it really sucks to lose Aces against Kings, especially on the river.

Never the less, you must know that such badbeats happen. Not because online poker sites are rigged, but simply because the mathematics and probability in poker. Every poker player that plays either online or live poker on regular basis will sooner or later came across situations like that.

You are bound to come across situations where your Aces will lose against Kings, if you play poker. That is just part of the game. So do not let it get to you, when it happens. Just get back on your horse and keep on grinding because in the long run you will still have big profit from hands like AA.

In case you are interested in how online poker sites take care of NOT being rigged, well, they do it by using software with so called Random Number Generators and Pseudo-Random Number Generators. Visit this poker blog for more information on the above generators.

Of course, there can still be online poker rooms out there who actually are rigged, but I believe they will get caught sooner or later. Therefore, do not worry whether the online poker room you play at is rigged or not.

Instead, rather focus your attention on the poker game itself and learn from the mistakes you make!

Good luck at the tables and do not let the badbeats and downswings get the best of you. Until next time, have fun and good luck at the tables!

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Comments

  • kazoo37

    I say several are rigged not due to any of the 'theories' stated above. With clarity I say this because I watch many hands daily where the person with the largest stack wins above 80% of their hands reguardless of thier hole cards. For example one hand had 4 all ins just today. The cards were 1)AK, 2)A,Js 3) A,10o and 4th (the large stack) 3,6o. There was all low cards on the streets other than one J. GUESS WHAT the Large stack got FH 6's over threes. VERY NEXT HAND there are three callers for an all in. 1) AA 2)AK and the high stack again with 2,9. GUESS WHAT AGAIN the 2,9 wins with nothing hitting the board and gets yet another FH with BOTH hole cards. I see this repeatedly daily and have taken advantage of it myself. WITH THE HIGH STACK I win 'all in's' a huge majority of the time regardless of an insane push with NOTHING.

  • Ps104

    so true. I knew a software enginneer years ago who was working on the poker software. He said that tournament software is designed to eliminate short stacks so they can get more rake in(enter new tourneys when ko'ed). I play the same as you when i have a big stack. I never take on bigger stacks, because you will 70 – 80% of the time. if people do not beleave us, try it for your self.

  • Ps104

    lose 70 – 08% of the time

  • http://twitter.com/scatmanni scatmanni

    That is an interesting theory. I first heard it from my brother who was basically saying the same thing you two have pointed out: Shortstacks lose against big stacks at online poker tournaments.

    While I hope this is not true, I have no idea what the truth really is.

  • Ramelpr

    Obviously the person that wrote this article doesn't play online poker on a daily bases. Yes, there are bad beats in poker. Yes, you do see more hands online then in live poker. However, that does not change the fact that an overwhelming amount of bad beats happen when they are not likely to happen. Do your own research. Write down every preflop all in hand that you see and ask yourself, who was the favor? Now ask yourself, how many times the favor won and who was the low stack?

    When it happens on a REGULAR bases then it's not coincidence. It's not everyone's imagination. Why do people always say that? No, it doesn't mean your a bad player, it just means you don't recognize the patterns like some of the other people. That's why you see all in calls with dumb hands 6 hours into the tourny, with thousands of dollars on the line. How did they get that far in the tourny if they don't know how to play? And if they do know how to play, why would they risk their tourny on marginal hands like 33 calling AA preflop all in?

    People don't listen to these fake non-playing online supporters. They will have you thinking that you played your AA wrong when you know that you raised half of your stack preflop to get the marginal hands to fold. They will have you thinking 8 badbeats in a row to 3 outs and less is normal. Go with your gut! And YES, I have won playing online poker and cashed out plenty of times to pay bills. I have been playing for 4 years and I still think there is something wrong with the SNG. My theory is the game is designed to end as quickly as possible, so the company can save money. The longer a game is, the more money it costs the company.

  • http://twitter.com/scatmanni scatmanni

    Well, I wrote this article my self and I have been playing online poker on regular basis (daily for at least 3 hours) for 3 years before I quit – to focus solely on my career.

    What you are saying may be right (I do not deny it), but until online poker rooms are PROVEN to cheat with SNGs (favoring big stacks over small stacks), all we have is different opinions – once (if) there are scientific (statistical) studies that prove the cheating, then we can discuss who was wrong and who was right into more details.

    Until then, I am confident to believe that poker rooms exposed on scatmann.net (Full Tilt, PokerStars and LuckyAce Poker) are not rigged.

    Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment! Cheers : )

  • Loveshox

    I haven't found a site that isn't rigged. And that includes Poker Stars and Full Tilt. Whoever wrote this article doesn't know what he is talking about.

  • Patrick F.

    Full Tilt poker IS RIGGED> DO NOT LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE. Play full Tilt play chip steps (play chips and real money games have same outcome) You get action cards all the time when in real poker you don't. They say it's because you play more hands, and in a way it is true but you get bad beats to the point where it's unrealistic.

    IF you still don't believe me PLAY online Texas holdem with Facebook, or Texas Holdem game that you can buy from the Xbox Live Arcade. COMPARE THAT TO PLAY CHIP SIT AND GO STEPS. Compare one of the two options with Full Tilt steps for a week or two and you will notice bad beats(for you or the other player) FREQUENTLY. In Full Tilt the action cards(Face cards and suited cards) will arise more within Full Tilt most likely every time.

    The Reason these sites are rigged is because, they make so much more money by doing this. They get more people to put MORE money in each hand(which gives them a higher rake each hand).

    Now the comments of people that say it's not rigged could be some or all of the following reasons….

    1. They have not played Full Tilt for more than 6 months(or put enough money into online Poker sites)

    2. They are part of the crowd that KNOWS that the online Full Tilt is rigged, but they can still make money off of you.(some people can work around it being rigged but the yare not being good poker player) They are being good scam artist/players at taking money NOT PLAYING the actual game. They don't won't noobs thinking it is rigged, so that they keep coming.

    3. They have not played enough or any Real Life Poker with real cards. Some of these people think that this is how poker is because…they have only played a few or no hands of real poker in their lives.

    4. It could be possible that some of the worker's/owner's of this online gambling site have posted that so more people think it would be safe. I HAVE NOTHING TO PROVE THIS SO I CANNOT BE SURE.

    In conclusion, I have played over a year of online gambling with Full Tilt Poker and Ultimate Bet. All online Gambling is rigged. I would say Full Tilt is #1 at being the most rigged. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME I'M GIVING YOU THE OPTION TO PROVE IT YOURSELF!!!! PLAY FULL TILT POKER VS FACEBOOK TEXAS HOLDEM(Facebook one is free to try)/ XBOX LIVE ARCADE TEXAS HOLD'EM($5-$7) good one but don't try this first to compare since it cost to own game. Since the servers are overseas they U.S. laws don't touch them so the government can't regulate them. I would say that all online gambling is rigged but can't say that since I have only Played Full Tilt Poker and Ultimate Bet. Full Tilt has more frequent action cards and bad beats then legit poker. Ultimate bet I have not seen as many action cards compared to Full Tilt Poker but I have seen unbelievable bad beats(and some Royal Flush beats which you RARELY see in real life) THIS IS FOR YOUR BENEFIT!!! compare DO NOT TRY REAL MONEY BEFORE YOU DO THE RESEARCH AND MATH OF COMPARING POKER OPTIONS I discussed. What benefit I have from doing this for me?? none. Facebook Poker is free ALTHOUGH THERE IS AN OPTION TO BUY MORE CHIPS BUT Don't because its stupid if you put real money into any Facebook items. Xb Live arcade poker game is fun to play but don't buy to compare. Hopefully some of you listen to this…for your benefit or you could end up losing thousands.

  • http://scatmann.net scatmanni

    Hey Patrick!

    Im sorry to hear you have (had) such bad experience with online poker (particularly with FTP and Ultimate Bet).

    It is definitely possible that certain poker room is rigged (Ultimate Bet was even proved to be rigged in the past, with some players having “superuser” accounts and were therefore able to see their opponents cards).

    Nonetheless, I still believe that all major poker rooms like Full Tilt Poker, Party Poker & PokerStars are not rigged.

    In the long run, these online poker rooms earn more for not-being rigged, then they would for being rigged. Heres why:

    They lose reputation the moment people find out that the site is rigged (just like Ultimate Bet did when players found out something was wrong (through statistical data)).

    Once they lose reputation, they lose players AND profits. Their business basically dies over the night in this case.

    Just ask yourself: Would you rather take $100 today, or $1 per day for the next 10 years? I believe $1 per day for the next 10 years (or more) is way better. Therefore, it is in their best interest not to be rigged.

    And for those of you who believe that I dont know what Im talking about: I know exactly what poker is and how cruel it can be.

    As mentioned, Ive been playing quite regularly for years (mostly online, but offline as well). Did I have bad beats? Yes. Did I experience nasty sessions? Of course, I did. Was I mad when I lost AA vs. 910s allin preflop? You bet I was. Did I have downswings? Without question!

    Nonetheless, I was still winning in the long run. And you can too. Just focus on your game. Get to know your weak spots. Improve your leaks. Learn new stuff every day and you will be fine.

    There is no need to spend thousands in deposits. Instead, start small and build your way up.

    Have strick bankroll management policy and follow it through. The number one reason why so many players get broke (and spend thousands) is because they do not play according to their bankroll. Everyone wants to get rich over the night. But thats just aint going to happen.

    Anyways, enough rambling from me. Good luck!

  • donmecon

    In my experience and without a shadow of a doubt poker sites are rigged. The article comments on one hand AA v KK but when you get 10 bad beats on the trot things just don't add up. I play alot of cash poker and have had several bad runs all due to bad luck or bad beats but never experienced a run of good luck. Reason being is because I play the game correctly nearly always get my money in with the best hand but invariably get sucked out on. When I watch poker on the tv often in a 6 player cash game top pair is normally good enough and the pros bet accordingly. On pokerstars the site I play on you'll be lucky if two pair wins. Also I noted a comment from someone that in sit n gos and tourneys when you go all in the big stack tends to win nearly everytime against a smaller stack regardless of cards. This I can say is definately the case. I always say never go against someone with more chips than yourself especially the big stack as they are normally given preference by the poker site. Online poker is rigged but what can you do when like me you don't have access to live games.

  • donmecon

    In my experience and without a shadow of a doubt poker sites are rigged. The article comments on one hand AA v KK but when you get 10 bad beats on the trot things just don't add up. I play alot of cash poker and have had several bad runs all due to bad luck or bad beats but never experienced a run of good luck. Reason being is because I play the game correctly nearly always get my money in with the best hand but invariably get sucked out on. When I watch poker on the tv often in a 6 player cash game top pair is normally good enough and the pros bet accordingly. On pokerstars the site I play on you'll be lucky if two pair wins. Also I noted a comment from someone that in sit n gos and tourneys when you go all in the big stack tends to win nearly everytime against a smaller stack regardless of cards. This I can say is definately the case. I always say never go against someone with more chips than yourself especially the big stack as they are normally given preference by the poker site. Online poker is rigged but what can you do when like me you don't have access to live games.

  • Miketsolis

    unlike button?

  • Funfunfun

    “But as soon as you see your opponents, you realise how big of an underdog you are. The only two cards that can save your ass from busting out are the 2 remaining Kings.”

    UNDERDOG??? :D :D..i hit straights and FLUSHES with KK against AA ,,depends how the software mood is :D :D,,,online poker sites r rigged:D

  • Roryburriss

    utter nonsense. poker sites are most certainly rigged! If the beats occured in real life as they do online nobody would leave the casino alive. pro poker players are paid huge sums of money to tell lies about poker sites being fair and realistic. They are jujst part of the huge scam. Liars to a man!

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