USMC Jim
2006-01-17 01:47:41 UTC
People,
Is online poker rigged? Some say yes, and many say no. THere is
evidence to suggest that it is, and evidence to suggest that it isnt.
But before we go that far, think about a couple of things.....
We have the technology to put man on the moon, to cure cancer, and to
do countless other previously unimaginable things. So why is the
statement that online sites manipulate their deals any big suprise to
anyone? I think that most people would agree with the statement that
it CAN be done. After all, the software only does what the site has
programmed it to do. And the softwre can certainly be programmned to
put certain cards out on the board.
If it CAN be done, does that mean that it IS being done? People can
draw their own conclusions. Some arguments that seem to suggest that
it is NOT being done are:
1. It makes no sense for the site to risk everything, only to award a
pot to a shill, or other player that it favors, because that is a
pittance of what the site makes in rake.
2. The site could not keep this a secret for long. That some employee
of the site would eventually spill the beans.
3. That bad beats happen all over poker, and you should just get over
it.
And some arguments seem to suggest that it IS being done are:
1. It is a serous money making scheme for the sites, with no chance of
being caught.
2. It entices many players to continue to put more and more money into
the sites "poker bank", always giving them a substantial amoun of on
hand capital from which to draw interest from......
3. If the site did it right, almost NOONE would ever have to know.
Poker has definately changed over the past few years, and who knows
where it is going....who knows if the online sites will be around, in
their current form, ten or fifteen years from now.. So all the more
argument for them to make as much money as quickly as they can, right
now, whether legal or not.
Despite what people who analyze their performance might say, the fact
is, when you are playing no limit poker, you can play for hundreds of
hours, and have nothing statistically alarming arise, but then in the
course of four hands or so, get cleaned out, wiping away all you hard
earned work and profit. Just that quickly. It only takes a small few
hands, and when viewed over the long haul, will show no statistical
anomoly whatsoever. Likewise for tournaments. Play one for five hours,
then, just out of the money, have three hands thrown to your opponent
and you are out of the tourney with no money.
There is simply and ABSOLUTELY no recourse for soomeone who has been
swindled. This is the single most thing that probably makes it most
attractive for the sites to steal from you. There is simply NOTHING
that you can do, aside from taking your business elsewhere. No matter
how blatantly obvious the situation was, where someone caught two
perfect cards, three hands in a row, or what. The site will simply say
"Thats poker".
If you go to 2plus2 or RGP, or whatever other discussion group, you
will immediately be met with hostility, and ridiculed as though you
have no clue about what you are talking about.
So, the debate continues. But for those who have seen the absolutely
astronomically improbable things that continue to happen day after day
on PS and PP and the likes, it should come as no suprise that where
there is smoke there is fire, even if the outspoken few continue to
deny it to their dying days.
Semper Fi,
USMC Jim
Is online poker rigged? Some say yes, and many say no. THere is
evidence to suggest that it is, and evidence to suggest that it isnt.
But before we go that far, think about a couple of things.....
We have the technology to put man on the moon, to cure cancer, and to
do countless other previously unimaginable things. So why is the
statement that online sites manipulate their deals any big suprise to
anyone? I think that most people would agree with the statement that
it CAN be done. After all, the software only does what the site has
programmed it to do. And the softwre can certainly be programmned to
put certain cards out on the board.
If it CAN be done, does that mean that it IS being done? People can
draw their own conclusions. Some arguments that seem to suggest that
it is NOT being done are:
1. It makes no sense for the site to risk everything, only to award a
pot to a shill, or other player that it favors, because that is a
pittance of what the site makes in rake.
2. The site could not keep this a secret for long. That some employee
of the site would eventually spill the beans.
3. That bad beats happen all over poker, and you should just get over
it.
And some arguments seem to suggest that it IS being done are:
1. It is a serous money making scheme for the sites, with no chance of
being caught.
2. It entices many players to continue to put more and more money into
the sites "poker bank", always giving them a substantial amoun of on
hand capital from which to draw interest from......
3. If the site did it right, almost NOONE would ever have to know.
Poker has definately changed over the past few years, and who knows
where it is going....who knows if the online sites will be around, in
their current form, ten or fifteen years from now.. So all the more
argument for them to make as much money as quickly as they can, right
now, whether legal or not.
Despite what people who analyze their performance might say, the fact
is, when you are playing no limit poker, you can play for hundreds of
hours, and have nothing statistically alarming arise, but then in the
course of four hands or so, get cleaned out, wiping away all you hard
earned work and profit. Just that quickly. It only takes a small few
hands, and when viewed over the long haul, will show no statistical
anomoly whatsoever. Likewise for tournaments. Play one for five hours,
then, just out of the money, have three hands thrown to your opponent
and you are out of the tourney with no money.
There is simply and ABSOLUTELY no recourse for soomeone who has been
swindled. This is the single most thing that probably makes it most
attractive for the sites to steal from you. There is simply NOTHING
that you can do, aside from taking your business elsewhere. No matter
how blatantly obvious the situation was, where someone caught two
perfect cards, three hands in a row, or what. The site will simply say
"Thats poker".
If you go to 2plus2 or RGP, or whatever other discussion group, you
will immediately be met with hostility, and ridiculed as though you
have no clue about what you are talking about.
So, the debate continues. But for those who have seen the absolutely
astronomically improbable things that continue to happen day after day
on PS and PP and the likes, it should come as no suprise that where
there is smoke there is fire, even if the outspoken few continue to
deny it to their dying days.
Semper Fi,
USMC Jim