Is Online Poker Safe?

This is a legitimate question for those of us who play online poker and for those of you who are interested in it but have not yet hit the online poker tables.  While I’m sure some cheating does happen (it happens in live poker, too), I believe that it is generally safe to play online poker.  Here are some the safety concerns people have when it comes to playing poker online and some tips for staying safe:  Cheating Scandals Since most people have heard about the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet scandals, I won’t go into great detail here.  What basically happened was that someone connected to the companies set up a way to see other player’s hole cards (super users) and ended up winning thousands of dollars before finally getting caught (by fellow online poker players).    So if one of the largest and most popular online poker rooms (at the time) got busted for having super users, how can I be sure there aren’t still super users out there who can see my hole cards?  Frankly, you can’t be entirely sure that it won’t happen again.  However, online poker rooms have a huge incentive to ensure this does not happen on their site: millions and millions of dollars of money.    Should another scandal like this happen, the online poker room would lose most of its player base and with it, millions of dollars in rake.  Is online poker rigged? People are constantly complaining that online poker is rigged.  The most often used argument for poker being rigged are things like:  “there are too many bad beats in online poker” or “I always get set-up hands (i.e. set-over-set or AA vs KK preflop) in online poker” usually followed by the statement “that never happens in live poker.”   I’ve certainly had runs of bad cards where these thoughts start to creep in my mind.  But guess what?  Bad beats happen in poker.  Set-up hands happen in poker.  It’s a mathematical certainty.   And, I’m willing to wager that it happens at the same frequency in online poker as it does in live poker. Collusion Collusion is the act of more than one player working together in a hand.  Online, this typically consists of players telling each other their hole cards in a hand via an instant messenger. This is probably the easiest way to cheat playing online poker.  Fortunately, the online poker rooms have installed software designed to recognize collusion.  Online poker rooms are serious about cracking down on collusion because they will lose players if the online poker room becomes known for not dealing with collusion. Poker Bots A poker bot is a program designed to play poker with little or no input from a human.  If you search the inter-webs you can find all kinds of supposed poker bots for sale.  While I’m sure there are some poker bots that can eke out small wins and crank out tons of hands to get rakeback, I’m not aware of a poker bot that is out there (yet) that consistently beats no limit hold ‘em.   Like with collusion, online poker rooms have software in place to detect the use of poker bots because they can’t afford to lose players if they get a reputation of allowing bots to play on their site. Tips for Staying Safe Here are some basic tips for staying safe when playing online poker: * Play only on a large, reputable online poker rooms because they have the most to lose if they get caught in a scandal, are lax on cheating, etc.   * If you feel that someone is cheating, report it to the poker room.  Be sure to include the hand history and be as detailed as possible as to why you believe there was cheating going on.  An email that simply says “that guy had to see my cards” isn’t likely to get much of a response.   * Make sure you have proper virus and firewalls up to date and running.  \Do not allow someone else to play poker on the same online site you play from your computer or play on someone else’s computer.  Online poker rooms will often flag this as a security issue.  Usually things get worked out and rarely do your funds get confiscated by the online poker room, but it can be a pain in the ass to resolve and sometimes it ends with you no longer being welcome to play at that particular site.   * Practice good password policies (i.e. sophisticated passwords, regularly changing your password, etc). * Create a “poker only” email address.   This reduces the chance of your email being hacked and hackers getting a hold of your password for your online poker account. * Keep only the amount of money you need for the level you are playing and your current bankroll strategy.   * Follow the rules of the online site and don’t cheat.  If you get caught cheating, the online poker room will likely confiscate your funds.  And frankly, you’d deserve it because well, cheaters suck. For great rakeback deals, go to:   http://rakeback.pokernewspage.com/