Online Poker Player Tracking » Benefits Of Online Poker http://pokertracking.org Online Poker Information Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:09:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Is Online Poker Legitimate Or Manipulated? http://pokertracking.org/is-online-poker-legitimate-or-manipulated http://pokertracking.org/is-online-poker-legitimate-or-manipulated#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:46:00 +0000 admin http://pokertracking.org/?p=235 Recently, a well-known and respected online poker site was charged with allegations of game manipulation, which effected players on these sites in adverse ways. After some legal and commissioned scrutiny into the matter, it was determined that this site had insiders create accounts, that enabled them to see their opponents’ hands, thus creating an unfair advantage.

The effected site had a disgruntled (or at minimum, a disingenuous) former employee create what is known as a “Super User” account at their site. This account, as the name implies, enabled its user to “see” all of the hands of his/her opponents, when in a poker room. Obviously, this allowed this user to fold when it was necessary to do so, and bet aggressively, when the hand they held dictated a reason to do so.

Players that played in the rooms of this Super User, started smelling a rat, when the user would never lose, and would repeatedly win hands, even when others in the room had strong hands. These players wound up reporting their findings on poker forum bulletin boards initially, and also presented the facts to the poker rooms’ management staff as well. After the gaming commissions that sanctioned this site began investigating the situation, the poker rooms’ management admitted that a former employee, had in fact, created this account, and had used it inappropriately for self-gain.

As it turns out, the online poker site had enabled an administrative procedure to permit such accounts to be created, for the purposes of testing their software. Unfortunately, the wrong disingenuous person got his hands on this functionality. The online poker site combed through all of their hand histories, where this illegal player was playing, and reimbursed all players who were adversely effected by these improper acts.

As a result of this escapade, online players have started to question the merits of online poker sites, and whether game play is fair or whether it is unfairly manipulated. It is this author’s belief that online poker is on the up-and-up for the most part, but there is always the chance for unscrupulous activity, as with any other business. Here are some comforting ideas, in support of the merits of online poker:

Regulation abound – Many of the most popular and reputable sites are regulated (in their jurisdiction) by reputable gaming commissions. These commissions have strict rules and accounting principles that must be adhered to, or the site runs the risk of losing their license. Routinely, these gaming commissions audit the online poker sites’ systems, and look for abnormalities. Moreover, some of the world’s most famous online poker sites are public companies, that are held accountable in additional public manners.

Random function – Every reputable poker site’s card generation software is implemented using computer software’s “random” function. This function, implemented in most computer programming languages today, uses an algorithm, that legitimately randomizes the selection of a card. These random functions are the same used by randomized lottery systems.

Players on the lookout – Many players that participate in online poker, are always on the alert for any “strange” functional behavior of the poker site. Anything discovered can immediately be reported to the poker site’s management team and the governing gaming commission. Also, with the creation of hundreds of poker forums on the internet, issues like these are discussed in detail, among the community of internet poker players. This helps to create a checks-and-balances philosophy between the user community and the poker sites themselves.

Reputation – The popular and reputable poker sites cannot afford to cheat or have allegations of cheating associated with their site. A bad reputation means instant loss in credibility, which will severely impact the site’s bottom line. Credible poker sites cannot afford the stigma associated with cheating.

Software – Keep in mind that a poker site’s functionality is only as good as its design and the implementation and testing of its software engineers. Poor design will lead to poor game results, which lead ultimately to a tarnished reputation for the poker site. Quality poker sites spend lots of time and money on developing their software or licensing their software from reputable software development houses.

In summary, it is paramount in importance to patronize reputable and licensed online poker sites, that exhibit the quality and characteristics noted above. Although there is no 100 % guarantee that your poker experience will be legitimate, the odds of this are certainly in your favor, when you patronize a credible and reputable site.

Author: Douglas Hayman

Douglas Hayman, Expert Software Systems President, is a database, web, and SEO professional, who designsinformational websites on a variety of areas, including:

Best Online Poker Sites – A well-regarded poker website that contains informational material on a many poker topics including strategies, rankings, rules, playing tips, news, and many other features.

Review of Best Poker Sites – This website objectively reviews today’s most popular and prominent online Poker sites.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Douglas_Hayman

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]]> http://pokertracking.org/is-online-poker-legitimate-or-manipulated/feed 0 The Benefits Of Online Poker To Offline Poker http://pokertracking.org/the-benefits-of-online-poker-to-offline-poker http://pokertracking.org/the-benefits-of-online-poker-to-offline-poker#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:56:00 +0000 admin http://pokertracking.org/?p=180 Played all over the world for centuries, poker is a fantastic card game with many different variations to suit everyone. Famous for being popularised by American cowboys and then receiving somewhat of a ‘boom’ throughout the 1960′s and 1970′s, poker is a game that requires a good amount of skill with a hint of luck.

Whilst poker in a poker hall or casino is still going strong, the online poker world has never been as strong. Starting around of the millennium, online poker is a massively popular and massively rewarding field – profits for online poker throughout 2007 was reputed to have crossed the one billion dollar mark.

So why exactly is online poker so popular?

Anyone can play – whilst there is an age limit for gambling and playing poker, anyone over this age threshold can play online poker. Of course, anyone over this age threshold can play poker in an offline casino – but the sheer thought of walking into a room full of professional or regular poker players can be too intimidating. Online poker however, it makes no difference whether you’re the quietest and shyest person in the world. Furthermore, for brand new players to poker, most online casinos offer the chance to play with ‘free money’, where you can play as many hands of poker as you want without depositing anything. No winnings can be cashed out, but it’s a great way to learn and practice your poker skills. As well as this, a lot of online casinos now offer ‘training rooms’, where beginners can join and learn the rules of poker – a fantastic way to get started.

It’s cheaper (minimal overheads) – unlike traditional, brick and mortar casinos or poker rooms that have many overheads (everything from rent and bar licenses to the croupiers wages and cost of the actual chips), online casinos or poker rooms overheads are comparatively minimal. Because of this, the online casinos are able to pass on these fantastic savings to their players – for example, a lot of online casinos allow players to stake a much lower minimum bet, often only a couple of pence.

Cheating is practically impossible – due to the pure fact that Online Poker has no ‘real’ workers or players, both house and player cheating is practically impossible. It is both impossible to read effectively or communicate secretly with other players and there are no croupiers to sabotage any poker games.

Of course, cheating cannot be completely ruled out and there are several reports that some cheating has taken place in online poker rooms. For example, it was discovered in late 2007 that an employee for popular poker site absolutepoker.com had discovered he could play poker on the site, whilst viewing every other players cards. Dismissed soon after, this is one of only a handful of cases of online casino cheating.
There are many other reasons why online poker is more popular than offline poker, including it being more easier to win, more regularly (for example, you can play on more than one table at once) and all the benefits and bonuses that the casinos offer can be too tempting to turn down.
Whether you choose an offline or online casino to play your poker game is completely up to you – complete a little research, make your own decision and have fun playing poker.

By: Rakesh Gaikwad

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Virgin Games offers Online Poker entertainment along with a host of other enjoyable casino games.

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