Least Rigged Online Poker Site Play Money

Jul 14, 2012 Anyone know a poker site thats not rigged? But the other two i was cashing at least 2 tourneys a month. We all know no one has ever made any money playing poker online. Aug 21, 2010 Do Poker Sites Need to Cheat? Now that we’ve covered the reasons explaining why so many falsely believe that online poker is rigged, let’s look at the reasons why it isn’t (considering you only play at top ranked sites). Let’s start with the world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars.com.

PokerNews Staff

Whether you’ve never been exposed to poker or you’re a regular player online, many have asked and wondered about this question: Is online poker rigged?

The answer is NO. And these operators have proof. Poker sites use regulators and highly sophisticated random number generators to keep their games safe, secure and fair for the players who use it.

1. PokerStars

Security

PokerStars starts making sure the software is secure from the minute the software is downloaded. At the time of the download, the installer has a built-in feature that signs the file using a RSA 2048-bit code certificate, issued to Rational Services Limited and verified by VeriSign, a major public certificate authority.

This process ensures that the client installer came from PokerStars and that it wasn’t altered in the time between publication and installation. The software should contain the same certificates as those assigned in PokerStars’ own Certificate Authority and is authenticated on their servers. Everything clients input is validated on the server side.

PokerStars’ software uses the industry standard TLS protocol and PokerStars’ bit RSA key (which RSA states will be sufficient until 2030). These server keys are updated every three months. PokerStars supports the following ciphers: AES128-SHA (128 bits) and DES-CBC3-SHA (168 bits).

Each PokerStars account can increase its security by adding other methods of logging in: security questions, Stars PIN, SMS validation and a RSA token.

Fairness

PokerStars uses shuffle algorithms for its software, with two independent sources for the random data: user input and Quantis. The former, user input, summarizes mouse movements and takes into account event timing directly from the client software.

Quantis, comparatively, is a hardware random number generator from ID Quantique, a Switzerland-based company. According to PokerStars, this company uses quantum randomness as an entropy source.

ID Quantique states on its website that it was the first to develop a quantum random number generator in 2001 and remains a market leader when it comes to hardware random number generators (RNGs).

So, in a typical shuffle, PokerStars uses typical probability and statistics, shuffling 52 cards in 52! ways or 80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660,636,856,404,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ways. To get an even and unpredictable statistical distribution, PokerStars uses 294 random bits from user input and the quantum randomness.

Thus, if a user does not meet the required amount of entropy as gathered from both sources, the next hand is not played until that amount is met from the Quantum random number generator.

They also use a cryptographic hash algorithm and pseudo-random number generator to mix the entropy levels for greater security and to protected against user data attacks.

The algorithm changes bit data into random numbers without bias by converting them into numbers (ex. 0-31 in a range of 0-25) and then discarding numbers and recalculating if outside that range.

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When it comes to actual shuffling, a random card is taken from the deck and placed in a new deck. This process is continued until all cards have moved from one deck to the other. This process and the algorithm that creates it protect against a bad distribution.

All the information provided on the random number generator on PokerStars is submitted to an independent organization, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) who audits PokerStars to confirm the randomness and security of the system, according to PokerStars Support.

So don't uninstall your PokerStars account just yet; they have a reputable system to show their games are fair. So head on over to PokerStars and decide for yourself.

2. 888poker

Security

888poker also utilizes RSA public and private key encryption technology to make sure that all data is securely transferred online. Payment details are on a secure server protected by a firewall, according to 888poker.

The processing services for payments are handled by Cassava Enterprises (Gibraltar) Ltd., which also utilizes this method of encryption.

Fairness

When playing with 888poker online, a random number generator determines the outcome of the games. According to 888, the system has been tested through millions of rounds, examining the results along the way. The dealer in each game is actually a computer in most cases (with the exception of sports betting and live games).

Games that are outside the purview of 888 undergo additional procedures to make sure that they adhere to the appropriate standards and that they pass 888 in-house testing on both the system and the random number generator.

888 uses independent auditors to review the casino’s payout percentage on a regular basis and these are available to the public here.

Don't let us be the deciding factor! Experience 888poker firsthand!

3. partypoker

Security

Partypoker’s operator, bwin.party, has its evaluation certificate from iTech Labs with a range of poker games found compliant to iTech’s standards: ring games, Texas hold’em, Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo, Bad Beat Jackpot, partypoker Million, Sit & Go, Single Table and Multi-Table. Blackjack and regular and special tournaments have also been evaluated.

In the past, the poker games had already passed these tests, which including verifying that partypoker used a random number generator for card shuffling.

iTech tested the functionality of all games and tournaments, made return to player calculations and verified game rules and procedures for software integrity.

This last evaluation, in July of 2005, also ensure that the change control mechanisms and regular monitoring of critical modules were allowing the software to respond accordingly.

All game information is sent between the player’s computer and the partypoker servers with 128-bit encryption and SSL.

Fairness

The random number generator and other systems, algorithms and practices ensure that partypoker remains fair to each player, the site states.

The deck is shuffled and the cards are generated through a random number generator. These numbers are scaled and shuffled from 32-bit raw numbers to generate a 52-card deck.

According to partypoker, this is an acceptable, statistically sound method to create randomness. This algorithm and shuffling code were used to generate over two million shuffled decks and met the test standards on a monthly basis. The source code is also reviewed by iTech to make sure that the internal state is secured and seeding is from an entropy source.

A study that statistically tested random number generators at the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that new metrics to investigate randomness helped to gain additional confidence that random number generators are acceptable from a statistical point of view.

Thus, random generators should continuously be tested to ensure quality, but “are very important in the construction of encryption keys and other cryptographic algorithm parameters.”

So maybe the next time you call out an online poker site for being rigged, start by making sure your gameplay is solid. Now, you can focus your efforts elsewhere, like on your video poker strategy.

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Is there any validity to the myth that online poker games are rigged? That depends on your definition of the word “rigged.” That’s kind of a coy answer, so I’ll say it this way: there have been a few high-profile cases of cheating on the part of poker site operators, but even these cases don’t really indicate what I would consider the rigging of games.

The word rigged implies intention. The implication is that poker sites host games designed so that players lose more. One common version of this myth goes like this: poker sites deal cards in specific patterns that ensure bad beats for the players. The details of the accusation may change, but the implication is always the same – that the games provided by poker websites are intentionally designed to screw players.

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But no evidence exists that this kind of behavior has ever actually happened. In the high-profile cheating scandals at Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker (for example), the cheating occurred among a few consultants who had access to backdoors that allowed them to peek at player’s hole cards. That’s cheating, and it’s reprehensible that it happened, but it isn’t really rigging, is it?

In case that all sounds like hogwash – a language-based argument against the rigging myth, and not an out-and-out denial that rigging occurs – I would invite anyone who still thinks games are rigged to provide evidence. Accusations of rigging are as common as pennies in a fountain, but proof (beyond a user’s anecdotal experience) is just not to be found.

Do I think that some poker sites conduct business poorly? Yes, I do. And I acknowledge the “super-user” cheating scandals of 2007, and I fully understand that people have trust issues when it comes to placing real-money bets over the Internet. But it isn’t fair to accuse the industry of offering “rigged games” when there’s no proof, and it isn’t even a sensible argument.

Debunking the Rigged Poker Rooms Myth

Take the following three facts under consideration when considering any online gambling rigging myth.

Games of chance and skill don’t need to be rigged in order to be profitable. Technically speaking, the rules of the games are already “rigged,” in the sense that these games and services are designed to turn a profit. When a poker room charges rake, that’s one way the site offering the game rigs it for profit.

Many accusations of rigging are due to a misunderstanding of how online poker works. When I read poker players lamenting the unusually high number of bad beats they see online compared to their real-world game, I just have to laugh. Of course you see more beats – online poker games see way more hands dealt overall. Online poker is fast, and the speed with which the game moves makes it different from traditional face-to-face games in a lot of ways. Most accusations about rigged games are born from the simple fact that the game moves a lot faster on the Internet.

Proper licensure and regulation are an easy way to tell if a site’s games are fair or not. Licensure from a respected gaming authority (Alderney, the UK, etc.) is a sure sign that a poker room’s games have been tested for randomness and fairness. If you only play at reputable poker rooms, you’ll never have to wonder if your games are rigged in the first place.

How to Find Non-Rigged Poker Rooms

Maybe the best way to learn how to spot a non-rigged poker room is to look at examples of rooms that currently do business and are definitely not running rigged games. The thing is – pretty much any poker room with legitimate licensing will do. Concerns about rigging are ungrounded. There are more important aspects of a poker room’s business than whether or not they rig their games.

Here are three sites whose licensure I respect that serve as good examples of non-rigged poker rooms.

Full Tilt Poker has a bit of a checkered past because of the way the company handled the UIGEA bill (and Black Friday) in 2006. Since that time, Full Tilt has been acquired (by the parent company of PokerStars) and all suits against them have been settled. Full Tilt is licensed by the Isle of Man, with endorsement from the UK Gaming Commission. You can be sure that Full Tilt’s games aren’t rigged, because licensure by the Isle of Man requires that the site abides by certain codes of conduct and have its software tested for fairness and randomness.

Sky Poker is another site I am fully confident does not offer rigged games. That confidence comes from their gaming licensure authority, which is Alderney. This authority has some of the strictest standards in place for their licensees. Sky Poker is also operated by a company based in the UK. Those two facts right there are enough to convince me that Sky Poker is not hosting rigged games. There are just too many regulations in place to prevent that sort of thing at this particular poker room.