Poker Sites Have a Direct Financial Incentive NOT to Rig Online Poker. The other big problem for the online poker is rigged crowd is that the poker sites actually have a direct financial incentive to maintain the integrity of their games. In other words, they have a clear motive NOT to rig online poker. I have been playing online poker for several years now and I haven't seen too many people cheating but have seen the poker site owners cheat there players before.These days with limited US poker. UltimateBet Poker. UltimateBet Poker was the hot spot before the fall of high-stakes online poker. Because online poker sites like PokerStars typically deal hands 3 times faster than a live poker game, you should expect 3 times as many bad beats. This is even more pronounced in Zoom Poker which can deal hands up to 10 times as fast as a live poker game. I will talk about the cheating, botting, high stakes collusion & possible superusing that I believe to currently be taking place on the Winning Poker Network.

For every legal, well-run poker site there are a hundred UltimateBets or GoalPokers – rooms that came, saw, and did not exactly conquer. Some did their best to combat UIGEA, Black Friday, the police, falling player pools or managing to pay their players on time, or at all - but ultimately they all went the way of the Dodo (although one or two pulled off a Frankenstein and got resurrected from the dead).

And if you thought Ben Affleck's villainous poker site owner in Runner Runner was a fictional character, take a look at some of the characters in this list. Sometimes the truth really can be stranger than fiction.

We look at the defunct sites that graced and disgraced the online poker world in a handy A-Z format, allowing you to review the coroner's reports on what caused them to die.

Absolute Poker

DIED: 2011

CAUSE OF DEATH: Black Friday

CORONER'S REPORT: Originally part of the Cereus network, Absolute Poker was one of the world's ten largest online poker rooms prior to losing the majority of its player base after the Black Friday raids. Valued at $30 million in 2005, it underwent the infamous ‘POTRIPPER' scandal of 2007, when CEO Scott Tom was discovered to be playing the site under ‘God Mode' and spying on other players' hole cards. Absolute was fined $500,000 for that little indiscretion, but the site continued. After Black Friday, the site stopped taking American business, and players are still waiting for their funds back.

AWHPoker

DIED: 2011

CAUSE OF DEATH: Acquired by PokerNordica

CORONER'S REPORT: AWHPoker did pretty well for a skin on the troubled Merge network, lasting all of three years before being bought out. Rumours abound that the original site was infecting players' machines with viruses, but we're not sure if that was just online ballers bitching.

BetOnSports

DIED: 2006

CAUSE OF DEATH: UIGEA

CORONER'S REPORT: Founded in 1995 in the UK, BetOnSports was one of the biggest players in the United States online gaming market until 2006 when US authorities indicted the company and a number of its executives on tax evasion charges and other misdemeanours arising from its supplying online betting to American gamblers. CEO David Carruthers was sentenced in 2010 to 33 months in prison. Victims did get a bit of their money back, albeit four years after the site closed.

Big Bet

DIED: 2004 & 2011

CAUSE OF DEATH: No players

CORONER'S REPORT: The poker paramedics had a field day with this site which originally closed in 2004 following a few failed promotions. It re-launched in 2008 after being given a shot of adrenaline and joined the Microgaming network. In order to accept US customers, it moved to the troubled Merge network in 2009, but eventually shut in 2011, paying out all existing players.

Bugsy's Club

DIED: 2009

CAUSE OF DEATH: UIGEA

CORONER'S REPORT: : A relatively popular poker site pre-UIGEA, the site went the way of its namesake, Bugsy Siegel, and died in 2009 amid a hail of legal bullets. PokerStars opened their arms to accept Bugsy's existing players and honoured their bankrolls.

Card Spike

DIED: 2009

CAUSE OF DEATH: UIGEA

CORONER'S REPORT: Another victim of those nasty bullies in Congress, CardSpike closed its operations in 2009. Players were allowed to withdraw their cash but had to pay a $40 fee on any withdrawal under $50. Capitalism in action right there, folks.

Chico Poker Network

DIED: Still breathing - just

CAUSE OF DEATH: Black Friday (in a coma)

CORONER'S REPORT: Previously known as the Action Poker Network, Chico fell afoul of the fallout from Black Friday and found itself unable, or unwilling, to pay out to its players. Players on CPN skins like ActionPoker, Paynorake and PokerInCanada received emails apologizing for the 'prolonged and unfortunate delay' in reuniting them with their account balances, and promised to process new payout requests 'without delay' beginning July 1, 2013. However, the company, which cited, among other things, 'regulatory issues, banking issues' and curiously, 'player bonus fraud' among its reasons for non-payment, is still to pay back allegedly over $1 million.

Online Poker Cheating Scandal

Doyles Room

DIED: 2011

CAUSE OF DEATH: Black Friday

CORONER'S REPORT: Founded in 2004 under the stewardship of poker legend, Doyle Brunson, Doyles Room always remained a tiny poker site despite its iconic front man and the formidable 'Brunson 10' group of sponsored online pros he helped form (which included Chris Moorman and Alex Torelli).

However, the operation was seized as part of the Black Friday raids of 2011 and bought up by Americas Cardroom later that year. As for Brunson, he cut all ties with the site following the FBI raids. Americas Cardroom continues to operate, with leading US pro Dusty Schmidt leading the way.

Empire Poker

DIED: 2006

CAUSE OF DEATH: Sold to PartyPoker

CORONER'S REPORT: After some fights with its big brother, PartyPoker, the skin was sold to the poker giant in 2006.

Everleaf

DIED: 2012

CAUSE OF DEATH: UIGEA

CORONER'S REPORT: Everleaf closed its doors to players from the USA, France and Malta in 2012 after a long campaign from the US authorities to have the network shut down. Players outside the US still experienced problems with payouts, and Minted Poker recently left the network, warning players that Everleaf was unable to pay them or their players. In 2013, the Malta gaming authority, LGA, finally booted the network out of its jurisdiction.

Feltstars

DIED: 2012

CAUSE OF DEATH: Financial issues

CORONER'S REPORT: Despite sounding a lot like 'PokerStars', this site was well and truly sent to the felt in 2012 when it shut its doors to all players. Player funds were segregated, so there were no Full Tilt-like problems with the Merge network skin, but the site had only signed up sponsored pros like Gillian Epp and Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliott months before closing.

GoalPoker

DIED: 2006

CAUSE OF DEATH: Financial issues / payouts

CORONER'S REPORT: Set up by two British city boys, you can't argue that GoalPoker didn't go out with a bang. GoalPoker infamously held the party to end all parties in Ibiza for its online players during the 2006 World Cup. However, it then emailed players to say it would be unable to honour WSOP packages won for that summer's festival. Perhaps it was just a few cocktails too many on those golden Ibiza beaches. The site closed following even more complaints of non-payouts to players.

JETSET POKER

DIED: 2006

CAUSE OF DEATH: Tax / UIGEA / Payouts

CORONER'S REPORT: Formed in 2003, JetSet enjoyed US customers (and even operated within the US) until first its software provider went bankrupt, and then the bombshell of UIGEA hit in 2006. Players were given five minutes' notice that the site was closing, and many didn't get paid. Some players lost thousands of dollars, and it was alleged that some $100,000 of payouts remain unpaid. Oh, and they also owed money to the IRS. Anything else?

KSpoker

DIED: 2010

CAUSE OF DEATH: Lack of players

CORONER'S REPORT: Part of the Boss Media network, King Solomons Poker shut its doors in early 2010 with players able to access their funds.

Lock Poker

DIED: 2015

CAUSE OF DEATH: Black Friday and owner overspending

CORONER'S REPORT: Originally one of the largest US poker rooms, Lock Poker had its own gaming network before it collapsed around 2015. Black Friday, together with slower and slower payouts and an owner that spent the company’s cash on five-star hotels and first-class flights seem to have been the main reasons for Lock Poker’s demise. In its last year its software remained up but its servers stopped connecting and no payments were honoured. According to some estimates, players are still owned around 15 million dollars in total.

Optimus Poker

DIED: 2013

CAUSE OF DEATH: Network Downsizing

CORONER'S REPORT: Like IronDuke, Hero Poker, and countless others before it, another Merge network skin bit the dust in 2013 when Optimus went busto. Carbon Poker found itself the recipient of yet more Merge players from a defunct site as they migrated over.

Overbet

DIED: 2013

CAUSE OF DEATH: Being on Merge

CORONER'S REPORT: As with IronDuke et al, Overbet customers were greeted in early 2013 by a login screen informing them their skin was shutting down. The Merge refugee camp that is Carbon Poker soon found itself the recipient of even more new players.

PartouchePoker.fr

DIED: 2013

CAUSE OF DEATH: Legal issues / payouts

CORONER'S REPORT: The French poker site shut its doors in 2013 after French regulation changed the way poker sites are run and taxed in the country.

The site had already found itself lagging behind competitors like PokerStars and Winamax in its home country before it was dogged by a series of controversies. Most infamously, the Partouche group effectively welched on its 5 million Euro guarantee at 2012's Partouche Poker Tour live series. After intense pressure, chairman Patrick Partouche agreed to make up the overlay, but in a typical display of Gallic defiance, he cancelled the tour for the following year.

It wasn't the first time Partouche had come under fire. At the 2009 PPT Main Event final table, pro Ali Tekintamgac was caught cheating (with the aid of 'journalists' conveying other players' cards to him) and expelled, and last year the French regulator uncovered cases of Partouche employees and employees' family members playing on the site and receiving free gifts.

Pitbull Poker

DIED: 2009

CAUSE OF DEATH: Lawsuits / Cheating

CORONER'S REPORT: Originally a no download poker site, PitBull operated from 2004 to 2009, but it had to deal with accusations of insider cheating on a par with the 'SuperUser' scandals at Absolute Poker. It turned out that the site's security was less than reliable (to put it mildly) and hole cards were able to be viewed by anyone working at PitBull Poker.

However, controversy surrounded the site when it was first announced on WSOP.com, a website that was designed to confuse people into thinking that it was the World Series of Poker. Pitbull's parent company would later lose the WSOP.com domain in a cybersquatting suit with Harrah's Entertainment.

As if court battles and God Mode scandals weren't enough, it later emerged that some cash game pots on PitBull Poker were having money ‘shaved' from them, meaning players were left out of pocket.

The site went out with its tail between its legs in 2009 when it emerged that PitBull execs were found clearing the company's Costa Rica offices out of IT equipment and office furniture.

Planet Poker

DIED: 2007

CAUSE OF DEATH: UIGEA

CORONER'S REPORT: The first ever online poker room offering real-money games to players across the world, Planet Poker ultimately fell foul of UIGEA in 2006, and eventually closed its virtual doors in 2007. By the time UIGEA passed into law, Planet Poker boasted 750,000 registered customers. It suspended real money gaming in 2007 and now operates a play money-only site.

Poker Nordica

DIED: 2012

CAUSE OF DEATH: UIGEA (long-term illness)

An endless list of defunct Merge network skins continues with the latest to shut, Poker Nordica, in 2012. Once one of the biggest US-facing sites, it fell foul of UIGEA in 2006 but continued on with a decent affiliate program in place. It finally shut its doors in April 2012, with players allowed to migrate their funds over to other Merge skins.

Poker Room

DIED: 2009 and 2013

CAUSE OF DEATH: UIGEA

CORONER'S REPORT: Along with PlanetPoker and PlayersOnly, Poker Room was one of the early pioneers of online poker, opening its virtual tables in 1999. Part of the huge OnGame network, it shut down in 2009, a victim of a post-UIGEA apocalyptic world, when it had to leave the US market, but the site re-emerged in 2012 briefly until its final stagger towards the online poker graveyard a year later.

PokerSpot

DIED: 2001

CAUSE OF DEATH: Payouts

CORONER'S REPORT: Back in the days when online poker involved Texas Hold'em, Texas Hold'em, or, er, Texas Hold'em, PokerSpot, headed by poker pro, Dutch Boyd, came along offering players a whole range of mixed games. However, due to issues surrounding the site's payment processors, the room shut up shop in 2001, owing its players $400,000. Boyd, or co-owner, brother Robert, never managed to muster the funds to repay its suffering poker players, even though it was reported that Dutch refused a bailout to compensate the site's players. (Note: Dutch Boyd's Lifetime Earnings: $2,150,000.)

PokerView

DIED: 2013

CAUSE OF DEATH: Lack of players

CORONER'S REPORT: The curse of Merge strikes again, as another skin on the network shut in 2013. PokerView, a Merge Gaming skin that allowed players to see each other via webcam while playing unexpectedly shut down on April 1st. It wasn't a joke.

Purple Lounge

DIED: 2012

CAUSE OF DEATH: Change of software platform

CORONER'S REPORT: A successful and awarded casino, Purple Lounge used to be a Microgaming casino until 2012 when they decided to move to another, lesser-known platform following some payoff scandals. This led to both their and the platform’s downfall, and they all closed down a few months after the acquisition. A lot of blame was shifted around for a while, with players getting no payouts at the end.

Rosso Poker

DIED: 2011

CAUSE OF DEATH: Unknown

CORONER'S REPORT: Formed in 2008, Rosso Poker almost immediately came under fire for dodgy security issues, and closed its doors in 2011 with players given a deadline for withdrawing their cash.

SpadeClub

DIED: 2010

CAUSE OF DEATH: Money troubles

CORONER'S REPORT: Despite a seemingly healthy subscription-based system for US players ($20 a month) this site that boasted CardPlayer's Jeff Schulman as one of its champions, and with thousands of Americans playing on the site, the sums never added up, and SpadeClub ceased operations in 2010.

True Poker

DIED: 2011

CAUSE OF DEATH: Black Friday

CORONER'S REPORT: Not wanting DoylesRoom to be lonely, the DoJ seized True Poker at the same time in a wave of indictments following Black Friday. In one fell swoop, True Poker's US player base was shut out of the poker site, and their funds with it.

UltimateBet/UB

DIED: 2011

CAUSE OF DEATH: Black Friday

CORONER'S REPORT: What happens when you have one site with a cheating scandal? Why, join up with another site that has its own scandal.

That's what UltimateBet did when it merged with Absolute Poker on the Cereus network. Both sites had had their 'super user' scandals, whereby senior execs could see players' hole cards and duly stole millions from players.

UltimateBet was founded in 2001, and quickly became one of the US's biggest poker sites, with thousands of players. It only emerged in 2008 that super-users were using the God Mode on the site to cheat money out of legitimate players. One particularly notorious super-user was 'NioNio', who cheated other players out of some $600,000. Later it emerged that UB's Russ Hamilton, the 1994 WSOP Main Event champion, facilitated the cheating going on at UB. Eventually the site refunded a total of $22,100,000 to defrauded players.

UltimateBet was taken down in the Black Friday raids of 2011, and players from the US never got their money back. The site is now insolvent.

Somehow Hamilton avoided jail.

Victoria Poker

DIED: 2005

CAUSE OF DEATH: Lack of players

CORONER'S REPORT: One of the pioneers of Mac-based online poker, that was eventually proved Victoria Poker's undoing – no one was playing on Macs in 2003.

Launched in 2003, Victoria Poker offered Hold'em solutions to online poker players who moonlighted as graphic designers by day, with an offering that was simple at best, and plagued with bugs at worst. A lack of games – and players – do not a good poker site make, and in 2005 players were told the site was closing for good. Now that Mac poker is everywhere, could we see a Victoria re-launch in 2013? Not likely.

Victory Poker

DIED: 2011

CAUSE OF DEATH: Black Friday/Became Affiliate

CORONER'S REPORT: Once famous for its sponsorship of Antonio Esfandiari and those YouTube videos of the infamous Victory Girls, the site fronted by flamboyant CEO Dan Fleyshman was always going to fall foul of the authorities sooner or later.

After the Black Friday indictments in 2011 Victory Poker left the US market, with existing player accounts moved over to Cake Poker. Fleyshman toyed with the idea of moving the outfit to the much-vilified Cereus network – home to Absolute and UltimateBet – but decided instead to call it a day and switch attention to a safer option – a poker affiliate site.

Wingows

DIED: 2008

CAUSE OF DEATH: Acquisition that led to bankrupt

CORONER'S REPORT: Opening in 2006, Wingows had aspirations to be a big and successful poker room. However, it was acquired by a platform with a bad reputation which made it go bankrupt. By the time the original owner took it back it was too far gone to be saved.

WorldPokerExchange / WSEX

DIED: 2012

CAUSE OF DEATH: Insolvency

CORONER'S REPORT: Plagued with ongoing player payout issues and the authorities, World Poker Exchange – part of the powerful World Sports Exchange sportsbetting site that were one of the first online sportsbooks to take business in the US – shut up shop in 2012, owing players an estimated $1,000,000.

Based in Antigua, it was there in 2013 that World Sports Exchange co-founder Steve Schillinger – a former stockbroker who took the Internet gambling world by storm - put a gun to his head and committed suicide.

In Conclusion...

It's incredible to think that online poker has only been around in a serious form for about 15 years, and that during that time so many poker sites have come and gone. If anything it's taught us two things: 1) only play on a properly regulated, legitimate poker site, and 2) In hindsight, UIGEA (whisper it) may have done more good than bad. When we compile the next list of defunct poker sites let's hope that we can all look back and laugh at how internet sites conducted themselves, and how much more professional everyone is now. Fingers crossed...

People often ask me if online poker is rigged or not.
And my answer is always the same: if it is rigged, then it is definitely rigged for me. Because I have made a lot of money playing this silly little card game on the internet!
In all seriousness though, this is big concern that many people have. In fact my recent 'Is PokerStars Rigged' post has quickly become one of the most popular articles I have ever published.
So here's the short of it:
Online poker on the whole is not rigged. The financial incentives for the poker sites to maintain the integrity of their games are just too important. However, there are some legitimate concerns about some of the smaller poker sites in particular. The bottom line though is that you are the customer and you hold all the power. If you think a certain poker site is rigged, then you should withdraw all your funds and absolutely refuse to play there.
However, this is a fairly simplistic answer. So let's dig into specifics in the case for and against online poker being rigged. I will also talk about issues like bots, collusion and superusers.
Alright, let's go!

Is Online Poker Rigged? What's the Deal!

So let's get right into it. Is online poker rigged or not? What the heck is the deal here? Why do I get so many bad beats?!
When people talk about online poker being rigged the most common complaints I hear are a mathematically improbable amount of 'setups' (example: AA vs KK) and bad beats (example: you have AA, bad player with 74 offsuit hits two pair on the river).
Here is a good example of a so called setup hand:

But anyone who has played poker longer than a few days, knows that eventually these always go both ways. They are simply a part of the game, so it's like complaining about the rain.
People also often talk about a 'big stack advantage' in poker tournaments as well. This means that they believe the poker site rigs it in order for the bigger stack to win more all-in preflop coinflips (example: AK vs 99).
The logic behind what exactly the poker sites gain by rigging these hands and allowing the big stack to win more flips is a little bit less clear. Especially since most of the people who complain that online poker is rigged play incredibly low stakes, like $10 games.
Some people however claim that there is widespread collusion, bots or 'superusers' in many games. Now this is a bit of a separate issue because this sort of cheating (if true) is more likely to be perpetrated by the players themselves, not the poker sites.
However, let's put that to the side for a moment and discuss the case for and against online poker being rigged first.

The Case For Online Poker Being Rigged

So let's look at the facts for why online poker is rigged then shall we?
Well, unfortunately the facts for online poker being rigged are few and far between. The arguments in favor of online poker being rigged would be much better classified as 'anecdotal' instead.
For instance, if you go read any 'poker is rigged' thread on Reddit or a poker forum you will find that most of the comments are actually just angry, incoherent and expletive laced rants.
And they are always missing that one massively important pesky little detail:
Evidence.
Instead their arguments usually go something like this instead:
'OMGGGZZZ, my pocket AA got cracked 3 times in a row, on the RIVER, every time STUPID JOKERSTARS, rigged, I will get my lawyer and sue POKERSTARS!!!, OMFG so mad right now, how can anyone play on this RIGGED poker site???'
Now, the problem with 'arguments' for online poker being rigged like this is that while they certainly demonstrate a large amount of emotion, they just aren't supported with anything close to what we would typically deem as evidence.
And unfortunately, when making such seriously allegations and threatening lawsuits against a multi-billion dollar company you are probably going to need some of this!
The main problem here is that 'my pocket AA got cracked 3 times in a row' just doesn't mean anything. Like at all.
In fact this is such a completely commonplace and mathematically likely occurrence in poker that it is trivial to even consider.
You would need a sample size of thousands of instances where your AA was getting beat too often in order to have a real and substantive argument here.
And luckily for all of those who believe that online poker is rigged, this is actually really, really easy for them to do.
You can just use a program like PokerTracker, import your poker hands, and then filter for all instances of AA to see your winning percentage.
Pocket Aces should win approximately 85% of the time versus a random hand.
So, if you had a sample size with thousands of instances of AA where you are only winning at 70%, 60% or less, then you would have a real and legitimate complaint!
However, I have never seen anyone who claims that online poker is rigged actually produce a statistically significant sample size like this. Instead they have sample sizes of 3 hands, 10 hands or 100 hands.
Incredibly small sample sizes like this would be quickly refuted by any amateur mathematician as well within the bounds of simple variance and standard deviation.
And for all those threatening lawsuits against the online poker sites this sort of 'evidence' would also be quickly dismissed from any court of law as pure silliness.

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The Case Against Online Poker Being Rigged

The evidence for online poker not being rigged is far, far stronger. And the reason why is because once again, you can just go check it for yourself!
Most poker sites these days will allow you to download your hand histories as you play. Hand histories are a small text document which includes every bit of information about a poker hand.
For Example:

• Exact time the hand was played
• All player's stack sizes
• Who bet, folded, called etc.
• Who was the winner of the hand
• Who was the loser of the hand

And as mentioned before, we have highly sophisticated online poker tracking programs these days like PokerTracker and Hold’em Manager.
Using the pocket AA example again, you could simply go into either of these programs and filter for this hand only. Then you could see if your winning percentage differs dramatically from where it should be.
Furthermore, it wouldn’t even take that many hands to figure this out. In order to get a sample size of 1000 instances of pocket AA for instance, you would only need to play 220,000 hands of poker.
You get dealt pocket AA 1 out of every 220 hands. 220 x 1000 = 220,000.
Now this might sound like a lot, but for anyone who plays online poker seriously and multi-tables this is not really that many hands. Any serious poker player could easily do this in a couple months.
In fact, I have actually played this amount of poker hands in one single month several times throughout my poker career.

By the way if you are curious about how I play this many hands of poker, and still keep track of all my opponents, yes I do use several poker software aids and tools.
For the complete list of all poker software and tools I use as a pro at the tables, click here.
However, my suspicion is that many of the people complaining about their pocket AA being cracked too much have not even played this many hands in their entire lifetime!
After all, it is hard to play a lot of poker when you are too busy writing angry expletive laced comments on Reddit and threatening hare-brained lawsuits.
Look, if you truly believe that your pocket AA is losing way too often then you owe it to yourself to at least do your homework first so that you know for sure.
Play a statistically significant sample of hands (i.e. 200K+), run it through a tracking program, and then post the evidence for all the world to see!
Opinions are great. Everybody has one. But what we need in order to solve the debate once and for all about online poker being rigged or not are facts. Clear verifiable evidence.
Unfortunately for all the people claiming that online poker is rigged, they never seem to have much of this. However, I know that I can look through my own database of millions of poker hands and prove them dead wrong in a second.
Another thing that would help a lot of the people who believe online poker is rigged is to simply get better at poker.
Because when you have an extremely high win-rate you won't worry about the routine ups and downs as much anymore.
This is something that Daniel Negreanu actually mentions specifically in his brand new advanced poker training course. Instead of worrying so much about the losses, just focus on winning more!

Poker Sites Have a Direct Financial Incentive NOT to Rig Online Poker

The other big problem for the online poker is rigged crowd is that the poker sites actually have a direct financial incentive to maintain the integrity of their games.
In other words, they have a clear motive NOT to rig online poker.
PokerStars for instance made $877 million dollars in revenue from poker in 2017. And that is actually a 4% increase over 2016 for all the people who think the popularity of online poker is trending downward.
What these numbers really prove though is the point that I have been making on this blog for many, many years now.
And That Is:
The poker sites themselves are the real big winners in poker and they always will be. They are the real 'sharks,' not the players.
If you disagree please tell me the name of a poker player who is making nearly a billion dollars a year. I would pay anything to get coaching from this guy!
So simple common sense and logic will tell us that when you are already crushing it beyond belief in business the last thing you want to do is change anything or risk your reputation.
No of course not. You just want to keep the gravy train rolling!
You really have to ask yourself what PokerStars for example has to gain by rigging the river in your $10 tournament. Nothing. But they have everything to lose.

You Are The Customer, You Have All the Power!

But hey believe me, I get it. Some people will never be convinced no matter what I or others say.
Even though there is absolutely no evidence to support their claims nor even a motive for many of the poker sites to rig anything, their minds are already made up.
And that's completely cool.
You can believe pink monkeys orbit the moon too and Tupac Shakur is alive and well living on an island in Malaysia with Jim Morrison.
At the end of the day though it doesn't matter what I believe or what you believe because the bottom line when you are playing poker (online or live) is that you are the customer.
And therefore, you have all the power.

So if you believe that a certain poker site is rigged against you then you should vote with your feet and simply withdraw all your funds and never play there again.
Something that I can never understand is how many people complain that a certain poker site is rigged (let’s just use PokerStars as an example again) and yet they continue to play there!
Why on earth would you continue to play at a poker site that you are convinced is rigged? This defies all logic and even just common sense.
There are literally hundreds of other online poker sites to choose from. And if you are convinced that all of online poker is rigged against you then you can just go play live as well!
Also, remember that when you withdraw your funds and go play somewhere else this is a huge loss for that poker site. They rely on the rake that you pay to keep creating those multi-million dollar profits.
So if you are convinced that an online poker site is rigged, hit them where it hurts, in the pocket book. Withdraw your money and never play there again.

What About Poker Bots, Collusion and SuperUsers?

Alright, let’s get into the much more serious discussion now of poker bots, collusion and superusers.
This is a legitimate concern because unlike poker sites rigging the river against your pocket aces, there is actually real evidence that this sort of cheating has occurred.
But the difference here is that the cheating is almost always done by the players themselves.
They are often the ones who are trying to run poker bots, collude with other people at the the table or find out somebody's hole cards (superuser).

Online Poker Sites Cheating Games

In the past several years there have been allegations of bots in particular being used on nearly every major online poker site.

Poker Cheating On Live Stream

And this isn't just speculation. There have been many high profile cases of poker sites publicly refunding players because their security teams uncovered gross rule violations.
Now while they rarely spell out the exact details of what type of actual cheating occurred (for pretty obvious reasons) it is clearly some sort of bot ring or collusion in many cases.
Now should you be concerned about playing against poker bots, colluders and so on? Absolutely. But here's the thing. You are battling against human nature here.
Whenever there are significant amounts of money on the line, a small amount of people are going to engage in shady practices or even outright cheating.
Remember that little global financial meltdown we had about 10 ago? Ya, enough said.
Look here's the thing. There is always going to be some form of cheating or angle shooting in poker no matter what games you play in. And it doesn't matter if you play live or online.
Does this mean that you should never play poker again? No of course not. You just need to be realistic and vigilant when playing poker.
I would also be a lot more concerned as a mid or high stakes poker player about this sort of cheating because of the much larger amounts of money in play.
However, less than 5% of the people reading this article right now actually play in these games. I know this because I asked 1,124 of you what stakes you play a few months ago!
But look here is the bottom line once again. You are the customer. If you feel that something isn't right, then send the poker site an email, and give them some specific names and details so they can investigate.
If you do not find their reply to be satisfactory, then withdraw all of your funds immediately and never play there again.

Online Poker Sites Cheating Site

Final Thoughts

So should you trust online poker? Is online poker rigged?
Well, I think the glaring lack of any real evidence or even a motive for most of the major online poker sites to be rigging anything speaks volumes.

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But as we all know some people will never be convinced.
I get hands sent to me every single day like this one where people are convinced that it is 100% rigged against them: