The Verdict
Is it cheating when players raise and bet aggressively against everyone at the table, excluding their buddy.
For years, public opinion has varied greatly in relation to the integrity of
online poker. There are many conspiracy theories ranging from the 'curse of the uprising' to the 'appetizing pots' individually prepared by the sites to create action and generate more rake. Some players believe that if they count to 10 before going all-in, they are less likely to lose. Most of the grinders in the Vic Card room in London believe that only spies, crooks and mentally imbalanced players are playing poker on the Internet.
In fact, online poker is going through hard times. The "Black Friday" to recent events related to
full tilt poker have pushed the online
poker game to discredit. For a company of this magnitude to lose its state of grace so quickly and dramatically, it is almost inconceivable, and the skeptics take advantage soon to prepare their weapons.
The method
For most online poker players, bad beats and downswings are part of the game. The 'manipulation' theory is simply a byproduct of variance. However, there is already a light at the bottom of the tunnel for the unbelievers, since a website is trying to respond to the great debate of antiquity. The Online Poker Watchdog team conducted a series of tests on millions of
hands from the biggest online
poker sites to determine if there was statistical evidence of 'manipulation' or dishonesty. The site claims to be an independent statistical auditor, focused solely on maximizing the integrity of the game.
pokerstars,
partypoker and the OnGame network were the three poker operators that have been audited so far. The research consisted of two tests and was fairly simple and similar in all three cases. In first place, the analysis was done in more than one million hands, compared to the expected number of hands that they would gain in relation to the current number of hands they won. The second test divided the hands by those ahead and behind the preflop, and then compared with the expected numbers.
The results
The PokerStars review was based on a sample of one million hands and 69,663 Sit & Go preflop all-ins and tournaments. The expected result suggested that 35,748 of these hands would win. In fact, 35,850 hands won, which means a deviation of +102. For those who are trained in mathematics, this is a result very close to normal. When compared to the all-ins ahead and behind pre-flop, the statistics proved again to be close to normal.
The PartyPoker review featured a base of 1.26 million hands and 11,984 hands of $ 50NL full ring cash games. The expected result was that 6,267 of these hands would win. In fact, 6,198.5 won, which means a deviation of -68. The all-in pre-flop comparison proved once again to be very close to normal.
The analysis on the Ongame network studied a sample of 1.42 million hands and 12,306 hands from the $ 30NL short handed cash games tables. The expected result was that 6,457 of these hands would win. In fact, 6,454.5 hands won for a deviation of only -2.5. The comparison to the pre-flop all-ins also ended again without surprises and within normal.
: D: D
Online Poker Watchdog statistics are pretty clear. None of the operators presented indications of manipulation in their analyzes. Although most players have never believed that online
gambling was manipulated, let's hope these statistics prove something. Although the legal situation related to online poker is still unclear in some countries, it is always good news to know that the integrity of the game on the major players is intact and secure.
Source:
http://pokerstrategy.com/