Online Poker Cheating

According to www.slate.com, in 1999 at an Internet poker site named PlanetPoker.com, an information leak about a flaw in the site’s computer software for shuffling the deck allowed players to study it and win at will. Online poker cheating and attempts to cheat on online poker are as rampant on the Internet as cheating is in bricks-and-mortar casinos and card rooms. This article discusses some of the types of poker cheating online with an eye to informing the careful player of what he may face when playing poker online. It is not meant as a guide for how to cheat on online poker.

There are 3 basic methods for cheating on online poker: collusion, software for cheating and bots.

Collusion is when 2 or more players in the same game at the same table conspire to better their odds of winning. Some forms of colluding involve players with weak hands helping players with strong hands by staying in and raising in an effort to enlarge the pot. For Internet poker cheating, collusion is easy, since all the cheaters need to do is use instant messaging or similar software to communicate information about their hands. The telephone is another good tool for poker cheating on the Internet. In an interesting version of collusion called self-collusion, a co-conspirator is unnecessary. In self-collusion, a single player sets up multiple computers, accesses the same poker site on each computer and plays multiple hands as different players.

Using software is very common for online poker cheats. The software works by tracking everyone’s hand in an online game and calculating odds on each to assist poker cheats online in both betting and play strategy. There are also rumors that software hacks exist that will allow players to see each opponent’s hand. Although this is widely regarded as a myth, the rumors stubbornly persist.

Another of the several ways to cheat on online poker is using a poker bot. A bot is an automated poker player. Bots are attractive to online poker cheats because once a bot is set up, the cheat doesn’t even need to be at his computer. Although bots are banned in many poker rooms, the bans are hard to enforce, especially if the bot is cleverly programmed. For example, a poker site’s security monitor may be set to look for players who play for extraordinarily long times, times much longer than average players. An article at slate.com wryly comments that “security monitors often pick up their scent, especially when they spot one player going 36 hours straight without a bathroom break.” Humor aside, skillful use of a bot can net a cheater plenty of pots.