Recommended Poker Room
www.While online poker is considered as being very safe and secure, some cheating also happens in the online gambling industry. Read on to learn more about the five most common ways of cheating in online poker.
Five ways to cheat in online poker
- Multi-Accounting
- Poker Bots
- Ghosting
- Collusion
- Access to hole cards (superuser account)
Multi-Accounting
Multi-accounting means that a player has several real money accounts at a single poker room. Online Poker rooms forbid players to open more than one real money account per person at their poker site. The main reason for this ban are their poker first deposit bonus offerings. By forbidding multi-accounting, they prevent bonus fraud. However, this is only a problem for the poker room, and not directly for the other players.
But the big problem arises when multi-accounting players are using two or more accounts to play poker at the same cash game table or at the same tournament. Such a player has an unfair advantage because in cash games he can see four and not only two hole cards. In addition to this, in tournaments like SNGs he practically has “two lives” in a single tournament.
Multi-accounting is a clear case of fraud, and a player who gets caught will be suspended and his bankroll will be retained.
The poker rooms have – even in their own interests (first deposit bonus) – taken comprehensive measures to prevent multi-accounting. To cash out, for example, players have to upload a copy of their ID first. Furthermore, many rooms have a security feature, preventing the same IP address to register for the same tournament more than once. In addition to this, other players might detect this form of cheating as well, and report the cheater to the poker room. However, multi-accounting is theoretically always possible – at least until the player in question has been caught.
Poker Bots
Poker bots are computer programs that play poker online. One of the most popular bots is the program Polaris from the University of Alberta in Canada. This bot was able to win the majority of heads-up fixed limit Texas Hold’em cash games against poker professionals. To exclude random effects, the poker pro’s and the computer bot played “duplicate match” games of 500 hands. This means that both the computer player and the pro’s had the same hands when playing against each other.
Even if poker is, in contrast to a game like chess, a game with limited information, the ROI and profits are still strongly determined by the mathematical skills of the players. Heads-Up Fixed Limit Hold’em is definitely one of the variants that can best be “solved” in a mathematical way. On the other hand, with computing power and programming skills permanently improving, it is almost for sure a fact that similar to chess, computer bots will be even able to beat very strong opponents in No Limit Texas Hold’em in the future.
Currently, it must be assumed that poker bots are in use. But these poker bots are rather playing on the lowest limits, because there the level of play of the opponents is bad and the human opponents are therefore easier to be beaten. Also tournament poker players (and in particular Sit and Go Double or Nothing) cannot rule out for sure that all opponents at their tournament table are human. Especially the middle and late phases of these six-and ten-man tournaments are strongly influenced by the mathematical skills of the players. Once you have less than 10 to 15 big blinds, players (or bots!) have to make only one decision: should they fold before the flop or push all-in? This push-or-fold mechanism can be programmed relatively easy. The poker bot must take into account only the chip stacks of the players at the table, the size of the blinds, the position and the two hole cards. With the Independent Chip Model ICM he can convert the chip equities into dollar equities and determine – based on an assumption on the calling and pushing ranges of the opponents, the optimal strategy (push all-in or fold).
In addition to this, a computer bot has no emotions. And as you probably know: tilt and the desire for “revenge” are large leaks of many human players – another advantage for the poker bot.
A poker bot that became known to the public because it got caught was “DeepComputer”, a computer program multitabling a turbo SNG variation at Full Tilt Poker where players started with only 300 chips. Surprisingly, the bot did not get caught because of the insane number of tournaments it played each day. It got caught because its programmers became too greedy and opened a second account with a copy of the bot: they got caught because of multi-accounting.
Poker rooms have no direct financial interest in catching poker bots. Also bots eventually also generate rake. However, the confidence into the poker room disappears if a bot gets caught and this security problem gets known to the public. Therefore, poker rooms are using a set of different mechanisms to detect bots. These mechanisms are not published publicly for obvious reasons. However, some of the protective measures probably include:
- Examine whether certain programs are running in the background (e.g. the WinHoldem poker bot framework)
- Taking screenshots, a very effective measure also used in video gamese
- Measurement of mouse movements (are they natural?)
- Measurement of the reaction time of a player
Another measure that for example Party Poker has implemented is using a pop-up window where the player has to type in a certain sequence of letters within 120 seconds in order not be put on “sit-out” on all of his tables. This poker bot check is probably shown only to multiplayers.
In addition, the poker rooms prohibit the use of certain programs while playing poker, such as programs which make decisions for the human players or which make them suggestions on how to play a hand in real-time. For example, the use of programs that makes push or fold recommendations based on the Independent Chip Model is prohibited.
Ghosting
Ghosting is giving advice from one poker player to another player during the poker game or tournament. While this is prohibited in live tournaments, it can be very difficult to enforce this in online tournaments. Ghosting can happen when a friend sits next to the poker player and plays the tournament with him. Ghosting at poker happens more often online with the help of free tools such such as Skype or Teamviewer. With Teamviewer and since recently also directly with Skype, it is possible to transmit real-time pictures of one computer screen (displaying the poker table with the hole cards) to another computer screen (where the “ghost” or coach is sitting).
A coached player has the advantage that he can discuss difficult situations with his “ghost” before taking the decision. In addition, having a live coach reduces the risk of tilt significantly.
Ghosting is mainly used in the late phase of online poker tournaments with a high prize pools. It is quite usual that players were lucky and made it into the money or even to the final table. In this case, a coach can help them win thousands of dollars.
Although this is probably the most common cheating method in online poker, the harm made to opponents by ghosting is relatively limited, as a player has, besides the “second opinion”, no further unfair advantage over the other players.
Collusion
Collusion refers to the cooperative play between two or more players at the poker table. Collusion can mean that two players are spearing each other, are submitting themselves the value of their hole cards or are even intentionally cooperating to win the money of an opponent. Collusion is a clear case of fraud. This kind of cheating is prohibited by the poker rooms in their terms and conditions.
Such a form of interaction can be time-consuming and it is difficult multitable and collude profitably at the same time. Collusion therefore makes mainly sense at the higher limits, where a small edge can lead to a large financial benefit. Online poker players can share their hole cards and intended ways of playing the current hand with telephone, cell phone, Skype or other messenger programs.
A milder form of collusion is implicit collusion. This happens between experienced players at the bubble of a tournament. If a small stack goes all-in, it can make sense for the large stacks to call his bet and to check the flop, turn and river. By sparing each other, they maximize the probability that at least one of them has a stronger hand than the small stack, thus eliminating him from the tournament and getting them all into the money. This collaboration by checking-down a hand is allowed as long as it is agreed on implicitly (and not directly, e.g. in the chat).
Viewing Hole Cards
A player who sees the hole cards of his opponents can win every hand (or avoid losing money when his hand is inferior). Online poker rooms are only sending the information the information about the hole cards to the one player. The information on the hole cards of the opponents is stored centrally on the poker server. It’s therefore almost impossible to grab the data to the hole cards of all opponents at the table. However, there was a huge scandal in 2007 at the poker room “Absolute Poker”: An employee was in possession of a “super-user account”. He was able to see the hole cards of all opponents at the table. He was eventually caught when a player who became second in a tournament suspected that he was cheated. When he requested the hand history, Absolute Poker unintentionally sent him the complete hand history of all players at the tournament. A specialist then analyzed the hand history file and found out that the winner of the tournament played saw the flop with all his hole cards after the first round, and that he folded before the showdown every time he was behind.
Since then there hasn’t been another such scandal.
We are confident that the poker rooms tested and reviewed on our poker strategy site here on TournamentTerminator are serious online poker sites, offering a very high level of security and making manipulation of the games almost impossible. Check this poker bonus code list out now and grab yourself an exclusive real money bonus!
Its a good post about poker cheats, but I would suggest the readers don’t try it until you are master in doing poker cheats successfully. First try it with your peer group in poker games which don’t involve money and if they couldn’t catch you, it mean you can do it in casino as well.
There is no oversight in the online gaming industry. Period. As long as that continues all you have is the sites word. Don’t be stupid.
After playing on here for a couple of years I can’t win anything. I deposit more than anyone I know and you would think they would make me one of the big money winners but no its actually the opposite. I believe there are many cheaters or bots on this site and another one as well. The same poorly skilled players win every single night I am on there and they have to hit runner runner runner to do so but somehow they do 8 of 10 times. How do these people that have next to no skills whatsoever make thousands of dollars on these sites but I cannot.?! I just don’t understand. They have to be working with the sites and cheating of some kind theres no way they are winning every night but just pure luck. The hands that come out are like 1% chance of really coming out but they do against me many times more than not. Wouldn’t you think they would want me to win more than losing since they know how much I have deposited and that I have won in the past only from mere skill and a little luck. There was a recent suspect of player cheating on wsop recently and he was spoken to and was still allowed to play on the site. Now how do we know he doesn’t have the cheating device still and or is still using it.
I am done with this site and they have got me enough! Stay away believe me they will screw you in the long run!
I do believe cheating and bots and all the rest do happen, but I think pooer play is more to blame for not winning.
They can easily read your cards of they know what they are doing and/or know where to go and how to using phishing software. Its being used even today. Not to mention there are glitches that can be taken advantage of. Yeah it sucks playing against someone using these when your just trying to play an honest game. Your best bet is to just find an offline version and play against npc’s. Not nearly as fun, exciting and strategic playing against an actual person but those are your choices. Every time they ban a player or catch a new mod or all 5 more are out within 24 hours
Who does a person contact if a person knows of a online poker scam?
I too only lose and don’t win. First they will give good cards to earn money and after that you will get all dead cards, by see first earning you will wager money, but later you will loose money, 5% they let you earn and 95% they make you loose, every time you will get disappointed. If you deposit in bulk first they let you win and you will get no matching cards. In every poker site there are 6 and 8 tables, why they don’t give 2 table or 3 tables. These persons only play the game and take all you money.
Yes this is true. I completely agree with you. They have their own players financed by them only to cheat.
Someone needs to explain to me about a scenario that happened to me that was a Blatant cheat. I was playing at a legal Nevada online poker site, a site I have played at for over two years on the same compute. So one day I am playing pretty steady throughout the day and night. No computer issues while I played. At midnight I decided to play this tournament called Midnight Madness, it had about 100 players. I put 4 hours of hard work and concentration into this tournament playing my A game. I make it down to heads up. I get the other player all in I had about 60,000 chips and he had about 70,000 the blinds are 4000 and 2000. I get him all in and I win the hand which gives me about 120,000 chips and only leaves him with 10,000. I am certain I am going to win first place. As soon as I won that hand and the majority of the chips, suddenly the game is gone and i get a notice saying that the site cannot let me play because I have remote software running. Remember I had beel playing for almost 20 hours and never got that notice. Played at the site for 2 years and this never happened before. I repeatedly tried to get back on the site because I knew with me gone he would keep raising my blinds until he got all the chips back and won. The site continued to tell me it could not let me play because of software running for the next 20 minutes or so. Suddenly right after he finished winning and getting first place by default, I was able to get back on and the message about software disappeared exactly after the tournament completed and I was given second place prize money. There was a few hundred dollars difference between first and second place. What happened it had to be some type of cheating? WSOP is trying to claim and convince me that some obscure software in th background must have just happened to start running on its own just as I was about to win the tourny and just happened to when the tourny completed even though in 2 years this software never popped up before. Anyone???
Hi Mary
Yes, that’s a really strange story, although that’s not really cheating, at least not from another player. It’s highly improbable that the other player was cheating you or that there was some kind of software on your computer installed to make the other player win in the end. Such a thing might make sense if you were playing just heads-up, but not in a tournament that takes hours to complete.
So either it was just pure bad luck for youlike your ISP changing anything in their system exactly during your heads-up, or… The poker room was interested in having the other player win. And that would only make sense if that other player was their own bot.
WSOP is the biggest online poker scam there is. There is collusion, bot play, and players playing with two and three computers at one table. I have tried to report this shit and WSOP could care less. I am now talking with Nevada Gaming Control.
I’m not sure how it can be done but on this site people disconnect right before making a big bet but get back in time to fold,call or go all in. When I get disconnected and the others that r playing an honest game get disconnected we can never get back in the same hand. TO me it seems somehow these players can’t see the hole cards while connected so they disconnect look at others and are back in time to bet. I have seen many people get taken out of money tournys by these players. Now with the amount of players that I have caught in one month being 33 and everyone of them doing it more than once I begin to wonder if it’s not the site itself trying to cut down on the money they have to pay out. I really want to report this to the athorities that enforce the online poker sites but don’t have any idea who that is. If you can give me a name of whom that might be I would thank you. I know the gaming commission regulates native American casinos and Atlantic City and Vegas but do they have anything to do with online gaming. Thanks for listening.
I was playing a game at poker stars and this Russian was going all in when I had nothing for cards. But when I got a pair of queens he folded. I got a 3 and a 9 he went all in. He did this to three other players. Like he could see our hole cards.
I play online poker quite a bit. I see A LOT of collusion between players. It’s very bad especially late at night. There is NO recourse hardly either. Sure the sites say this is forbidden but there is no enforcement. When i see players telling each other what they have during play i immediately quit that table.
Well, at least they tell it in the chat where possible everyone can read it. It would be much worse if they would tell it in Skype, or even share screens with a software like Teamviewer. Unfortunately, this kind of collusion is much worse for the other players, and it’s hard to prove. Poker rooms should automatically keep an eye on players who always play at the same tables, though.
There are some MF that have hands that are less stronger than yours, and they still win, because they have WAY more money than you. That ain’t fair, the stronger hand SHOULD win, even if the player has less money.
Hi Yo
The money you have doesn’t affect your chances to win. But playing with a full stack increases chances that you win all the money from an opponent in an all-in situation. It’s therefore recommended to play with a full stack.
you know nothing about poker and you deserve to lose
I was playing on PokerStars New Jersey and WSOP New Jersey and I truly believe that they cheated the s*** out of me now I’m not going to play no more if it’s not secure I don’t want to play
Hi Dee
So you think that Pokerstars cheated you to lose money, just to let another player win? Or do you think the other player was a Pokerstars bot? Seems both possible, but very unprobable. It’s probably rather an over-estamation of your skills, paired with an under-estimation of variance in poker.
I was doing real good on wsop and had run $20 to over $1200. Was in the money very often won 3 or 4, $10, $15 bounty games. Lost a few hands to very suspect hands that called a pre flop raise and ended up beating me. After a few of these I started making notes on the players. Notes like suspect house player, maybe bot. Well I would still do ok but I’m not able to win a hand towards the end of tourneys. Bubbled several times and lost several time to 1 and 2 outers. Lost hands where I raised pre flop and when the winner showed their hand, I was like you called with that after a preflop raise, wtheck. That does happen from time to time but the consistency was odd. For the past couple of months I cannot make the money, like a switch switched. Again beat by many low out hands. My account has gone from $1200 to $200 since this started. That’s a big spread without winning. Very strange. Worst one I had big hand, was pkt As or Ks, raised pre flop guy called. He won and turned over 57 off.
Hi Dave
Sorry to hear this. Just keep in mind that 72o wins 1 in 9 times vs AA. Variance is a beast.
When you play SNG at a high 5-10% ROI, it still can happen that you have a streak of 0% ROI for 1000 games. This is just variance. Did you play >1000 tournaments when going up from 20 to 1200 and when going down from 1200 to 200?
Cheating can spotted among friends of friends, I have experienced this in my own experience I have 74% rating/ 140 % ROI/ 39% ITM / 6-7 Star OPR rating.
Their averages where 50-1-2%rating/ -ROI / – ITM / 0 star OPR rating ( all 5 on the current table )
6 man table
Odd statistics
86 hands total played ( before I busted)
6 hands played by me ( ahead pre-flop 5 times behind once)
80 hands not played ( I folded pre flop )
77 hands non contested win ( I fold, everyone else folds to BB )
12 hands sat out ( to see the ”action -flow if I was not involved/something not right ”fishy” )
4 hands played between others ( set vs straight/set only loses 4bb/ soft-play is in action, after reviewing my hand history )
The 3/6 hands I was involved where I 3 bets raises, called, then usually before to act in position I get ”colludes”Pot size-bet ( this makes it difficult for me play/ continue the hand unless I had top- top range hands ), I’m forced to fold.
They played agressive when I was in the hand, and passive checked to one another I was not.. or didn’t bother to value bet made hands.
3 of these hands were pre-flop raises and I called, check /folded out of position or missed.
6 of these hands were all 3-1 pot sizes remember that set vs straight that was talking about earlier 2,300 chips pot my average pot loses which I lost 4 out of 6 to runner runners was on average 8,000 chips
I came back to 86th hand sat back in there is a ”pause” from the CO, raises, call, call , I’m to act I shove with Kx called with pair button folds ( snap folds) small blind ( snap folds ) , I’m out of tourney/ instant quit and left.
I had enough at this point…
I was already in dead last in the tourney 8,000 left next above had me covered by 12,000
I felt so angry and pissed off I knew some thing was not right, still have the hand history stored on my computer.
I didn’t say a word or call anyone out I kept my mouth shut left and never to talk or return to these players ever again.
Fools. Anyone playing these games are fools. Put your money in the stock market. There everyone bets WITH the house. Poker, 21, casinos, these rip off games are rigged against you, everyone bets AGAINST you. Stupid fools.
I want to know if you can see the hole cards, could you see the flop? Before it happens? Is there software out there that could do this? Or software that change the flop to your advantage.
No. Or maybe yes. But if yes then certainly not available to the public.
There is rampant cheating on the pokerstars play money site.
I’m playing online poker for almost 15 years now except poker stars I don’t trust any other sites specially ignition poker is the worst running online poker. All of these dodgy sites claims, we have the best security and fair gaming for all our players and everyone know they are telling bullshit all they wants is our money. They get their money from rake and it doesn’t matter if it comes from a cheater, poker bot or honest player.