Online Poker Myths

There are many myths about online poker. Unfortunately these are spread by people who haven't played online poker or are losing players. But if you have any issues with any online site then you can always just leave a site and never come back.

  • THE HANDS ARE FIXED - Many players believe there are "action flops" where the sites are designed to flop cards which are more likely to hit certain players' cards in order to stimulate a lot of betting. Most of the cards dealt online are based on random-number generators which are verified by independent accounting firms like Price Waterhouse Coopers. There has never been any proof of any crooked dealing at any card room.

  • YOU PLAY AGAINST COMPUTERS - 99% of online poker rooms do not use bots in real money games. To the best of my knowledge there is only 1 site that I knew of that ever used bots, and the site closed down a few years ago.

  • COLLUSION - Many players fear playing online because they believe that there are players who sit at tables together tell each other their cards. The problem with the colluding theory is that in order for you to be a successful colluder, first you must be a successful poker player. Most successful poker players spend so much time improving their game that they simply don't have the time or the interest to cheat the games. If someone has an interest in cheating it is usually a player who has either been unsuccessful or a novice player looking for a shortcut to make money in poker. In either one of these scenarios the colluder will lose money because they still don't know how to play poker successfully. It could be argued that having colluders who don't know how to play poker sitting in your game might be a good thing because it will give them a false confidence that will make them lose money. With that being said, there is bound to be some collusion in online poker (just like in offline poker), but it is not so common as to keep you from playing online poker.

  • YOU GET MORE BAD BEATS - It is true that the absolute number of bad beats you suffer will be higher online. This is because you are being dealt more hands per hour as well as possibly playing many tables at once. This may also be due to the lower skill level of the players at some online site who will be chasing to the river more often. So, even if you get more bad beats, it is because bad players are chasing more often. This will just make you more money in the long-run.

  • THE POKER SITE WILL STEAL YOUR MONEY - Most of the sites are large, stable sites who make plenty of money running a legitimate business and don't need to steal money. There have only been a few instances of online card rooms shutting down and leaving with their customers funds. These were small sites. Player would do well to play at only the larger and more established sites as well as monitor the online poker forums to watch for early indicators of financial trouble at a poker site - such as players not getting paid.

  • THE CASHOUT CURSE - One of the most common accusations from losing online players is that sites will give you bad cards after you cashout. This isn't true.

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Getting Started - Online Myths

HPG ADMIN on March 5, 2013