Is Cheating in Online Poker Possible?

Everybody knows that poker cheating happens at the gaming table, especially in a home poker game. Poker cheats employ different ways to steal other players blind like sleight of hand card tricks, card marking, the use of phony poker chips and collusion between players. Various ways have been developed also to counter poker cheats such as using a clean deck of cards every so often during a game, employing a shoe, customized poker chips and randomized seating arrangement. With the advent of the Internet and the consequent popularity of online casinos, many people have been wondering about the possibility of cheating in online poker games.

Many poker players are apprehensive in playing online games because of the belief that unscrupulous people in gaming websites or hackers will be able to see their pocket cards. This mistaken notion stems mostly from a lack of understanding of the technology used in online gaming and the security precautions employed to prevent cheating in online poker games. For one, online poker games are fully automated and free from human intervention, thanks to sophisticated computer programs. Because of this, the occurrence of cheating in online poker games carried out by website personnel is as remote a possibility as dishonesty in land based casinos.

But just like in land based casinos, cheating in online poker games would very likely be carried out through collusion, which basically means two or more players cooperating to obtain a winning edge. In an online setting, the colluding players can communicate with each other through a telephone or may even be sitting next to each other in adjoining computers. The other possible method of cheating in online poker is self collusion which involves the setting up a string of computers in the same room run by the same person. Theoretically, the self colluding player could be behind several online players in a poker room except for one or two players. Needless to say, a great deal of skill is required to pull off an online collusion and may not be worth all the trouble and the risk involved.

To assure the integrity of gaming websites, poker rooms are constantly on the lookout for telltale signs of colluding players cheating in online poker. Two or more players that always play at the same table are often a dead give away for collusion. That is why colluding players never hit the same site more than once because they run the risk of discovery and detection of their IP addresses which would certainly result in their apprehension and legal prosecution.