13:07
03 Jun

Can You Take Action if Scammed? It would be unfair to say scamming, or other forms of cheating are commonplace in online poker markets. But it would also be untrue to say they are rare. As we continue on this topic you might also want to take a look at my write-up about the safety of online poker as well. As poker looks for its rebound.

You hear it all the time whether it is during the conversations with your closest friends or in some topic on the poker forums ' online poker is rigged!' It doesn’t matter the site or the network, for many of us, when we play online, we sometimes have the feeling that the software is actually targeting us, forcing us to give up all of our bankroll. We see countless bad beats, coolers, or just situations where our foe miraculously comes from behind and takes down a huge pot and we slowly start to feel helpless.

Online Poker Scam

So what do we do? We avoid looking in the mirror and start blaming something or somebody else. In the case of online poker, it’s definitely the Random Number Generator - basically the program that shuffles the deck of cards - a.k.a the RNG. But is the RNG really to blame for our poker misfortunes? Is online poker rigged? And if it’s not, why are there times in which it feels that way?

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To start things off in a proper, interesting manner, let’s say it has to do with both our human flaws or the way our memory works and the very different nature of the game in the online environment. Not convinced just yet? Then start reading the next lines and be prepared to see this debate from a whole different perspective.

The Bad Beats Are Easier To Remember

It’s definitely not news when we state that we have a much easier time in remembering the bad things in our lives. There are many scientific studies that can confirm this undeniable fact. One study says that this is the result of evolution: negative emotions like sadness and rage trigger increased activity in the part of the brain linked to memories. Our emotional brain is also overloaded with information. In other words, we have to remember such things to try to avoid making the same mistakes later.

Unfortunately, as compared to real life situations, the game of poker is a different beast. In poker, if the outcome is negative, it doesn’t necessarily mean we made a bad decision. We actually may have made the right decision but our brain can’t quite process that. So naturally, we tend to remember things like bad beats and unlikely situations in which our foe won easier than the times we suckout our opponent. In fact, the times when we came from behind to win a random poker hand are blurry and not as distinguishable as a bad beat. And that’s why we tend to believe we witnessed countless numbers of bad beats and not nearly enough suckouts.

What we can do, however, is be honest with ourselves and take a long look in the mirror. Start tracking our online poker history with different softwares like Poker Tracker and Holdem Manager and just look at the times when we suckout. It does look different than the way we remember it, doesn’t it?

Faster-paced, Means Greater Chance To Run Into Big Hands

Besides our obvious flaws, we need to take into consideration other aspects that have to do with the dynamics of the game. Remember, online poker is quite different than your average home game or live casino game. Why? First of all, online we can play much more hands than live; we can multi-table and see thousands of poker hands on a daily basis. At a casino game, the action is slow, and the shuffle takes longer so the volume can’t quite compare with the online business.

So what does it mean? Well, it means we can accumulate more experience in less time as compared to the live green felt. We don’t have to play for years like the pros of old to truly master the game. We can literally play over one million hands per year, inconceivable in the past when there were only a handful of poker tournaments and not that many opportunities to play cash games. But it also means is that we have a much greater chance of running into big hands. Since we see that many hole cards and community boards, expect to see quads and even a straight flush more often than live. This is not to mention situations in which our foe will outrun us even though he was way behind when the poker hand started.

Poker is still a game of chance and very few things are certain. The bullets - pocket Aces - have 85% chance of winning at showdown preflop versus a random hand. So given a big enough sample, that can easily be achieved online. At least one time - if not two - out of ten we will have our Aces cracked. This is not because of some rigged software, it’s a matter of probabilities and statistics.

Different Online Game Dynamics

The speed is just one facet of the online game that makes it different from live, the game dynamics are another difference. We can look at them from two different perspectives.

Let’s talk about the micros first. At the lowest stakes, we may encounter players who enter the pot with many unusual and what we call unplayable poker hands. The reasons behind those decisions may not have to be rational; many of them simply want to take a garbage hand like 72 offsuit only to crack someone’s Aces or outrun a premium hand. That’s their thrill, and since we’re talking about the micros, they can afford to do it. As a consequence, the game dynamic changes dramatically as compared to live where the stakes are much higher thus it is much more expensive to think like that.

We also have to take into consideration that that tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, are playing online from all around the world on a given poker site so you’ll see many players entering the pot with garbage, especially at micros. That’s why you have to expect your very good hands will be dominated by some crappy hands from time to time. It’s just the nature of the beast.

The other perspective has to do with the higher stakes, where the games are pretty much reg-infested. Compared with live, the online play in this situation is much cleaner. We will find many TAGs - tight aggressive players who play ABC poker at the low and medium stake. People who play many tables and not so many actual hands. That’s why, against them, we will have a greater chance of running into big hands and coolers. Again, it has nothing to do with the fact that the RNG hates you; the game dynamic is built in such a way that you will experience more coolers and nuts vs. second nuts situations than live.

Conclusion: Online Poker Isn’t Rigged!

So after all the analysis, is online poker really rigged? Of course it’s not, it’s just different than live. Basically, they may be regarded as two different games that require different set of skills besides hand reading, value betting, and bluffing.

And next time you’ll try to convince yourself it is indeed rigged, be honest with yourself. Try to see the truth past your own emotions and be critical of your game. Maybe you did some things wrong, maybe you have leaks in your game that cost you money and increase the variance, or maybe you just need to take a break. And if you’re still not convinced, why do you think there are winners at every known stake in the online poker world? W hy are there regulars and grinders who play certain games online for a living? How can they win and you can’t? Doesn’t it have to be rigged for all the players? Or is it fair just for chosen few - which makes the whole rigged statement even more nonsense?

In other words, the more we dig in and use our logic, the clearer we can see the truth that is online poker isn’t rigged. It hasn’t ever been and won’t be in the future. It’s as simple as that, but why are we losing then? That’s the one-million-dollar question isn’t it?

What do you think? Why does it feel online poker is rigged? Do you really believe it is rigged? Then please share your reasons why you think in such a way in the comment section below.

Pocket pairs are doubly enticing in no-limit hold’em. Not only do you already have a “made hand” — that is, one pair even before the community cards arrive — but the relative rarity of being dealt two of a kind makes the hand all the more attractive. You only stand to be dealt pocket pairs once every 17 hands, which can make them hard to resist playing, even if it is just a lowly pair of deuces.

But while pocket pairs are nice starters, they aren’t always nice finishers, particularly when you’ve been dealt “medium” pocket pairs ( down to ) or “small” pocket pairs ( down to ) — in other words, hands that don’t stand to remain best all of the way to the river without improvement.

Frequently players who have been dealt small-to-medium pocket pairs wish to see a flop primarily with a hope of hitting a set. Flopping sets can be especially lucrative, leading to the winning of relatively big pots. Say a player raises with and you call from the big blind with . A flop of can then translate into a big win for you as your opponent takes his top pair, top kicker up against your hidden set of fives.

Such a strategy is sometimes referred to as “set mining,” with the phrase likening the seeking of an elusive set to mining for gold or other precious metals. The term also perhaps evokes the idea of a land mine — that is, a hidden explosive device — insofar as the opponent running into someone who has hit a set will sometimes endure significant damage to his or her stack.

Usually “set mining” refers to players calling preflop raises with those small-to-medium pocket pairs, and that’s the situation we’re focusing on here. Sometimes you’ll want to raise with pocket pairs — even small ones — depending on position, stack size, your opponents’ tendencies, and a host of other factors. But let’s just look at the decision over whether or not to call a raise with a small pocket pair in the hopes of hitting a set and winning big.

Say you are in the first level of a tournament and the blinds are 25/50. A player in middle position raises to 150 and it folds around to you in the big blind holding . When it comes to the math of set mining, there are two questions worth knowing the answers to when deciding whether or not to call with the primary purpose of improving to a set. (Again, we’re setting aside instances when a reraise might be in order.)

The answer to one of these questions never changes, while the answer to the second depends on the situation.

How often will you flop a set with a pocket pair?

We noted above how the odds suggest you’ll be dealt a pocket pair once every 17 hands. That’s one of those unchanging truths about hold’em. There are 78 different combinations of pocket pairs and 1,326 total combinations of two cards, and 1,326 divided by 78 is exactly 17.

So, too, does the chance of flopping a set remain constant in hold’em. Here the math is a little more complicated, but it works out to just a little worse than 7.5-to-1 that a trey will fall if you are holding . That’s a little under 12% of the time.

That never changes. What does change is how profitable flopping a set might be should you do so. Thus, your second question...

How much will you win if you flop a set?

First, let’s look at the pot odds being offered when the blinds are 25/50, an opponent raises to 150, and you’re considering a call from the big blind. There is 225 in the middle with the raise (your big blind of 50 is already committed), and you need to call 100 more to see the flop. Calling 100 to win 225 here would mean you are being offered pot odds of 2.25-to-1. That wouldn’t be such a good call if you know the only way you can win is to flop a set and the odds of that happening are 7.5-to-1. You’d want pot odds closer to that ratio (or better) to proceed.

Poker Pairs

But you aren’t looking merely to win the 225 in the middle. You hope to win a lot more than that if you flop a set. Thus it is important to consider both your own and your opponent’s stacks and think about how much more you can potentially win should you successfully hit that set — in other words, the implied odds being offered to you.

One way to think about this problem is to realize if you are only going to flop a set once every 8.5 times you call such a raise, you therefore would need to make at least 8.5 times your investment in order to break even when making calls in this spot. In truth, however, there will be times when you flop a set and win very little. You’ll even lose sometimes when flopping a set. So you need to win considerably more than just 8.5 times your investment in order to justify calling and set mining.

Some have suggested a “Rule of 10” in this situation that says you must stand to win at least 10 times the calling amount in order to proceed with your set mining. Others put the figure even higher at 20 times the amount you’re calling. In other words, by calling the 100 you’d want to win 2,000 if you flop your set — which means, of course, that you and your opponent each must have at least 2,000 behind for you to call.

The point is the effective stacks need to be deep enough to justify making what would otherwise be a not-so-great call. The big math error in this spot would be just to call an opponent who has too short of a stack to justify your set mining. Say he raises to 150 and leaves himself just 500 behind — to call with an idea of flopping a set in that spot would be a mistake.

Set mining is only one of many possible approaches to take when playing small-to-medium pairs. But if you do choose to play a pocket pair passively before the flop by calling a raise, be sure to understand both the (slim) chances of hitting your set as well as what you stand to win if you do.

_{Photo “Treasure hunter,” Les Chatfield. Creative CommonsAttribution 2.0 Generic.}

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