Is Online Poker Safe

Is it Safe to Play Poker Online?

With any activity on the internet involving money, there is always a concern about the safety aspects of that particular online activity. When I say that I play poker online and have made a decent profit out of my hobby the question that pops up is: Is online poker safe? The answer to that question is ‘Yes’. But let us first understand the risks involved in playing online, or some of the dangers of online poker.

What are the risks involved in playing poker online?

I wouldn’t consider online poker any more dangerous than purchasing stuff from eBay. In case of online poker, you are using your credit card to purchase poker chips instead of goods. When you shop online, there is the possibility of your personal information like bank details being stolen. Although you are taking a small risk using your credit card online, today that risk is minimal as compared to the past. All online sites have stringent security measures in place so you can be assured of the safety of your personal information. On your part, you should also take some precautions like having an antivirus scanner and a firewall in place to protect your computer.

Reliability of the Poker site.

People are often distrustful of something they cannot physically see or touch and this is an understandable emotion when it comes to trusting the poker site with their precious money. But then, this again is similar to online shopping. Wouldn’t you shop online only at a reputed online store? The same goes for an online poker room. Play at one of the most popular, reliable and reputable poker rooms and you should be just fine.

Problem Gambling.

There are plenty of moral objections to the activity of gambling in general. Many people claim that online poker or gambling increases the incidence of problem gambling. They believe the convenience online poker affords allows problem gamblers to satisfy their cravings much easily. But in reality, problem gambling affects only a miniscule of the gambling population. If you do have a problem, then there are various resources that could help take care of the issue.

Poor Game Security.

Poor software integrity could allow a hacker to crack the random shuffle algorithm allowing him to see the cards. This, however, is no longer an issue due to the development of online gaming software and technology to take care of these problems. Today, all online poker sites have obtained certification for ensuring randomness and fair gaming; they are also licensed and regulated by gaming authorities and should you encounter any problem you can expect quick redress of the issue.

Since we now know the risks involved in playing poker online, we can take precautions to avoid these dangers. Your main concern while playing online is whether your money is safe. The best way to ensure that your funds are hundred percent safe is to join a poker site that has a large number of satisfied players, has been in the industry for a long while and one that has been generating large profits each year that it has been in operation. Such poker sites are reputed and have earned their good name over the years by keeping their customers happy and satisfied. Your funds will surely be safe with them.

Another issue that gives cause for concern to some is whether the poker gaming software is rigged, making it unsafe to play poker online. This point typically comes up when the player has some bad runs and goes about telling all and sundry via poker forums and message boards about the software being rigged. In reality, bad runs are a natural part of poker game play caused due to various factors, especially due to bad decisions by the players. Most of the time, such players cannot be honest with themselves and accept the fact that they are not very good at playing poker.

The randomness or unpredictability of the cards being dealt depends on the random number generator, which is the mainstay of the online poker site. The random number generator ensures that the cards are distributed in an unpredictable manner and there are no biases. Many people believe that the casino rooms and poker sites fix the random number generator so as to benefit the house. But this is far from the truth. Why would online poker sites want to rig the software to get a paltry sum from clients, when they earn huge amounts of profit legitimately? So, the conspiracy theory that the poker software is rigged does not hold water. Besides, any effort to rig the software would hardly escape the ever vigilant online poker community.

Online poker rooms try to make all possible efforts to create a random and unpredictable shuffle – all poker sites make the best efforts to provide an unbiased and fair gambling environment to their players. So, whichever poker site you play at, you are guaranteed a fair gaming environment. Ensuring fair play is in the interest of the poker rooms as well since they have to live up to their reputation to retain their customers’ confidence.

Finally, we come back to our initial question of whether online poker is safe. It can be concluded from our discussions that playing poker online is indeed safe. With so many thousands of players playing online poker, winning their games and cashing out without any problems, I’d say it is quite safe to play online poker.