Online poker being rigged is something way too many players think, when it’s quite clear that most just don’t use proper bankroll management, don’t understand or underestimate variance, and more. Here’s Phil Galfond explaining in our new edition of Poker Twitter News, why poker sites don’t cheat their players.
Major poker sites are not dumb enough to rig their software for more action.
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) February 19, 2023
But there are some "conspiracy theorists" that think so...
Here's what they don't understand: ⬇️
2/ Company Ethics
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) February 19, 2023
As many have correctly pointed out: Several big companies in poker (& outside of it) have done shady things.
I want to be clear that I don’t think all big sites are morally above rigging the RNGs for action.
I just think they’d have to be idiots…
4/ The Cap
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) February 19, 2023
Most major sites have a rake percentage & a rake cap.
As an example, at $100nl they might take 5% of the pot, up to a total of 3 big blinds.
This means that once a pot is 60bbs, they don’t take any extra as the pot grows.
Pushing pots to 200+VB doesn’t help, and…
6/ Active Players: The Holy Grail
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) February 19, 2023
Poker sites make money when players play.
Obvious, right?
More players = more hands = more rake
AND
The more players on the site, the larger the tournament prize pools, the more cash games available, the easier it is to attract MORE players.
8/ Players Need Money
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) February 19, 2023
When players win money, they often cash out. When players go broke, some leave.
Active players are EVERYTHING to a site.
Increasing rake generation by 33% with “juiced pots” is NOTHING compared to the cost of making more players cash out and go broke!
9/ The Ideal
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) February 19, 2023
A site’s ideal outcome would be every hand seeing a flop.
A bunch of 60bb pots every hand that push the money back and forth.
Nobody winning or losing much.
Set over sets left & right doesn’t accomplish this.
Rigging for more action would be counterproductive.
10/ Not the Way
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) February 19, 2023
So my point wasn’t that big business aren’t willing to take the risk for a little extra $.
It was that this isn’t the way.
And I know some of you are thinking, “Well then sites could rig the RNG to make people see flops and pass medium pots back and forth!”…
I could go on about the intricacies of RNGs and costs and poker ecology, but I’ve made the point I was trying to.
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) February 19, 2023
I hope you found it interesting!
Follow me @PhilGalfond for more.
And bookmark to share this thread the next time someone talks about a rigged RNG! https://t.co/Dnu7jjTj1D
Honestly, if these 11 points from a player with a reputation like Galfond’s won’t convince you then almost certainly nothing will.
