Online poker has become the “rage” and provides easy access to players for one of the few gaming opportunities that is truly a skill game.  The internet now allows non-US players to pit their skills against each other without having to go to a poker room, casino or a friends house.  No matter the time of day or night, size of your bank roll, whether you are looking for a cash game or tournament, high stakes, low stakes or no stakes, you can find it.

A great deal of concern has been expressed about two things specifically; 1 whether online poker is “rigged” by the sites and 2 why the US Congress has “outlawed” online poker by creating roadblocks to depositing currency into their accounts using US banking methods including credit cards and EFT’s (Electronic Fund Transfers).

We have all seen comments in chat like “I’ve been Poker Starred” or “Party Pokered”, but the reputable sites would be foolish to jeopardize their “cash cow” by cheating. The bigger sites are making tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars with thousands of players and if "cheats" were programmed into the software you can be sure that word would get out and the sites would lose their players faster than Paris lost her virginity; and that is fast.  Online poker with the major sites is free of programmed cheats.

The cheats to worry about are the ones that get on a messenger or VOIP service with a few other guys and sit down at a cash table and collude to relieve people of their bankrolls. Here again, I think the reputable/big sites do every thing in their power to try to insure this does not happen. They will monitor tables to try to keep this to a minimum; trying to detect if the same people are sitting together, folding to each other and other tells that might indicate cheating. 

I think much of the distrust is based on repeated “bad beats” received online.  If this soley happened to me online then I probably would be suspicioius myself, but bad beats occur in live games almost as often as they do online; we just see more hands online.  If you have spent much time playing live poker I think you will agree.  How often have your Aces been cracked in a live game?  I know, me too!!!!!! 

Our online partners are the most reputable in the business and we stand behind them completely. We play there and suffer through the same ups and downs as you do. Don't think the next bad beat you receive is a rigged hand any more than the next suck-out you get is. Poker-is-poker after all.

Now if you want a real conspiracy story try the US legislation on for size.  This one is a dewsy.  The “illustrious” Congressional leaders passed a bill in October banning the use of credit cards to fund gaming accounts.  That piece of legislation has now been signed by GW and is law.  Some sites have now restricted players from the US from participating in their money games while others have been actively pursuing the throng looking for a place to participate.  Most of these sites were the publically traded companies that did not want to push the envelope with stock holders to appease/protect.  Party Poker, for instance, shut out US players and as a result thousands of PP faithful have had to go to other sites or quit altogether.  Many of these players have migrated to other sites like Poker Stars, Full Tilt, Absolute, Dream and Poker Room, much to their delight.  It is doubtful that sites like Party will ever completely recover the lost revenue should the US government decide to legalize, legislate and tax these online poker businesses.

It is quite obvious that some illegal activities are carried out on some less reputable sites.  My curiosity was peaked once on a small site I played at to get the soft money when I saw a heads up game of high limit Omaha in the lobby.  I went to the table to see what was going on and there were the 2 players sitting there with about $20,000 each and it looked like they were on automatic betting.  As fast as the cards would come out the bets would go back and forth until the hands were turned up and the winner assigned his chips.  Never a fold, never a check.  Always a bet, raise, re-raise and re-raise, faster than you could possible press the button.  It took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on, but these were 2 "bots" playing crooked accounts to the max until the funds were raked off.  Whoever owned the little site was laundering money through their site by raking off the "player accounts".  Obviously, this is the exception rather than the rule, but indicates a little why something needs to be done, but not to make poker illegal across the board.

It is our belief that if the powers that be would regulate the online poker industry it would do a lot of good for a game that is truly a skill game as well as giving them some more money to squander.  They could authenticate the software, regulate the business and tax it to their evil hearts content.  The only thing I can think of is that the gaming sites have not produced enough money through lobbyists to get this done yet.  I am sure it will, but when is the question, and at what price.  Come on guys, "Get 'er done!"

With all this being said, we at BetListings.com obviously would not encourage any US player to play for real money online since it is illegal, but if you must play do it for fun only as that is not illegal.  There are plenty of freeroll tournaments and play money games on almost any site. We would encourage our non-US guests to play at the sites we promote here.  They are reputable.  As for our US guests play for fun and write your Representative and Senators to see if they will get off their collective asses and do something constructive with our favorite passtime.

Enjoy your play and best of luck.