Although there are still some who worry about the legal
aspects of playing online poker, players should no longer
be concerned about the safety, the security of their money,
and their identity when playing online. The proliferation
of online poker use has resulted a growing number of extremely
popular and reputable online poker sites. Rather than focus
on safety concerns, online poker players should choose a
site based on action, sign-up bonuses, and desired opponent
skill-level.
Choosing an established and trusted poker
site is the most important step in ensuring a safe and
worry-free online poker experience. Potential players should
consider site encryption, shuffling-integrity, anti-collusion
measures, and deposit information when selecting a site.
With these in mind, it has never been easier to play online
poker because there are a number of very well established,
professional, trusted, and exceedingly popular online
poker sites to choose from.
Every online poker player should approach the potential
online poker site with a few basic concerns. They should
first decide what sort of online poker games they prefer
to play. Some players prefer to play at sites with heavy
traffic whereas others prefer sites with relatively few
opponents. Once they have decided they should make sure
the poker site satisfies a few basic requirements before
transferring any money.
Firstly, they should ensure that all communication with
the site is protected by 128-bit encryption. Most sites
will either mention this on their homepage, their signup
or their information page. This is a primary concern for
playing online poker because without 128-bit encryption
hackers have the ability to steal credit-card information,
addresses, telephone numbers, and any other personal information
you give to the online poker site. Nearly every site utilizes
128-bit encryption and there is no reason to play online
poker at a site if it is not offered.
Once this has been established it is important to find
out whether the credit-card information is held on a separate
secured-server from the game client. A reputable site should
make mention of their security systems and should have a
comprehensive privacy policy to ensure that your information
is not sold or used in any other way. If you are uncertain
about this site use another form of payment other then your
Credit Card. Please visit our Funding
Options page to find out other ways to fund your online
poker account.
Once the basic security concerns have been relieved there
are a few extra security precautions for online poker players.
The first is government regulation. A number of sites are
regulated by foreign governments such as Kahnawake (a native
reservation in Canada), however, regulation is not entirely
required. Regulation may provide some peace of mind when
playing online poker, but other sites without regulation
can be equally trustworthy. Certain jurisdictions that provide
regulation offer little more than a professional looking
logo in terms of actual security so do not rely solely on
some form of government regulation to decide on a site.
Another possible online security issue is the shuffling
algorithm that the online poker sites to deal the cards.
Pretty much all sites can be trusted to have a reputable
algorithm so long as they display signs of integrity. Furthermore,
some online poker sites have their algorithm reviewed by
3rd party auditors. This ensures that the shuffling is as
fair and random as possible, and therefore, creating the
most real-life poker game possible.
Poker Sites should also be forthcoming about their ability
to override collusion. They should keep a backup of all
played online poker games and each player should be able
to review his/her own hands at any time. This ensures that
if there is a dispute over a specific game management can
review it for errors and make corrections as needed. There
is ample technology available to thwart colluders online
so any online poker room should have it in place. Not only
should the software have built-in detectors to ensure that
players are not winning under questionable circumstances,
but there should be a staff member manually checking out
player complaints. Also, one should always play at a site
that has enough dealers and support staff to ensure that
any problems can be taken care of immediately. Even a highly
reputable site is bound to have problems and there is nothing
worse than having to wait around for help when you’d
prefer to be playing online poker.
Although the online poker phenomenon is fairly recent there
are a number of online poker rooms that have over five years
of experience. Any online poker room with a long-standing
history should be safe, though if you have any doubts of
its legitimacy you’re probably better off trying another
room. There are so many online poker rooms that are obviously
reputable that there is no reason to play elsewhere. If,
however, a bonus seems too good to be true you do a search
for that site, and furthermore, if there is excessive negative
feedback on the site you should avoid it. Please keep in
mind that all sites may have some negative feedback so just
make sure all the above mentioned Online Poker Security
measures have bee met. Good Luck!