Online poker is a multi-billion dollar industry that draws in players from all corners of the world. Players expect that the game will be fair, and a rigged game can ruin the experience for everyone. There have been a few instances of cheating in the past, but it is extremely difficult for anyone to get away with it in a regulated environment. The game is constantly being audited by reputable companies such as eCOGRA, and there are so many checks and balances in place that it would be professional suicide for an online poker site to cheat its players.
Another concern that people have about online poker is that it moves at a much faster pace than live poker. This is because you are dealing with a running clock and there is a real possibility that you will lose your hand if you don’t make a decision within a certain time period. This can lead to players going on monkey tilt and throwing away their entire bankroll.
This is why it is important to have a good money management strategy and stick with it no matter what happens at the table. Also, you should try to play only strong hands such as suited connectors and pocket pairs that have a high probability of becoming a winning hand by the river. This way you can maximize your profits and minimize your losses.
There have been some cases of disgruntled employees stealing player information from their employer’s website, but this is very rare. It is also not very profitable for an online poker site to knowingly cheat its players. They have a lot riding on their reputation and the fact that top-ranked players are always on their guard means that there is a big risk of a scandal if they cheated.
A recent study by Nelson et al. (2021) examined player behavior on a major online gambling operator’s website. They found that the same trends observed by LaPlante et al. (2009) over a decade ago were still present in their latest study. These results indicate that gambling landscapes and environments may be somewhat resilient to extreme change, at least in the case of online poker.
This is great news for Californians who want to be able to play online poker in the future, but one thing to keep in mind is that before California can join a multi-state poker agreement it must first pass its own regulation and license operators on the state level. If this happens in the future, California will be able to sign up for the MSIGA or other interstate poker compacts, and it could see its share of the online poker market increase significantly.