The World of illegal Game of Hazard – Online Poker (Part 2)

Reinhold Schmitt
ISA-GUIDE Chefredakteur (V.i.S.d.P.)
E-Mail: info@isa-guide.de


(rs) You, as Reader, seem to be interested in this theme. You like to know more about the world of Online Poker. You have heard about it, you have got first background-information in our Introductory Report, but you are basically sceptic, because for you it is something completely new?

And you have got tons of questions and want the answers? You are sceptic, because it is this time a Computer-Software that is giving the cards out and leads the game, instead of the croupiers. You ask yourself maybe also, after which criterions here has been shuffled and whether all players at the table are really “genuine” players, or whether they are likely to have generated Robot-Players, who must keep the game going.

And of course you like to know more about which differences are between a game, that you already know from the Casino and the Game on your Computer. In this part there will be cleared up the most questions and you will get a more profound know-how on this matter.

Now, basically it has to be said that the game-rules of the Poker-Parties in the Internet with those in the Game-Casinos, who you know from your visits, are almost identical. There are rules regarding Table-Limit, Minimum-Buy-In and the official Stake-rules. The most of the servers allow for example the usual rules as 1 Bet plus 3 Raise per betting-lap, but this is also only valid with more than 2 players, otherwise is the Amount Raise per betting-lap, but this is also limited, if only 2 players play against each other. In the most “real” Casinos this rule is only valid when there are more than 2 players, otherwise is the amount Raise per betting-turn unlimited.
Online should this be guaranteed as a safety that in case of any technical problems, when for example there should a failure is on a Computer occurred – the player could not just loose his entire Table-Stake within one game.

It is allowed that the players are having a conversation in the Online-Room via Chat. But the language is English, so that everyone can understand, what it is about. Foul Language is not accepted – and who is insulting on other players and writes unfair about other players, can be loosing his Chat-privileges. Technically regarded, it is a ingenious invention. The games‘ processes are nearly perfect, it is not possible that a hand would be read wrongly at a Showdown and the Pot would not go over to the winner. A Computer Software regulates the entire process and the highest Hand wins a Pot in any case.
Should there a player to be going offline due to a Internet Delay, this would be first of all to be proved by the Server. The Player has a certain period of time until getting connected once again with the Server. If this should not going to happen there are 2 possibilities: Either the player is “all-in”, when he is already in the game with a certain amount; should the disconnection-situation occur while he is being getting his Starting-Cards and has still not invested any money, and this had passed his Wait- and Re-Connect-Period, without him being online, his Hand is going to be folded. If any player tries by purpose to letting himself be going “all-in”, by the fact he is only pretending to be gone disconnected, so the Game-Software examines it and when it is found out that the connection was basically good, then the Hand will be folded and the player is out off the game. Before some time ago it has still been possible, to apply this “Trick” unfairly wise in situations, in that a player had the feeling of he would being beaten and would not like to invest any money anymore. So he let himself just go “all-in” and had always still the chance to win the Pot, although he had not to risk any more. This problem has been solved meanwhile already a long time ago and the quality of the connection is kept on to be monitored. Who for example goes offline in spite of that, by just maybe simply having him disconnected the connecting-wire to his PC, is going to be registered and if all this happens more often, it can happen that he will be locked out from the game in future.

A further essential difference to the Live Poker is the fact that some Poker-Server accept up to or even 5 Tables simultaneously. That is very uncertain to be imagined of a less-skilled and little experienced player. You might think maybe that you find it hard to play at 2 Tables at the same time without loosing the overview, how it could be played then on 3 or 4 or even 5 Tables? You will laugh about it, but there are players, who are skilled to play parallel at up to 7 or 8 Tables, with 2 screens and by 2 different Poker-Game-Server.

In the Internet-Poker is the Tax lower than in a Poker-Casino. While one feels within Casinos that the Taxes of 1 – 15 Euro/Game plus Service-Tip are totally normal, will be surprised that in the internet there are only 3 Dollars per Pot taken, and that is taken within items of a margin from 3 to 5 Percent in 1-Dollar-Units. This enables one to play even lower limits, because it is taken out of the Pot over-proportional much.
In Las Vegas at a 4/8 Dollar Limit Hold’em-Game at the Strip there are 4 Dollars Rake taken. Additionally there is 1 Dollar Tip for the Dealer is regarded as normal, on bigger Pots there is been given more. Let us compare this with the regular tariff of the same player in the internet, from whose got taken from only 3 Dollars per lap, then at the end of the month it will be found out, how much Tax one can save.

But Attention! The whole can also be deceptive. Assume you are playing constantly on one for him self justifiable limit , as for example 3/& Texas Hold’em and you are an average player and you are playing 2-3 Tables at the same time, over 4 Hours per Day. Because of the high Gambling-Speed you could by this kind and manner play some 150-180 Hands per Hour. Of these you could then have so some approximately 20-25 playable Hands, of which you might win 6-10 Hands, if it goes on well. That means, you are paying also about 25-30 Dollars Tax to the proprietor per hour.

But as there could be in a Live Game only in the best case 30-35 Hands distributed per Hour, there will never be the same fluctuation as in the internet. Experts are saying again, that a reasonable Bankroll consists of 250-300 Big Bets. For a constant play of 3/6-Niveau it is hence needed some 1.500-1.800 Dollars, in order to be assured that one is not loosing even in bad phases his survey over himself and of his finances.

By this we came hence to the true core-difference: The high fluctuation rate at one Online-party could be brought back about that one gets per Hour per Table approximately double as many Hands as in every other Casino on this Planet. So if one plays 2-3 Tables at the same time, that one could loose in a 2/4 Limit Texas Hold’em Game within of 2-3 Hours theoretically 200-300 Dollars.

We have often mentioned in the report the Game Texas Hold’em. This Version of Poker is today and online the most popular and hence the most played variant. Besides that it is a matter of course also the 7-Card-Stud, Omaha High-Low and other variants. But who wants to be successful online, has to be in any case familiar with the fineness of Texas Hold’em. The reason for it is just really simple: First of all is Texas Hold’em one of the most popular Poker-games worldwide and has already overtaken the other version, 7-Card-Stud. In the Online-Game it is as it is said to be, that one can play at several Tables at the same time. The Game-Software is programmed that it calls always the player at the table, where he must be making his next move. It can hence not happen under normal circumstances that one gets a Time-out, because one has to play at 2 Tables at the same time. The Software in that case jumps from one table to the other, so that there would not be any of unnecessary delays and one gets the chance to play at both tables. For the 7-Card-Stud is a multi-table Game not recommendable, as one has to memorise the Cards that have passed, but for the Texas Hold’em it is not necessary. The cards that lay in the middle, hence the Board, is decisive for the course of the Hand, and every Chip-move, hence every Raise, Call, Fold etc. could be recognised very easy, even when one has been playing at the moment of act just at another Table.

Let us assume once that you are now for the first time at such a virtual Poker-Table and playing with fun-money your favourite game, Texas Hold’em. So it is most likely to seem to be a but funny:

The atmosphere is a bit strange, seems almost to be like in a cartoon. At the table are though players sitting but this are only painted figures. Also the Dealer has its place at the table, but he is also just a fictive imagination by the viewer. There is the colourful decoration, up to the animated rustle of the cards and game-chips. Some Poker-sites have even speaking Dealers that are giving one the impression that here is though something still “real”. The cards are distributed in highest speed and the process of the shuffling is as that professional, that it is comparable to approximately the 10-fold of the normal shuffling-process as you know from the casinos. The player should get maximum security, (according to proprietors) and it must be guaranteed that the process of the game occurs effectively due to coincidences out of the shuffling-process.

Manipulations from the side of the proprietor would have fatale consequences and would bring a online-proprietor very fast out of the business. Why?
It is soon obvious to a practiced Poker-player, when anything gets to be strange as a matter of course. If the cards are over proportionally well, those one gets, but one is still keep on loosing, then is something going on wrong. Experience-worth shows a player, how often one should win with AA and how often one gets his Flush, when one starts with 2 cards of the same colour and meets a possible Flush in Flop (first 3 cards of the board). When these statistic quotes differ unusually apart, then the monitoring-programs grasp and then must have been assumed that the Chances-generator functions different than he really should.

There are some Features and possibilities, over who it could be written here. Who for example is attracted of tournaments will find an offer in the internet, which he would not have been courageous even to dream of. Exactly as Chris Moneymaker it made last year, it can at this time be played on the most of the online servers by Super-Satellites’ Tournaments about Vegas Dream Packages, at which one gets the flight/ hotel/extra expenses and Buy-In. But it is anyway and staying a gamble – a game about the luck.

In the next part we are going to highlight the legal side and give you additional information.