[benfranklin]

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It was simply to play Devil's advocate, and point out to people who insist, with great certainty, that online poker is not rigged, that they are about as lacking in the proof department as anyone else.

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You either have not read or have not understood many of the posts here. No one is insisting "with great certainty" that online poker is not rigged. Many of us here are insisting that:

1. there has been not a shred of evidence that online poker is rigged other than the usual "Everyone knows that there are more runner-runner suck outs online.";

2. all available quantitative information (hand histories, players' data bases, etc.) show results 100% in line with statistical expectations; and

3. those of us who have studied the game and know how to play find that the results at the table are entirely consistent with what we would expect, both in terms of theory and live experiences.

Therefore, the logical and efficient course is to procede under the assumption that online poker is not rigged until it is proven otherwise.

As far the failure to provide proof that online poker is not rigged, that is conceptually impossible. You generally cannot prove a negative proposition. Can you prove that you have never cheated on your spouse (assuming you have one)? No. Can you prove that you have never stolen anything? No. That is the legal principle behind the assumption of innocent until proven guilty. It is not because we are nice people who give everyone the benefit of the doubt. It is because not guilty is a very difficult thing to prove, while guilty can be shown with a single fact.

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Of course this is a huge factor as to why many people insist that online poker is rigged, however it does not in the least bit negate from fact that it is still possible.

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All of the online-is-rigged nuts fall back on the argument that since it is possible, it must be true. The same argument is used to show that we didn't land on the moon, that the UN is using black helicopters to take over the US, that ETs hang out at trailer parks, etc. Online-is-rigged is the ultimate ploy in self-denial. I am not a loser, but I am losing at poker, so it must be rigged.

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Just because there is documented evidence of people beating the games long-term, does not mean that a site has not devised clever little ways of pulling that little bit extra out of the game.

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The absurdity of this is stunning. The work required would be enormous, as would the bad PR if if came out. And given the number of people involved in the industry it would come out. Has no one ever considered how much Stars would benefit if they could prove that Party was rigged? You think they don't watch Party for evidence?

If Party wanted to pull "that little bit extra out of the game", they can do it openly. A few minor tweaks on the rake structure would get them millions. They could announce it in a small bulletin buried somewhere on their web site and few players even notice.

People who can't accept the simplest explanation, that online poker is not rigged, are people who cannot accept the personal consequences and implications of that explanation.