R U Really sure online poker is not rigged?

Ace-Korea · #1 10-30-2003, 05:35 PM

If you got a minute, let me tell you what happened to me and then I'll ask you a question at the end.

About three months ago, I wanted to learn how to play poker. It seemed like everyone knew how to play it except moi. So I went to this web site and learned the basic rules for 5-card draw poker. It was difficult for me to remember all the rankings (e.g. whether straight is better or flush is better), but I got the basic picture.

Then I played Hold 'em at Yahoo! Games. (They didn't have 5-card draw.) For a couple of days, I kept losing (play money), but I quickly caught on. About after 2-3 days, I started winning on a consistent basis. And then I thought to myself, 'Hey, maybe I could make money by playing this game for real money.' Oops!

Anyway, I found an online poker site (I'll leave it as anonymous for now) and started to play for REAL money. Now, this was exactly one week after I learned how to play poker.

I don't know whether it was beginner's luck or what, but I kept winning. I started to play on a Thursday afternoon, and I kept winning until Sunday. (So my winning sessions lasted for two and a half days.)

And then, on Sunday, I lost everything. And then some more. (Much more actually...)

So here's my question to you. If the game was not rigged, how much money do you think I could have won assuming that all my opponents were terrible at poker and I was lucky every single time?

I played at $5/$10, $10/20, $20/$40 tables, both short-handed (6 total) and full ring table (10 total).

The amount of deposit I made was $50.00.

I played for 2.5 days and I'm almost positive that I didn't play more than 3 hours per day. (So less than 10 hours of total playing time.) I only played one table at a time.

I was totally a beginner. I didn't read any poker books or articles on poker. (For god's sakes, I didn't even know an Ace could be used to make the lowest straight, A2345.)

So how much do you think I won? (I'll post the answer later.)

pudley4 · #2 10-30-2003, 05:52 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I played at $5/$10, $10/20, $20/$40 tables, both short-handed (6 total) and full ring table (10 total)...less than 10 hours of total playing time.

If the game was not rigged, how much money do you think I could have won assuming that all my opponents were terrible at poker and I was lucky every single time?

[/ QUOTE ]

Several thousand dollars.

[ QUOTE ]
So how much do you think I won?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll guess $4,500 (but won't be terribly surprised if it's many thousands more)

Ace-Korea · #3 11-01-2003, 01:33 AM

Wow, I can't believe you guys think that the variance could be that high (or SHOULD it be?). With my rough calculations, I won about 20 big bets per hour (on average) for 2.5 days at $10/$20 table. I guess IT IS possible, especially since the number of sessions was very low. I guess I'm just having a hard time letting it go since I totally sucked back then.

Anyways, thank you all for your comments. I'm downloading Pokertracker right now, so when I dig up some hand histories, I'll post it here for you guys to see.

Happy Holloween.

Copernicus · #4 11-01-2003, 02:31 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I guess I'm just having a hard time letting it go since I totally sucked back then.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you think you dont almost totally suck now then you underestimate the complexity of hold em.

Ace-Korea · #5 11-01-2003, 05:16 AM

"If you think you dont almost totally suck now then you underestimate the complexity of hold em."

I only discussed about my skill level when I was just starting to play hold 'em. If you're assuming that I still 'totally suck' because it's been only 3 months since I started to play, then well... I guess you're not totally wrong.

However, I improved a lot since then. I might still 'totally suck' to your standard, but I don't think I'll lose money the way I lost it ever again.

I didn't know anything about pot odds, pre-flop strategy, and so forth. But now, I'm reading the Super System, Sklansky's books, and a couple others and they've been really helpful.

I don't underestimate the complexity. In fact, the complexity is what makes the game so interesting. At the same time, I'm not going to forget what happened to me in the beginning. But thanks for your comment.

irchans · #6 11-01-2003, 09:01 AM

Here is a suggestion. Never play a game where the big bet is larger than your current bankroll divided by 300. That way you will stay away from the higher stakes until you have earned enough at the lower stakes.

Copernicus · #7 11-03-2003, 12:56 AM

i said ALMOST totally, not totally. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

KSU78 · #8 11-03-2003, 03:41 AM

I have been playing online for some time, about 2 years. I have a good feeling about some sites and not-so-good of one at others. At the end of last July my account at one site was down to $80. It was over $10,000 at the beginning of last month without adding any additional funds to it. I figured that I had a compounding growth rate of 5.6% per day. My normal game was $3-6 short-handed. I have been trying micro no-limit and my growth rate so far is about 50% per day. I can only hope that it stays there but, of course, it is a short-term thing.

Gabe · #9 10-30-2003, 05:59 PM

$7500?

tomcain · #10 10-30-2003, 06:05 PM

Here are my thoughts and I only started playing a few weeks ago myself, although I certainly knew basic poker.

The play money tables are very different than real money tables. They are very loose, to say the least. I was up many thousands before I started with a .10/.25 real table.

It is certainly gutsy to start at a $5/$10 table. I still have not hit one of those. I would say you hit a very lucky streak, although prolonged.

I have seen other people wonder about the same thing, but for losing instead of winning. I don't see that the online games have any benefit to rigging anything. They only make money if you continue to play.

Good luck. Tom