How do online poker sites determine cards?

[wacki]

Yes, probably the most limiting factor is the random number seed. If the seed is generated by a human, would you consider the shuffle random?

[wacki]

Also, I'm a firm believer that an analog computer can create truly random numbers. The only problem is you can't prove that they are random. So, as far as I know we stick to digital methods.

[Dan Mezick]

Maybe this is part of the reason also:

Action Flops Online: Raising the Rake

[Smasharoo]

You're kidding about the action flops thing, I hope.

[M.B.E.]

[ QUOTE ]
it kinda bothers me they use the term random..no computer or algorithm can produce a truely random number.

[/ QUOTE ]
In fact, online poker sites do use truly random numbers to shuffle the cards. Refer to this post in the Beginners Questions forum.

[pudley4]

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe this is part of the reason also:

Action Flops Online: Raising the Rake

[/ QUOTE ]

GCA is a liar, a troll, and a moron. His credibility is near-zero.

[CrisBrown]

Hi Dan,

I read the argument, and I think it's absurd. It's nothing more than the usual "it's hard to beat bad players because they call too much" argument that gets raised (and crushed) here on a regular basis, coupled with an "I can't prove it but they can't disprove it either" conspiracy theory about online cardrooms shaving the odds to favor the fish and keep them playing.

Basically, this is written by a player who overvalues pair hands and thinks they ought to win whenever he gets them. Well ... they don't. Wah-wah ... get used to it.

Cris

[laja]

lol sorry posted that last one in the wrong thread

[PokrLikeItsProse]

This is how I've been told Full Tilt Poker does things:

They have a hardware random number generator (background radiation counter) and additional entropy (randomness) is created by action at the tables. Bet amounts, time taken, I'm not sure what exactly goes into it, but since it uses data from every table in play, there's no way that anyone can predict what happens.

The deck is "continually shuffling" until a card is needed. What this means is that your actions on the hand affect the randomness, but because all tables affect the randomness, you can't use your actions to try to game the system because you can't predict what others are doing. Basically, this means that noone can crack the server and figure out the next card before it comes, so it is (supposedly) more secure than any system that sets the deck. (It also means that if you had called a fraction of a second earlier, maybe the other guy wouldn't have hit runner-runner for the flush to beat your flopped set.

[Nilloc1204]

[ QUOTE ]
It also means that if you had called a fraction of a second earlier, maybe the other guy wouldn't have hit runner-runner for the flush to beat your flopped set.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, that's gonna make me lose my mind. Thanks a lot!