Top 3 Tips to Avoid Being Cheated Online

Being able to play poker online from the comfort of your own home, sitting comfortably in front of your computer is great. Nobody will deny that. It was thanks to online poker that the game became so popular all over the world.

That said, playing online and against “invisible” opponents does come with its own set of risks.

While online poker definitely isn’t rigged in the sense that the rooms themselves would somehow manipulate hands to create more action, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t cheaters out there who’ll happily take you to the cleaners if you aren’t careful.

Even in the live arena, it’s hard to keep things under control at all times, as evident from the Mike Postle scandal. Online, you need to be really careful and watch your own back even more because rooms alone often lack the capacity (and sometimes the will as well) to deal with the cheaters decisively.

1. Pay attention to any collusion going on

If you play any form of tournament poker, be it MTTs, sit and goes, or anything in between, collusion between players can seriously hurt your bottom line. Because of the way payouts work in tournaments, you’ll be at a serious disadvantage if two or three players work together and focus on eliminating you while making sure all of them stay in play.

Collusion usually isn’t that hard to spot, especially when you regularly play in the same games. You’ll frequently see a few same players moving chips back and forth but basically never busting each other out.

If you have serious doubts about collusion, don’t be shy about reporting to the room and stay away from these games for a little while. If nothing happens and the same pattern continues, you should probably consider changing the game format or maybe even the site altogether.

2. Review your hands for strange patterns

One great thing about online poker is that you have access to all of your hand histories. If something doesn’t feel right lately, you can always go back to your hands and go through them one by one, focusing on big pots and the general tendencies of your opponents.

This is one of the best ways to notice the presence of poker bots in your games. Lately, poker bots have become much better, and they’re no longer just an inconvenience. Some of these programs play pretty well and don’t make any big mistakes, which makes them tough “opponents.”

If bots infest the games, you’ll often be able to recognize them by bet sizes in different spots. You’ll probably notice that certain players make the same bet sizes in the same spots all the time. Bots from the same source will usually have very similar basic stats, such as VPIP, PFR, preflop 3-bet, etc.

If you have concerns over bots, the best course of action is to compare your stats with those of other players you know are actually human. If a few of you come up with the same conclusion, you should send your complaint to the room and ask them to take a closer look into suspicious accounts.

3. Keep your computer safe

If you do anything serious online, you’ll want to make sure your computer is safe and protected. Online cheaters will not hesitate to try and attack you using all sorts of viruses and key loggers and you don’t have to be anywhere near the Dan Bilzerian net worth to become an interesting target.

The first advice on staying safe is to be very mindful of receiving and opening any files sent to you. If someone sends you an unsolicited file via email or Skype, don’t rush to open it. Even if the file seems to be coming from a sender you trust, it’s not that hard to disguise an email address.

Running a decent antivirus on your computer is also a good way to protect yourself from external threats. These programs can be annoying at times and slow things down, which is why many players decide not to use them at all.

Spend some time testing different antivirus programs and find the one that you can live with. Online poker cheaters are always looking for new victims and having that piece of software installed can make all the difference in the world if someone decides you’d make a great next target.

About the Author

Tadas Peckaitis is a professional poker player, author, and poker coach at mypokercoaching.com. He writes for a range of online publications and helps other poker players to excel. If you are looking to up your game or find interesting information about poker, you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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