Is online poker fair?
Whether online poker is fair can be explained by looking at a few aspects on internet gambling.
Let's look at random number generators first. Internet poker rooms don't have live dealers so they use some other means to shuffle and deal the virtual poker cards. Most poker sites use a random number generators (RNGs) to determine which cards come off the deck. RNGs are advanced applications that give absolutely random results. Poker room's RNGs are among the most advanced RNGs in the world.
All poker websites go through accreditation by third party testing companies. There are groups like Cigital Accreditation and Technical Systems Testing Accreditation that conduct tests on the poker room's RNGs, and then give public and accurate reports.
What about the rake? Full Tilt Poker uses a 5% rake schedule with a $3 maximum. The MGM takes $1 of rake every time the pot reaches $10. So, Full Tilt offers a better rake than the MGM's poker room. Remember also that there is no tipping at online poker tables, and you will see that playing online is much "cheaper" than playing at live poker tables.
Can online players at the table collude in an effort to outsmart the other players at the table? This is called "collusion", and is illegal in live poker rooms and highly frowned upon at online poker rooms. The most common way that players collude online is to use cell phones or instant messenger programs.
However, it is very easy for internet poker rooms to see this behavior, because it is so out of line with normal poker behavior. Most colluders are very poor at their job and end up going broke because they don't know what they are doing.
Multi-accounting is another way players cheat at online poker. This happens when one player has multiple accounts at the same poker site, and enters the same multi-table tournament more than once. Poker sites do not allow players with the same IP address to join the same cash tables or sit and gos – only multi table tournaments.