Security Measures used at Poker Rooms

With more and more cases of cheating in online poker rooms being revealed many players are afraid that the games they participate in are not fair. Online poker rooms are aware of this and as a result the poker software must be updated to meet the players’ demands for security. Security online is not only a matter of technology guarding the player’s personal information, it is also about tracking down cheaters that win games by abusing the software. When you chose to play in a poker room online you need to look at all of the aspects of security to truly get a complete picture of how safe the portal is.

Security Checks and Tests

It might come as a surprise but the fact is that many online casinos fail security checks and tests carried out by third parties. It is very easy to put the logo of a testing facility without really having the testing to back it up with. When you see a sign on a poker portal that says that it is being tested for fair gaming you should take the time to at least click on to the tester. Check that the poker room is really listed with the tester and that the check up was made within a reasonable time frame. Third party testing is an excellent way of providing the players with secure and fair gaming but it must be carried out professional and several times to work.

Player Complaints and Consequences

Most of the big cheating scandals in online poker rooms became known because of the players. When several players started to notice strange behavior by other players they talked about it in the chat room and then they reported the matter to the staff. One could think that the poker room shouldn’t need the players to discover cheaters but sometimes this is the only way to truly catch them. An important security measure is the possibility of complaining and how this is met by the poker room. Players must also see that a cheater that is caught is banned from the portal forever in a way that he will also be dead meat in other poker sites around the Internet.

Encryption Keeping Hackers Out

There are a few different types of encryption available as measures for player safety. The most common method is the 128-bit secure socket layers technology but there are other systems that are even more advanced. The most important is that the poker room is employing some form of encryption that will make it hard for hackers to get to your information.

Keeping an Eye on the Players

Individual players can try to track other players by using special software for this. There are many online poker rooms that can’t do much about this. You will be happy playing away at the tables not knowing that your every move is tracked and made into statistics by an opponent. Some of the very best poker rooms do work actively to spot these programs and when they find a player tracking other players they can stop it immediately. They will also ban the player from the site so that he can’t continue his cheating.

Player History and a Security Team

Poker portals can do a lot of security work by keeping an eye on and tracking player history. By regularly analyzing this information they can spot players that are cheating or forming collusion groups. To do this, the poker site needs to have some sort of security team that works on this. Unfortunately many online poker rooms skip this important measure of security since it cost a bit extra to hire people for this purpose. This might change considering how much damage the scandals with cheating online have done to the reputation of online poker sites.

Changing your Profile

If you are afraid that your poker games are being tracked by other players you should try to find a poker room which lets you make changes in your personal profile. When a player can change a nickname and other details it becomes harder for cheaters to trace him. Allowing players to switch nickname as much as they want is an excellent way to prevent fraud by players who are trying to track the games.