Some people doubt the integrity of online poker and believe that the flop, turn and river cards are manipulated to favor particular players.
As far as I know and you may already know there are two ways for a computer to shuffle a deck:
a) Static Shuffle - Just like in a live casino, the cards are shuffled, set, and then dealt out.
b) Continuous Shuffle - While the hand is in play, the cards are continuously being shuffled, and then, when the pre-flop (or the flop or turn) action is finished, the shuffling is stopped, and then the next card is dealt.
I asked PS about this they replied they use static (I think). Here is their reply:
Thank you for your email.
Our RNG is more than
adequate to produce 52! (52 factorial, here's what that looks like:
80658175170943878571660636856403766975289505440883277824000000000000)
shuffle effects to thoroughly randomize a deck of cards for each and
every
game dealt on PokerStars. We use entropy, thermal input, and user input
to
ensure that this is the case.
Our RNG has held up to several independent scrutiny reviews as well as
our
own periodic internal checks on large sample sizes of hands. After the
deck is shuffled and the first cards are dealt, the deck is set - we do
not use a continual shuffle in our systems. This means that we cannot
determine how the flop, turn, river, or pocket cards are going to fall
and
produce bad beats in any manner whatsoever. All of the action will be
directly influenced by the betting patterns of your opponents as well as
your own, which is definitely something we cannot predict!
Regards,
Declan
PokerStars Support Team
Here is FTPs reply:
Thank you for contacting Full Tilt Poker Support.
The cards on Full Tilt Poker are not predetermined at the beginning of
the hand like they are at a live casino. To prevent the possibility of a
player determining the next card the shuffler is constantly shuffling
the cards during the hand until all players have acted. This security
measure, as well as others, prevents players from being able to predict
the next card to be dealt.
The concept is much like the burn card used in live games. In live games
they use a burn card to protect the next card in the deck. The purpose
of this is to prevent card marking, and using the marks on the top of a
card to know the next card to be dealt on the board. The burn card
allows players to have confidence that no other player at the table
knows the next card to be dealt, and our shuffling methods are designed
to have the same effect.
If there's anything else we can help you with, please feel free to ask.
We're always here to help.
Regards,
Gearoid
Poker Specialist
Full Tilt Poker Support