Cheating in Online Poker

[JFJB]

I think it is safe to say that for as long as people have played poker, some have tried to cheat at it…

Now that being say, I really like Horrid’s contribution to this thread.


I will start with a question:

If you could cheat at online Poker in any which way, what would be the absolute best information you could have?

I have seen a lot of threads about accounts being hacked followed by chip dumping. What that tells me is that someone managed to get a password to go along with an account name somehow. The best way of getting that information is probably a key logger Trojan. We all have been seeing this happen to others and some have had the misfortune of having it happen to them. Generally, the online sites have gotten their [censored] together and will block the accounts and investigate… I think this scam is still a threat but I think the computer geniuses have moved on because of increased resistance and also (to a degree) traceability of the funds.

The most important fact here is that a thief got a hold of a player's account name and the password that goes with it… How did they do this? Think about it. How much effort and knowledge does it take to do that? If you can do that what else can you do?

Now let’s answer the above question.

The best information an online player (or any poker player) could have, is to know the cards of one/some/all opponents. Now if you search reputable poker site for that possibility they will tell you that it is not possible. I personally believe that everything is possible but I would have to say that getting such information as your opponents’ hole cards for the host site is not likely.

How else? Well if your computer is sending that information to your opponent then the host site has nothing to do with it. If a thief has been able to get someone’s login name and password without detection, why not a shot of your computer screen every 20 seconds?

Now I am no computer expert but I have checked with such experts and have been told this is possible (without detection). Let me ask you this? Do you have Pokerstove installed on your computer? Where did you get it? A trusted source? (Disclaimer, I am not implying that Pokerstove is rigged at all nor anything about its creator or the provider. I am just trying to show a way for bad software to get installed on your computer and since most have Stove I am using it as an example). Ever clicked on a cool picture? Maybe you want to check out this threat and think about it a bit (read it all there are some interesting names that come up in there): http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...age=0&vc=1

Think about it, if a thief/computer genius/poker player can achieve the above (get some bad software on your machine which sends them a shot of your computer screen) they make a ton of money, get celebrated as one of the truly best players and all of that with next to no risk.

Now if you are serious about playing online poker you may want to have a dedicated computer for it. I suggest following the steps in this thread to secure the machine: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...part=1&vc=1

On a last note, I must admit I am truly scared at the response I will get here. But in terms of cheating I think there is worse than multi-accounting or collusion. Is it out there?