I’m been coming across some amazing beats lately. I know it’s part of the game and all, but it’s just really outside of the realm of realistic. I know this sounds like the ramblings of a loser, but I just can’t help it the way some of these hands have fallen.
Anyway, while doing some searching, I came across the idea that the Full Tilt card shuffling algorithm may not be quite a random as we think. There’s some people that think perhaps they skew their algorithm to create more ‘exciting’ play by hitting more big hands. I even found a weird post about a university study being conducted on the topic (which I was totally unable to verify- especially since it’s an unnamed university)
I was also pretty excited (in my witchhunt-like state of mind) to come across this blog full of screen shots that verify the lunacy of the situation. I’m going to start posting some of my recent screencaps of unbelievable hands as well and maybe we’ll find that there’s something behind this. How crazy would that be?
I’ve had some crazy times with online poker, back when I was playing Sit ‘n Go’s exclusively, I almost gave up on online poker altogether.
Since then, I’ still occassionally bump into people in games who bemoan how unlucky they are etc, or call Poker Stars river stars for instance, my first impression is its just a load of crap, probably to ease a loosing players ego and nothing more.
In a game like poker, lots of things can happen, and that scope includes lots of very unpredictable outcomes, even very rare ones. yesterday someone made a full house on the river, the same time someone made a royal flush, it certainly doesn’t happen every day, but I think its a little paranoid to suggest there is something wrong, just because we’ve seen something unusual.
Keep up the grind xxx
Thanks for the link brother. Yeah the beats are still happening. Hey, when that class action lawsuit hits my beats will be documented. LOL
I’ve been analyzing this more and more lately and I think maybe (just maybe) it isn’t rigged. I just think that, for some reason, FullTilt is full of chasers. Somehow, the site seems to be populated with people that will chase with anything. It is almost like people would rather make a big win from time-to-time and lose tons of small hands than make an actual profit.
In the end, this is a good thing for the good poker player. We need to adjust our strategy (everywhere, but especially at FullTilt). We need to punish chasers and punish them HARD. Since they are so prone to chasing, we need to charge them a large toll. They will pay it.
When you have the nut flush and they have two pair, bet that out and get value for it. You’ll lose occasionally when they get the full house, so get paid well every time they don’t get the full house. If you stack every sucker who has a set or two pair when you have the nut flush or straight and then get stacked once because someone catches the miracle river, it doesn’t hurt so bad.
Our mutual friend, brooklyn bum, has been commenting about it a lot lately. When you have a hand, bet it out and get paid for it. People will call with lesser hands.
Not too long ago I was playing $1/2 live and held K K. I raised pre-flop $10 and got a caller. The flop came two low spades, everything undercards to my kings and I bet almost the size of the pot, he called. The turn came a non-spade and still no ace and I bet out around 2/3 the pot and got called. The river brought a spade and I just knew he had caught his flush so I checked and he bet out the pot and I called to see it. He flipped As Qs and had the nut flush (and nothing else). I lost about $150 on the hand. It felt crappy. I shouldn’t have made the river call, that was my main mistake. But here’s the moral of the story: about 80% of the time I make $75 on that hand because he misses the river (and folds to any bet); 15% of the time I lose $75 (because he hits the river and I don’t call); 5% of the time I lose $150 (because he hits and I do call to make sure I keep the bluffers honest). If me and Howard (that was the name of my opponent) play that hand 100 times the same way (and this is the important part), I make +$4125 ($75*80 - ($75*15) - ($150*5)). I can focus on this time, where it all went wrong, or I can just keep making the right decision over and over and reap the rewards. I’ll take the rewards.
[...] Filed under: Bad Beat, Losing, Poker — badbeats @ 7:48 am So yesterday I commented on another blog about how I don’t think FullTilt is rigged (it might still be waiting for [...]
@badbeats- didn’t see this comment until today so the moderation was not intentional
I don’t know what to believe anymore. Whether by design or by accident, I don’t think that the algorithm at Full Tilt matches what you see at real poker tables. The percentages just don’t add up.
Is anyone really investigating this? Does it even matter?