Actual Poker Content

Don’t look now, but there is actually going to be some poker content in this post.


Damn it, I told you not to look. Now you’ve gone and scared it away and I’m going to have to resort to complaining about how much the Bears are going to suck this year.


Ok, fine, Poker. A little something for all you “Online Poker is Rigged” conspiracy theorists out there.

I played a little bit on Pokerroom this past weekend. I was doing ok, I was down a bit for the session, but I had taken some tough beats and hadn’t been getting great cards, so I wasn’t too upset with finishing down for the day. Now, unless I’m really having a bad session, or I’m late for something, or I’ve just run out of chips I normally exit a poker game by unchecking the auto-post blinds option on my small blind, and then waiting an orbit until the big blind reaches me. This way I can play just one more orbit without getting tricked into posting another big blind when the guy to my right pulls the same trick.

I’m pretty sure similar things have happened before, but I might not have attributed it to the fact that poker is rigged. Previously I would have thought that I was just good, or lucky or something. Anyway, here’s my theory:

When you uncheck the auto-post blinds feature, you are signaling to the poker software that you are about to stop playing. In an effort to keep you at the tables, and thus keep extracting its rake from you, you are given some monster hands for that final orbit. You wouldn’t want to leave when you are on a rush would you? That would be crazy.

So as I was saying, I uncheck the box after posting my small blind and I’m dealt 83o. Doesn’t help my story much does it? At least until the flop comes T83. And one of the other guys had aces. Unfortunately I had folded that crap to the aces pre-flop raise, but how was Pokerroom supposed to know that this guy would play aces fast? I bet most online players would have tried to slowplay them at least until the turn.

Two hands later, I’m the one with aces. Unfortunately someone before me raised, and no one else wanted to play. He only had $2.50 left. I called hoping the blinds would stick around, but it was not to be. I ended up with a full house in the hand, but it was overkill since I had the guy all in and basically drawing dead on the flop. Again, good effort from Poker Room. Tough break that the blinds didn’t stick around. I bet they would have gotten a piece of that flop had they stayed in.

A hand or two after that and I’m dealt wired tens. I decide that if no one raises before me I will, otherwise, I’m just going to call. Sure enough there is a raiser and a caller before me. I’m a little nervous about that but I call anyway. The flop was 33T. I smooth call as the pre-flop raiser bets, and is raised. They check call on the turn and river, and before I know it I’m back to even for the night.

Thinking that it’s done its part to keep me around, I don’t get any more hands worth playing for the rest of the orbit, and I finish just about where I started.

So the next time you’re running bad, try tricking the poker site into thinking that you are going to leave. Uncheck the auto-post option and see what happens. I bet it tries its best to keep you around.

As a disclaimer, I’d like to point out that I have just established this theory and have not really tested it yet. I think it works regardless of how you are doing during the current session, but I also think it works better if you are losing, as a means to get back to even, or at least close to it. Also, if you are multitabling, you will probably have to signal your exit on each table, not just the one you are getting crushed at, but who knows.