“Is the RNG in online poker really fair?”

Some players feel that the online variability is too extreme.
Do you think the card system is completely random?
Or have they had sessions that made them doubt it?

In reputable poker sites, the RNG (Random Number Generator) is regularly tested and certified by independent auditors.
These systems are designed to ensure that card distribution is completely random and fair.
Sometimes bad beats or unusual runs make it feel suspicious, but that’s just variance.

Over a large number of hands, results tend to balance out.
So on licensed platforms, the RNG is generally considered reliable and fair.

Feels like this topic comes back every few weeks.

Certified poker rooms use audited RNG systems, and over large samples the distribution of cards follows expected probabilities. What often feels “extreme” is just the speed and volume of online play creating more visible swings.

Almost every regular has had sessions that made them question things, but in the long run results tend to reflect decision quality more than anything else. If you truly do not trust the system, the simplest solution is just not to play.

Aldayr said:

Some players feel that the online variability is too extreme.
Do you think the card system is completely random?
Or have they had sessions that made them doubt it?

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bremp555 said:

Feels like this topic comes back every few weeks.

Certified poker rooms use audited RNG systems, and over large samples the distribution of cards follows expected probabilities. What often feels “extreme” is just the speed and volume of online play creating more visible swings.

Almost every regular has had sessions that made them question things, but in the long run results tend to reflect decision quality more than anything else. If you truly do not trust the system, the simplest solution is just not to play.

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Personally I don’t think it’s fair, if you play enough hands you will start to see patterns. You’ll notice when the tables get stale close to the pays (AA vs KK… AK vs AQ)… you’ll also notice when you are tilted on a provider… the only time you’ll ever take down a pot is when you have the nuts with no cards left to play. (Personally, online tilt shouldn’t be a thing if the cards are truely random) you wouldn’t often finding yourself on a super tilt where whoever you play against will make their hand. (When on tilt, personally I bet heavily on good hands and try and scare everyone off instead of collecting chips like I would normally do) then I quickly change poker providers and play on a different site for a few days till the “tilts” gone.

People that keep saying it’s not fake or that you see so many more hands… don’t really understand math.. or logic. I don’t have any proof but anyone who’s played a few hundred hours of online poker will tell you one of two things…

It’s not random or the hands are preset for action.

Online casinos make money from the take right? Well they don’t make as much rake (or anywhere close) as they do when they tilt the results so bad players win (and keep cycling money) and they don’t make as much money from wild gamblers… that guy who goes all in off the hop..? He’s going to go into another10 tournaments (10 more rake fees) while you still on your second hand in the first tournament…


For people to think online casinos and poker rooms are not rampant with fraud… you need to stop being so gullible..

One simple question for the folks who don’t think it’s rigged… why don’t these companies operate in North America.. or even England? Pragmatic gaming… evolution gaming.. and why do all their licenses come from native tribes and not official governments of first world countries… like these people are making hundreds of millions of dollars… why do it from a third world country…. Oh wait…

All of that said, you can still win as their is a human element to it.. but it’s like running a race against an Olympic runner while you wear a weighted vest.

In my experience, the RNG was two settings. Super tight where it seems that
no one gets anything and a high card wins the pot, and the setting were
there are 4 players to the river where a straight or higher wins. The tight
variation can go on for 4 or 5 days, then the 2 pair, straight or higher is
constantly back. I know, I know, its all RNG right?

johnwat2 said:

In my experience, the RNG was two settings. Super tight where it seems that
no one gets anything and a high card wins the pot, and the setting were
there are 4 players to the river where a straight or higher wins. The tight
variation can go on for 4 or 5 days, then the 2 pair, straight or higher is
constantly back. I know, I know, its all RNG right?

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This is what I’m talking about haha when you play enough, you see the software patterns.. I’ve played tournaments where I only played in a certain (awful position) 2nd to act (no joke I made it to the final table only playing when I was second to act) I didn’t lose 1 hand and got all the way to the final table haha.. I was winning 7-3 vs K-K but I noticed 4 bb in.. I had won all 4 hands from that position… I didn’t lose a hand in that spot for 6 hours… but it’s not fake 😛

daniel.g said:

Personally I don’t think it’s fair, if you play enough hands you will start to see patterns. You’ll notice when the tables get stale close to the pays (AA vs KK… AK vs AQ)… you’ll also notice when you are tilted on a provider… the only time you’ll ever take down a pot is when you have the nuts with no cards left to play. (Personally, online tilt shouldn’t be a thing if the cards are truely random) you wouldn’t often finding yourself on a super tilt where whoever you play against will make their hand. (When on tilt, personally I bet heavily on good hands and try and scare everyone off instead of collecting chips like I would normally do) then I quickly change poker providers and play on a different site for a few days till the “tilts” gone.

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So with those patterns u are able to see you should be able to print infinte money, no?

The reason u go on "super tilt" is because u don't know or are not sure what u are actually doing and when things start going heavily the opposite direction u start to feel like everything is against u. Going on tilt is not the same as running bad btw. U are confusing something here or are not aware what going on tilt actually means. Going on tilt is your own decision and if u start playing different because of some run bad then this is basically the definition of it.

Changing providers can help from a psychological standpoint yes but if u are really running bad then it will continue no matter where u play.

daniel.g said:

People that keep saying it’s not fake or that you see so many more hands… don’t really understand math.. or logic.

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People who say that are right and its actually people like u who do not understand the math and logic behind Poker and how the game works in the long run.

daniel.g said:

I don’t have any proof but anyone who’s played a few hundred hours of online poker will tell you one of two things…

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Yes tons of riggies play and keep playing because they are unable to leave a game they think they are getting cheated at (go figure). You have no proof? Ok so why should anyone believe u? What makes u think u are in the position to determine if those sites are rigged? Did u analyze millions of hands? Are u a expert in statistics? "I believe and saw this and that" wont cut it sry.

daniel.g said:

It’s not random or the hands are preset for action.

Online casinos make money from the take right? Well they don’t make as much rake (or anywhere close) as they do when they tilt the results so bad players win (and keep cycling money) and they don’t make as much money from wild gamblers… that guy who goes all in off the hop..? He’s going to go into another10 tournaments (10 more rake fees) while you still on your second hand in the first tournament…

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This is a typical novice player rigged theory. If rooms would do that and get catched their reputation would be down the drain and noone would rake there anymore. They get the money anyway in the long run and reputation means everything in Poker.

daniel.g said:

For people to think online casinos and poker rooms are not rampant with fraud… you need to stop being so gullible..

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Its you who need to educate yourself how the game actually works. Cheating among players exist yes but that does not mean rooms rig dealing of cards.

daniel.g said:

One simple question for the folks who don’t think it’s rigged… why don’t these companies operate in North America.. or even England? Pragmatic gaming… evolution gaming.. and why do all their licenses come from native tribes and not official governments of first world countries… like these people are making hundreds of millions of dollars… why do it from a third world country…. Oh wait…

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For tax reasons. And some rooms because of regulation reasons. The second one can be seen as a bit shady yes but this still does not mean they rig the deck and provide an unfair gaming environment.

Yes, the random number generator (RNG) is frequently tested and verified by independent experts, but all poker sites update their software even more frequently.

There are a lot of rookies who become pros and earn a lot of money...

If you study a lot and play a lot you'll be successful in a long run, but it's easier to give up and say that the system is unfair

Who pays these testing companies haha not players.. as long as people keep paying them to “test” them.. they stay in business haha if they say they are not random and don’t pass them.. they stop getting paid. Again if these were above board like the sportsbooks in the US they would operate in America.. but they are fraudulent. Lol just look at all the lawsuits.. partypoker has paid hundreds of millions in fines and lawsuits in the EU.. pokerstars is completely banned in the USA because they were caught cheating haha

finaltable1 said:

Yes, the random number generator (RNG) is frequently tested and verified by independent experts, but all poker sites update their software even more frequently.

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I 100% agree I’d say I’m one of those guys.. my first year playing online poker I lost $2500 playing low stakes.. today I make about 10k playing poker as my side hustle, not because I’m good but because I’ve played enough to know how to cash often and grind the low stakes.

I found my niche in sports betting and it’s been my full time job for about 15 years now. Again if it has to with cash you’re going to have shady people. If it’s banned in some places it’s because it’s rigged look at what Brazil just did…

Rosylly said:

There are a lot of rookies who become pros and earn a lot of money...

If you study a lot and play a lot you'll be successful in a long run, but it's easier to give up and say that the system is unfair

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daniel.g said:

lol like other players I’m not gonna waste my time on someone so angry and misinformed. I know one of us is a PROFESSIONAL gambler for the last 15 years and someone is a hack who ridding the wangs of the providers. Move alone loser myself like many other don’t have time for angry people who think they know it all all while having $10 in their bank account.

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Highly doubt a professional gambler is that off and also highly doubt u earn a living betting on sports. I read a post of u regarding that where u provided numbers that are very hard to believe:


There is almost no way u have a return of 125 dollars on average in the long run betting only 300-500 $ at a time. And i dont even bet on sports but instantly realize that this is not possible/a lie. U might ran good for a short time doing that but thats it. Professional sports bettor 😆 (hold my beer seriously).

I recommend u to post in the rigged Megathread in the future (where most of ur posts belong) and please dont claim to be someone u are not on a public forum, its highly embarrassing.

daniel.g said:

pokerstars is completely banned in the USA because they were caught cheating haha

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You are really misinformed. Why spew off stuff without doing some solid investigating first? (haha)

And you might want to refrain from calling another member 'a loser'... pretty sure that sort of stuff doesn't fly here at Cardschat.

Under the name 'random' is some sort of formulas which I think they change very often

I believe in lick, but sometimes you feel online poker is rigged.

Yeah. as a software writer, I know the RNG may be good, but I can program the code to let seat 2 win 10 hands in a row no matter what the RNG returns. The only thing I can't do is whisper into seat 2's ear, don't fold. You got this.

daniel.g said:

Who pays these testing companies haha not players.. as long as people keep paying them to “test” them.. they stay in business haha if they say they are not random and don’t pass them.. they stop getting paid. Again if these were above board like the sportsbooks in the US they would operate in America.. but they are fraudulent. Lol just look at all the lawsuits.. partypoker has paid hundreds of millions in fines and lawsuits in the EU.. pokerstars is completely banned in the USA because they were caught cheating haha

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I can't say for sure, it was a long time ago, but as far as I remember, PS was banned for a different reason, unrelated to the RNG. And on another forum, there were rumors that the average poker player base in the US was very soft, and US players were dumping huge amounts of money on the rest of the world, which is why "Black Friday" happened. It sounds plausible, as the US definitely has the best players, but that's mostly because the overall player base is huge.

I believe most major online poker sites use certified RNG systems that are regularly tested for fairness. Bad beats can make it feel suspicious sometimes, but over a large sample of hands the results usually balance out.

finaltable1 said:

I can't say for sure, it was a long time ago, but as far as I remember, PS was banned for a different reason, unrelated to the RNG. And on another forum, there were rumors that the average poker player base in the US was very soft, and US players were dumping huge amounts of money on the rest of the world, which is why "Black Friday" happened. It sounds plausible, as the US definitely has the best players, but that's mostly because the overall player base is huge.

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Lots have been banned lots have changed names lots have paid hundreds of millions in fines.. lots have been busted with bots, fraudulent casinos… again it’s not all rigged but it definitely not above board.

The RNG can be there with codes programmed within the game to help with the result. It’s almost like refs in “professional” sports entertainment. When you understand the money at play and what results in the most of it being generated you’ll see fraud. I know it’s not 100% fixed but enough when you follow the trends you can be on the right side of it. The NBA had a ref who got caught and went to jail and spilled the beans. The league tells officials what to look for to tilt the game in the direction they choose… and it’s all about viewers and money. Again it’s not 100% but it doesn’t need to be fixed 100% of the time or the fix to work.. it’s just gotta work most of the time.

Again I’ve found my edge and have done this for 15 years and made a hell of a lot of money doing it. In life you can’t be a sucker, you need to find how to be on the winning side the the string pullers

daniel.g said:

Lots have been banned lots have changed names lots have paid hundreds of millions in fines.. lots have been busted with bots, fraudulent casinos… again it’s not all rigged but it definitely not above board.

The RNG can be there with codes programmed within the game to help with the result. It’s almost like refs in “professional” sports entertainment. When you understand the money at play and what results in the most of it being generated you’ll see fraud. I know it’s not 100% fixed but enough when you follow the trends you can be on the right side of it. The NBA had a ref who got caught and went to jail and spilled the beans. The league tells officials what to look for to tilt the game in the direction they choose… and it’s all about viewers and money. Again it’s not 100% but it doesn’t need to be fixed 100% of the time or the fix to work.. it’s just gotta work most of the time.

Again I’ve found my edge and have done this for 15 years and made a hell of a lot of money doing it. In life you can’t be a sucker, you need to find how to be on the winning side the the string pullers

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let's do some basic math and apply some formal logic.

let's say the rake for MTTs is about 10%...
let's say you're a poker site, and in the MTT tab, you have about 100 tournaments per day.
let's say the total daily prize pool for these tournaments is about 1 million...

So you receive about 100K in rake per day!

you spend, say, about 1K per day on electricity and internet, perhaps less, but let's say it's 1K
you spend, say, about 10K per day on staff and salaries, perhaps much less, but let's say it's 10K
you spend, say, about 10K per day on advertising your site, surely much less, but let's assume it's 10K!
let's say you spend an average of about 15K per day on rakeback, promotions, and freerolls...

so that leaves you with ~65K per day
it's +6.5% of the total prize pool you offer... every day
with such math, would you risk tinkering with RNG for any reason?

If that's not enough, for a small poker site, please keep in mind that you should also have a tab with cash games, SnG games, Spin&Go, etc., and you can also offer casino games and sports betting!

daniel.g said:

Who pays these testing companies haha not players.. as long as people keep paying them to “test” them.. they stay in business haha if they say they are not random and don’t pass them.. they stop getting paid. Again if these were above board like the sportsbooks in the US they would operate in America.. but they are fraudulent. Lol just look at all the lawsuits.. partypoker has paid hundreds of millions in fines and lawsuits in the EU.. pokerstars is completely banned in the USA because they were caught cheating haha

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Pokerstars left the US market due to the UIGEA, as of 2026 Pokerstars has regulated sites in Michigan,

Pennsylvania and New Jersey... so no not completely banned... for cheating or anything else, they also recently

joined forces with FanDuel in the US, I'd like to see your report on Pokerstars being banned for cheating....., I'll wait...

finaltable1 said:

let's do some basic math and apply some formal logic.

let's say the rake for MTTs is about 10%...
let's say you're a poker site, and in the MTT tab, you have about 100 tournaments per day.
let's say the total daily prize pool for these tournaments is about 1 million...

So you receive about 100K in rake per day!

you spend, say, about 1K per day on electricity and internet, perhaps less, but let's say it's 1K
you spend, say, about 10K per day on staff and salaries, perhaps much less, but let's say it's 10K
you spend, say, about 10K per day on advertising your site, surely much less, but let's assume it's 10K!
let's say you spend an average of about 15K per day on rakeback, promotions, and freerolls...

so that leaves you with ~65K per day
it's +6.5% of the total prize pool you offer... every day
with such math, would you risk tinkering with RNG for any reason?

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Because you have marketing cost.. competition.. to be able to run 100 games a day you need players.. if you have 5% who are sharp players they will easily weed out your new players and donkeys.. so you need to keep those bad players engaged with tilted results to keep them playing (and paying the rake).

Also the length of time to play games, they can shorten the games with set up hands to allow more games to be played…

Again if this was all above board America would be all over it, one of the richest countries who love to gamble… look how big the Us sports books are compared to the poker and offshore companies that have been running for decades offshore. Lol that alone should tell you something is amiss

daniel.g said:

Again if this was all above board America would be all over it, one of the richest countries who love to gamble… look how big the Us sports books are compared to the poker and offshore companies that have been running for decades offshore. Lol that alone should tell you something is amiss

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If you actually look into this you'll see there are other reasons for this than what you think.

Not that I trust online poker either, but America has a bunch of casino lobbyists and stupid laws that have held online poker back for some time now.

puzzlefish said:

If you actually look into this you'll see there are other reasons for this than what you think.

Not that I trust online poker either, but America has a bunch of casino lobbyists and stupid laws that have held online poker back for some time now.

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.... that's it exactly, they make money from local casinos, they don't make money from offshore gambling, always follow the money👍