Quote:
Originally Posted by DonkoTheClown
You probably know this better than anyone on 2+2, but if the senior management Pstars or any other site was involved in running a program that was in fact changing some of the outcomes, for whatever the reason might be, could it be possible to keep the employees in positions below senior management out of the loop on this or would it just be too easy for everyone to know what is going on?
That's a good point - such issues are not just issues of programming software, but much more than that.
For someone to be able to cheat in such a fashion, and to repeatedly cheat customers, it requires much more than just a programming hole.
It requires:
a) A management culture that fails to care about the interests of players
One of the most impressive things about PokerStars in my eyes has been an absolute commitment to integrity from the very highest levels of the company. Part of my role is to act on various game integrity issues, and one of the most reassuring aspects has been that *not once* in my experience has PokerStars ever considered profitability or rake or income in adjudicating on a particular rules issue. This is not because the company doesn't care about profitability, but because (from my point of view) the management of the company appears to operate upon a core belief that if we do the right thing, the rest of the business will succeed.
b) A small staff who are good at keeping secrets
We have hundreds of staff across the world (mostly in London, Isle of Man, Costa Rica and Sydney) many of whom are active participants in the wider poker community. This does two things - when suspicious stuff happens, it'll be detected, and further, it's very likely that such activity will "leak out" anyway.
c) Staff able to play on the site
No PokerStars staff, or immediate family, or people living with a PokerStars staff member are able to play on PokerStars.
d) A software hole that causes such a situation in the first place. There simply is no evidence that this even exists -
every test that has been applied has shown that the results meet expectations. The shuffle has been certified as fair by
two independent auditors.
e) A lack of independent oversight and auditing
The Isle of Man Gambling Commission is appointed by an independent, democratic, government. They have rights of entry to our premises at any time, and various other key safe guards. You can read more about this online at
http://www.pokerstars.com/iom/
f) All of the above to align at the same time
Not only does all of the above weaknesses need to exist, but further, they all need to align at the same time.
The
fact of the matter is that the shuffling is legitimate: every test has been passed, and there's no reason to suspect that the shuffling is illegitimate.
Yesterday, I offered $100 for anyone to provide a link to
any study that proves the shuffle is not legitimate: Of course, no one has. There is simply no evidence that the shuffle is illegitimate.