The integrity of the site: what you need to know

To give players the best gaming experience, we take the integrity of our games seriously. Here you can find more information about how we keep our games fair.

How does our software shuffle cards?

Our software uses an independently verified random number generator. It produces a random shuffle before each hand that favors no player. The software sets the deck after shuffling and prevents any changes to the dealing order.

Gaming Laboratories International, a leading independent testing laboratory, has certified the shuffle process. They concluded that our shuffling system is fair, random and meets industry standards. You can see more details about the test here.

For more information about our integrity measures, visit our Security section. Or, check out this video to learn more: How does PokerStars shuffle the deck?

What type of shuffle do you use?

We use a static shuffle to copy real-life poker as much as possible. This means that the deck isn't reshuffled during the deal. The cards that come out are completely independent of the action at the table. The order of the cards is predetermined, which is why our software can't predict moves or favor any players.

As a result, we can't generate so-called 'action flops' or biased rivers.

Can hole cards be seen during live play?

No. We developed our software under strict security controls. No one can get information from the servers to see the hole cards of the hand in progress.

We do record all the hand histories in all real money hands, but this information is unavailable until the end of the hand. This is an important tool to help us investigate fraud and collusion, and it's sent to our database after all actions and the bank's award.

We know that some programs claim to allow you to see other players' cards. After many investigations, we haven't found any that do what they claim to. But we must highlight that this is a theoretical risk. Usually, this software is malware that compromises the security of your device. Malicious software on your computer could reveal your hole cards to a player. If you're worried about this possibility, consult with a computer security professional.

Do you use shills or bots on your site?

No. You'll never play in a game against anyone employed by us. We don't use house players (also known as shills) or automatic players (bots) on our site. You will only play against other players like you.

Any employee or contractor with access to inside information may not play on our site. What's more, their next of kin are also not allowed to play. This is done to prevent any possible abuse of inside information. Anyone who leaves the company is also excluded from play for several months. By that time, we'd have removed all access privileges.

Staff can only see hole cards after the hand is complete (in a collusion investigation, for instance).