CoinPoker Introduces Open-source Fair Shuffling Details

Ever wondered just how fair card-shuffling in online poker is? Well, CoinPoker have taken any worries you might out of the equation this week by publishing their source code – and they are giving away 1,000,000 of their CHP currency to anyone who can prove otherwise!

The online poker industry has been as secretive about their shuffling methods as is possible over the years – and every player has at one point or another wondered if that runner-runner winner for their opponent, or ridiculous flop cracking your aces, was genuine, or something more sinister.

For CoinPoker, at least, the answer is clear – open their pages and let you look yourself!

Cryptography expert and CoinPoker Advisor, Mike Segal explained their new and rather unique approach to the problem:

“CoinPoker’s new random number generation protocol is designed to enable end-users to automatically verify the fairness of the platform’s shuffling algorithm. Under this protocol, each user’s computer becomes an active participant in the shuffling process, contributing to the randomness and then verifying computationally that their contribution was used by the server.”

In plain English? Your own laptop or PC becomes part of the shuffling technique, as do those of all your fellow players – and you can see and test the results to prove it was all random.

The technical details, should you have a keen interest, are laid bare – the security of the process allowing CoinPoker to make it public:

• One-way cryptographic hash functions are at the heart of it;
  
• a new random number generator uses encrypted input from all players;
• this produces a ‘collective shuffle factor’
• the RNG’s Validation Tool can be used to verify the shuffles fairness

The 1million CHP Bug Bounty

Of course, by nature poker players are a disbelieving bunch – otherwise ‘bluffcatcher’ wouldn’t be a term at all – and for anyone who wants to call CoinPoker out on their claims, the online crypto-poker site has put up a huge reward.

There is 1,000,000 CHP – CoinPoker’s virtual in-game currency – up for grabs. An “open invitation” to software experts and cryptography enthusiasts to get inside the new software and prove them wrong. Find a bug in the system that renders the shuffler unfair and the money is yours.

“Transparent online poker” as the CoinPoker team call it – their ethos, and what players have been screaming for since the beginning. It also allows the team behind the technology to combat any doubts about the software’s integrity, and of course eliminate any errors should they exist.

RNG Gamification – the Ultimate Rabbit Hunt

Poker isn’t all about serious business of course, or at least there’s room for adding fun into the mix. That’s where the CoinPoker Hand Hindsight feature comes in, allowing you to view undealt cards from previous hands.

It’s a Rabbit Hunt taken to the extreme, never been offered before on any other real-money poker site, and it’s a fun and unique addition to CoinPoker’s gaming experience.

In line with the news about their open-source coding for ‘fair shufflers’, CoinPoker are hoping to extend their expertise beyond their own platform and “into the mainstream poker industry”.

By way of collaboration, and to create a fair and safe atmosphere for poker players, they state that :

“Other online poker operators who wish to follow CoinPoker’s leadership in this area are welcome to contact CoinPoker by email to info@coinpoker.com".