<P> Third, some online poker sites also offer side games like blackjack, roulettes, or side bets on poker hands where the player plays against "the house" for real money . The odds are in the house's favor in these games, thus producing a profit for the house . Some sites go as far as getting affiliated with online casinos, or even integrating them into the poker room software . </P> <P> Fourth, like almost all institutions that hold money, online poker sites invest the money that players deposit . Regulations in most jurisdictions exist in an effort to limit the sort of risks sites can take with their clients' money . However, since the sites do not have to pay interest on players' bankrolls even low - risk investments can be a significant source of revenue . </P> <P> Many critics question whether the operators of such games - especially those located in jurisdictions separate from most of their players - might be engaging in fraud themselves . </P> <P> Internet discussion forums are rife with allegations of non-random card dealing, possibly to favour house - employed players or "bots" (poker - playing software disguised as a human opponent), or to give multiple players good hands thus increasing the bets and the rake, or simply to prevent new players from losing so quickly that they become discouraged . However, despite anecdotal evidence to support such claims, others argue that the rake is sufficiently large that such abuses would be unnecessary and foolish . Attempts at manipulative dealing could face a risk of third party detection due to increasingly sophisticated tracking software that could be used to detect any number of unusual patterns, though such analyses are not generally available in the public domain . </P>

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