Cigital.inc was founded in 1992 and specialises in testing software quality and security. In 2003, PokerStars began working with Cigital to ensure the integrity of its software with regard to security and the dealing of cards, which must be random.

UIGEA

Since the adoption of the UIGEA law, numerous American poker players have been prosecuted, as it is illegal to withdraw profits made from playing games of chance. However, American States are beginning to acknowledge that poker is not merely a game of chance, but also a game in which skill plays a large part in winning. This has been the case in Kentucky and Colorado.

PokerStars asks Cigital to carry out a statistical study

PokerStars has decided to go a step further and has commissioned Cigital to carry out a study based on millions of hands played by thousands of players on PokerStars, in order to establish, once and for all, the importance of skill in playing successful poker.

Services offered by Cigital.inc

This was the reason for Cigital’s advertisement on the main American poker forum, asking players to send them data about as many hands as possible played during the month of December 2008. This was an entirely independent study and Cigital itself asked the players for information about the hands played, bypassing PokerStars completely. According to Cigital, the study has already analysed more than 100 million hands.

The study is designed to act as a scientific reference study for future cases, and to establish that poker is more than just a game of chance.