ClubWPT | Never Lose a Dime Playing Poker, Guaranteed

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How does the Free Trial work?

You can take advantage of the free 2-week trial membership by signing up for a VIP membership. You will be required to provide a credit card, though you will not be charged during your free trial period. Simply cancel anytime within your first 14 days, and you will not be charged. If you are enjoying our blackjack and poker tournaments, do nothing and your membership will automatically continue for as long as you choose to remain a VIP member at $19.95 per month. See Terms and Conditions for complete membership details.

How do I know The Club is fair?

We have built our site from the ground up to provide our players with the safest and highest quality site on which to play blackjack and poker. Further, we are highly confident that the systems used for Random Number Generation (RNG), and the card-shuffling algorithm that utilizes those numbers, are the most advanced and reliable within the online blackjack and poker community. It would be difficult to find better in ANY application.

Here is a brief overview of the system that we use, and the methods by which we've approached RNG and card shuffling:

• Several competitors have experienced serious problems with pseudo-random number generation (PRNG). In some cases these problems have compromised the security of their systems (see article about ASF Software's PRNG flaw here). Some competitors in the online gaming market attempt to provide RNG by starting with a 32-bit seed for a PRNG. Unfortunately, this method provides only a very small set of outcomes in comparison to the randomness required for truly random shuffled decks of cards. Because of this, they tend to use shuffle algorithms that attempt to work around the quality limitations of the PRNG that they are using. Sites that shuffle cards utilizing a PRNG with a 32-bit seed, will only be able to produce 4,294,967,296 possible shuffles, or merely 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000005% (or 5 x 10-57%) of the possible ways to shuffle a deck. More importantly, however, the combination of the use of a PRNG and relatively small seeds (or even large seeds that are not sufficiently random) and faulty shuffling algorithms can allow a determined individual to predict the order of the remaining cards in a deck after seeing the first several cards that are dealt.

• Our approach is to forgo pseudo-random number generation wherever possible and instead use true random number generation from proven random physical devices. Our system utilizes thermal noise on a zener diode-shielded to prevent any environmental interference. The characteristics of this device are governed by the laws of quantum physics and are provably non-deterministic. Through the use of true random numbers and our shuffling algorithm (see below), we ensure first that it is impossible to predict the next card coming off the deck, and second that every possible shuffle combination is equally likely, all 8.06581751709439 X 1067 of them or 80,658,175,170,943,900,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000.

• Despite the fact that the device we use is largely held to provide sufficient randomness, our security software team was concerned with making the output from the devices even more quantifiably random and fault-tolerant than a simple single-device configuration by custom-designing the following features into our system:

• We follow all recommendations of the device manufacturer as to obtaining the highest quality random bit stream per device;
• Rather than just trusting that the raw data collected from the device is random, we test the quality of each sample from the device and reject samples which do not conform to (U.S.) Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 140-2 - Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules, section 4.9.1 Power-On Tests, as published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST);
• These tests are performed for every sample collected;
• Samples that do not pass the test are not forwarded on to the mixer;
• We use two of the devices per hardware host and then mix their random streams via cryptographically-secure whitening functions, relieving any device-specific bias-or any other bias for that matter;
• The resultant output stream has been verified as appearing to be completely random over 100 runs of the DIEHARD and ent random verification test suites;
• Procedures are in place to replace faulty devices at the first sign of trouble, before gameplay can be adversely affected in any way;
• DIEHARD and ent were also used to verify randomness in situations where one of the devices is failing to produce high quality samples (i.e. a higher than nominal rejection rate due to FIPS-test failures).

• Our shuffling algorithm samples the stream of random numbers that is generated only when a card needs to be dealt or the deck needs to be reset between hands, thereby interleaving samples from all running games.

• To enhance the security of our random number infrastructure, the samples from the random stream are encrypted using a secure stream cipher prior to being used to select cards. This step does not in any way reduce the entropy inherent in the stream.

• The previous two components of our system insure that even if a person could access the system and the random number stream, or corrupt the random stream, it would still be EXTREMELY difficult to reliably determine the numbers actually used in the shuffle algorithm!

• The length of time that any particular number in the random stream is a candidate to be used to select a card to be dealt is very short.

• The algorithm used to select the next card to be dealt absolutely assures that every remaining card in the deck is exactly equally likely to be chosen.

• When starting a new hand, the deck is never presented for play in a known state and the deck is never returned to a known state between hands, or at any other time.

What can I win?

VIP Members can win large cash prizes and wonderful merchandise with the Club - we give away over $100,000 in cash and prizes every month! In addition, if you refer your friends to join the Club, you can earn hundreds or even thousands of dollars!

What are tournament points?

• Tournament points are a form of currency at the Club.
• All players start with a fixed amount of tournament points (500) upon opening an account. They cannot be reloaded, but will be automatically "topped off" once per day.
• Tournament points cannot be wagered at ring games.
• Tournament points can be used as buy-in for certain tournaments and may be awarded for certain tournaments.
• Tournament points are non-transferable and have no cash value.

What are the tournaments like?

VIP Members can play in both single-table and multi-table tournaments. At the beginning of each tournament, every player starts with the same number of chips, and the tournament continues until one player has accumulated all of the chips. Some tournaments are cash tournaments, in which the top performing players win cash prizes, while others are satellite tournaments, in which the top performing players win seats to larger prizepool tournaments. There are also tournaments which offer merchandise prizes. These prizes have no cash value and are not transferable.

How do I collect my prize(s)?

Congratulations on your win! In order to claim and receive your prize, winners are required to provide the Club with the required eligibility information listed below. You only have to do this part one time! (As long as you don't move.) Future prizes will go out automatically.

Eligibility consists of Proof of Identity, Proof of Residency, and Proof of Age. All three of these requirements must be satisfied in order to claim your prize. The following forms of identification are acceptable:

• Valid US Driver's License
• Valid US State Identification Card
• Valid US Military ID
• Valid Canadian Driver's License
• Valid Canadian Province Identification Card
• Valid Foreign Passport

To submit a photocopy of one valid identification listed above along with your full name and your Club username, please do any of the following:

• Scan and email to verify@theclubservices.com
• Fax to (702) 920-7652
• Mail to the following address:

Club Services, Inc.
Prize Eligibility Department
1920 Main St. Ste. 1150
Irvine, CA 92614

Your prize will be processed upon receipt of information. You will be sent an email advising you of any unmet requirements or if you are ineligible for any reason. If you meet the eligibility requirements, we will advise you of when you should expect your prize to be mailed or shipped.

If any prize or prize notification is undeliverable, if the required documents are not returned in a timely manner, or in the event of noncompliance with any of the Terms and Conditions or addendums to, the prize will be forfeited in its entirety.

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