In traditional online gaming, you have to blindly trust the server. "Provably Fair" is a technology that allows the player to verify the fairness of every single roll of the dice using cryptography.
How It Works: The Commitment Scheme
Imagine I flip a coin, catch it, and cover it with my hand. I know the result, but you don't. I ask you to guess.
- Server Seed (The Hand): The server generates a random result and hashes it (turns it into a jumbled string of text). It shows you this hash before you bet. This "commits" the server to the result—it can't change it now.
- Client Seed (Your Influence): You provide a random seed (or your browser does). This ensures the server couldn't pick a "losing" result just for you, because it didn't know your seed yet.
- The Reveal: After the game, the server reveals the original un-hashed seed. You can now combine the seeds and re-calculate the result yourself to matching the game's outcome.
Transparency is Key
This system makes cheating mathematically impossible for the operator without being instantly detected. It is the gold standard for modern digital casinos and contest tools.