Data Authority

Poker Data Methodology

How TorontoPoker.org collects, normalizes, verifies, dates and retires poker-room, tournament and Ontario regulatory data.

Method version: 1.0 · effective August 22, 2026.

What the database is

TorontoPoker.org maintains normalized records for poker rooms and recurring tournament information. The goal is to make unlike venue pages comparable without inventing facts that the source does not provide.

Record states

Verified publishedA current first-party or regulatory source explicitly states the fact.
Live/currentUsed only when a source actually reports present-tense availability, such as a venue-directed live-list feed.
HistoricalA past event or past state retained for reference and clearly dated.
UnverifiedNot presented as fact in the database until a suitable source is found.

Fields we normalize

Where the source supports them, room records may include location, published hours, games, blind/limit levels, buy-in ranges, rake, waitlist method, tournament availability, amenities and a last-verified date.

Freshness rules

  • Room operations: checked against venue/operator pages before major site releases and whenever a material change is reported.
  • Tournaments: upcoming and recurring schedules receive stricter date labels because they expire quickly.
  • Ontario online poker: operator status is checked against iGaming Ontario, not inferred from site accessibility.
  • Evergreen strategy: mathematical concepts do not receive artificial “live” freshness labels.

What we never infer

We do not infer that a published game is running now, that a private club is licensed, that travel times are live traffic estimates, or that an online brand is Ontario-regulated unless the regulatory directory supports that statement.

Material changes

A meaningful change to a venue schedule, operator status, tournament program or core data field is documented in the Update Log. Minor copy edits do not receive a log entry.