As some of you know I haven't played on their site out of principals since black friday last year. If you still ask yourself "why?" the answer is simple.
PokerStars was involved in money laundering and operating outside of their leagal boundaries just the same as FullTilt and UB were. The only difference between PokerStars and the other sites was that PokerStars was smart enough to keep those funds seperate from their other operational funds which allowed them, after cutting a deal with the DoJ, to return all balances on their site to US based players. Apart from that PokerStars was just as much involved in criminal activities as the other sites were.
Then, a few weeks ago, PokerStars announced that they would make changes to their rake system by introducing "weighted-contributed" rake on January 1st. What this translates to is "the looser you play and the more pots you enter, the more VIP points you'll receive" or in other words "play like a donk, loose your money but hey, we give you points for it."
This is clearly an attempt to reduce the benefits high profile players would receive for playing on their site and it was not taken to well by a large number of PokerStars players resulting in todays "PokerStars Player Sit Out Protest". Players started a "sit out" strike on PokerStars which instanlty resulted in PokerStars putting restrictions on accounts or blocking accounts.
"The poker room switched to the weighted-contributed method for attributing rake, which reduced the rewards of high-volume players. In response, effected players organized a protest that involved sitting out of 24 cash game tables to attempt to disrupt games and draw attention to their criticisms of the switch." Source: pokerfuse.com
So I ask you, why would you play on a site who has clearly violated thier license, doesn't care about their players and who doesn't do anyting for the poker industry other than banking their cash?
Just cause they operate the biggest online poker site with the biggest tournaments?
Other sites like PartyPoker or ChiliPoker on the Ipoker network might have smaller guaranteed pools on their major tournaments but the fields are a lot smaller which equals the EV for you just the same as if you try to win a tournament like the Sunday Million, trying to make your way into the money againt 38000 other players. Neither one of the sites above has ever operated outside their legal boundaries, they have good game structures and process payments fast, if not faster than PokerStars.
Furthermore PartyPoker currently offers a 200% first deposit bonus perect for micro grinders as part of their AussieMillions promotion, a reload bonus of up to $100 including a seat in their exclusive $50k reloaders freerolll and they dropped tournament rake for the whole month of January.. and you still play at PokerStars to have the piss taken out of you?
C'mon, wake up, stand your ground and just play on a poker site that values their players and not just your money. Of course they all want your money, but in my opinion PokerStars finally streched the bow a little to far. And if you're worried that you wont be able to play the $1 #tpoker league any more, well join me and the other players at the EU Online Poker League for some real fun!
I've freely spoken my mind here, you're welcome to freely comment on it!
Regards,
WiseCapra aka HammerMan
4 comments:
A good blog in this matter by PokerStars Pro Dale aka daleroxxu:
http://www.daleroxxu.co.uk/2012/01/pokerstars-new-vpp-award-method.html
I have reviewed your comments on the Poker Stars matter and I do not want to go into a while lot of detail as Iam about to write a blog on www.PokerGob.com that will touch on this issue.
And let's be clear that once I post my piece I will undobtedly insult many online players.
But I will say this in advance of my blog.
Online Poker is about Money and as in any form of gambling the house always wins. But it is not about the house winning, that is acceptable to us players.
What is not acceptable is the blatant attitude that sites like Poker Stars have towards their players. Poker Stars is by far the largest site on earth with no less than 70,000 players online pretty much all day and every day. These guys are milking the cows (players) like there is no tomorrow.
As a business they have the right to make as much money as they desire provided there is demand for their supply. It is also the right of the players to force their opinions even if it includes a sit in or strike against the site.
Sadly, in gaming there is this ever quenching need for GREED and as seen with Full Tilt and others of the past. They will run anyone in their way over to satisfy their hunger for money. There is no greater joy than seeing FT go down. They had a great thing going and let their greed get in the way and they will hopefully get punished more severe than all the players have.
That should be viewed as a wake up call to all poker businesses and all poker players worldwide. Without the players, they don't make a dime. So always remember that your best interests as a player should ALWAYS be taken at heart and not taken for granted.
Now I have gone easy here and will expand in greater detail in my blog at www.PokerGob.com later this week. I know that this will create a Firestorm of opinions and I am excited to hear everyones feedback, even if they want to crap on me. I am okay with that, because I was once an avid online player and I am used to being crapped on.
And before I go, I can agree that sites like Party Poker and Chilipoker have established themselves as worthy sites and I would strongly recommend that players play at sites that respect their players or at least appear to.
And please, do not start commenting on how some of you have had bad experiences at those sites. There will always be bad experiences, it is about the overall picture. And Poker Stars does not give a crap about you, just your money.
Have a nice day all!
BlisteringFx
Well put Carl!
Perfectly put! Looking forward to the blog, Carl.
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