*** PokerStars VIP Rep thread ***

Hi guys. Just wanted to post a quick introduction. I'll be following the forums here on FTR, and hopefully I can make some useful contributions for PokerStars related questions or feedback that some of you might have. PokerStars has always tried to keep a close relationship with the players to be able to meet their needs, and I'm genuinely interested in hearing your input.

A bit about myself : I'm a former professional player based out of Canada where I'm now the PokerStars VIP Coordinator for mainly the East Coast. FTR has been a great help to me over the years, and I hope I can return the favour in the future.

I'll do my best to answer any other questions and I look forward to participating in the future.

Cheers,

Dylan C
VIP Coordinator
P♠kerStars

Why did you guys doom switch me?

What do you plan to do about the 9/6 nits that plague 2NL fr since the Americans stopped showing up ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celtic123

What do you plan to do about the 9/6 nits that plague 2NL fr since the Americans stopped showing up ?

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PokerStars doesn't punish any style of play. You're on the right track to finding a strategy to adapt to these types of players by being a regular contributor to FTR. You're probably better off posting this question in the BC or Full Ring forums as a topic for general discussion -> i.e. "Help me deal with 9/6 regs".

Cheers,

Dylan C

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celtic123

What do you plan to do about the 9/6 nits that plague 2NL fr since the Americans stopped showing up ?

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serious? i think the games have become way softer since BF.

Can i get the equivalence of 31% rakeback if i maintain platinumstar vip every month? I know you have VIP and stellar rewards. I left about $1k funds in my stars account since last year but think about moving to another network site coz i'm not supernova any more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pokerfan

Can i get the equivalence of 31% rakeback if i maintain platinumstar vip every month? I know you have VIP and stellar rewards. I left about $1k funds in my stars account since last year but think about moving to another network site coz i'm not supernova any more.

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Hi Pokerfan. If you specify what games and volume you typically play, I can give you a more detailed breakdown of what rewards you can expect. But generally, if you're maintaining PlatinumStar and playing Full Ring you can expect 31% in rewards, for 6max and Sit n Gos/MTTs you'll be earning 28%. If you did re-achieve Supernova status, you'd see a significant bump.

Keep in mind, no MGR deductions go against your rewards so this is a true representation of the percentage you receive.

Yeah ignore the question from the guy who has paid u guys 80k in rake this year.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PokerStars VIP

Hi Pokerfan. If you specify what games and volume you typically play, I can give you a more detailed breakdown of what rewards you can expect. But generally, if you're maintaining PlatinumStar and playing Full Ring you can expect 31% in rewards, for 6max and Sit n Gos/MTTs you'll be earning 28%. If you did re-achieve Supernova status, you'd see a significant bump.

Keep in mind, no MGR deductions go against your rewards so this is a true representation of the percentage you receive.

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yeah, i played 50NL FR games on stars and logged in around 35-40k hands each month last year. This year, i figure that i can only do like 25k hands.So it seems that there's no way i can even maintain PlatinumStar every month.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celtic123

What do you plan to do about the 9/6 nits that plague 2NL fr since the Americans stopped showing up ?

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this is literally the easiest opponent to play against and you should be grateful they exist

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Icanhastreebet

Why did you guys doom switch me?

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Icanhastreebet, I didn't purposefully deflect this question, but I assumed it was a given that you knew there is no "doomswitch" and PokerStars takes its game security and integrity extremely seriously. I can personally sympathize that variance, on the other hand, can be frustrating.

Dylan C

Kinda dumb question but why doesn't stars allow americans to play freerolls anymore?

I think I actually hate myself for even asking.

cos you can't win anything that could have a monetary value.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Keith

cos you can't win anything that could have a monetary value.

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This is interesting. Can Americans play poker on Facebook?
I do believe that you can actually buy credits/ chips to play on f/b, can someone clarify this?

If clarification arrives, do you see the madness here?

The difference seems to be that you can't actually win anything of value on fb. You can however buy worthless chips from fb but they'll never be worth anything. I dunno who the fuck is actually doing that but they're obv morons whos money would be of better use as donations on a real site.

My point is that since you don't pay for freerolls it isn't gambling because you're not risking anything. But the sad fact is that I only asked because the DoJ has reduced my pathetic poker career to freetrolling for the time being.

You guys were on the right track. It's because US players can't play in tournaments that have real money prizes.

Yeah, but this is obv a stars rule and has nothing to do with the U.S. in general. I mean, an american can pay a monthly fee to the WPT site and play for cash and prizes legally so there's really no reason for stars to not allow us to play for free also. Except for the fact that it's prolly a huge pain in the ass to keep track of and cash out the nanorolls that a freetroller might win. So it seems more of a logistical thing, yeah?

Fwiw, I'm still a big fan of stars and commend everyone involved for getting our rolls back to us in a somewhat timely manner, and will be one of the first in the line of masses to deposit if we ever get the opportunity to play there again.

I have a question. Why don't you have NL2 and NL5 40-100BB USD tables, but only EURO ones?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by supa

Yeah, but this is obv a stars rule and has nothing to do with the U.S. in general. I mean, an american can pay a monthly fee to the WPT site and play for cash and prizes legally so there's really no reason for stars to not allow us to play for free also. Except for the fact that it's prolly a huge pain in the ass to keep track of and cash out the nanorolls that a freetroller might win. So it seems more of a logistical thing, yeah?

Fwiw, I'm still a big fan of stars and commend everyone involved for getting our rolls back to us in a somewhat timely manner, and will be one of the first in the line of masses to deposit if we ever get the opportunity to play there again.

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Supa, I see your point, but it just comes down to Freerolls being real money play due to the real money prizes. The entry free is irrelevant in this instance.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, it's appreciated.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nekrogovner

I have a question. Why don't you have NL2 and NL5 40-100BB USD tables, but only EURO ones?

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Hi Nekrogovner, PokerStars is always trying to accommodate player demand, and I'm here to listen to feedback. What games specifically would you like to see added and why?

I'll then forward your input on to Poker Room Management.

Cheers,
Dylan C

I would love to see some lower stakes HU tables.. I've never been one for the HU-SNG's so would love it if I could play 10NL and 25NL HU.. i'm sure people would be keen for 5 as well, though i think that and 2nl would be far too much of a crap shoot for my liking..

Hi Dylan C,

I need to earn 59 VPP by the 15th of July to qualify for my ps100 Bonus (if I understand this scheme). Have you any idea how many hands I must play at 2NL or 5NL to achieve this?


Im comfy 4-10 tabling.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celtic123

Hi Dylan C,

I need to earn 59 VPP by the 15th of July to qualify for my ps100 Bonus (if I understand this scheme). Have you any idea how many hands I must play at 2NL or 5NL to achieve this?


Im comfy 4-10 tabling.

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Hi Celtic, here are some estimates:

5NL 6max: 950 hands

5NL FR: 1450 hands

2NL 6max: 1800 hands

2NL FR: 2450 hands

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Dylan C

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scott_owen

I would love to see some lower stakes HU tables.. I've never been one for the HU-SNG's so would love it if I could play 10NL and 25NL HU.. i'm sure people would be keen for 5 as well, though i think that and 2nl would be far too much of a crap shoot for my liking..

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Thanks for the input. Your comments have been passed on to the Poker Room team.

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with your job, but something needs to be done about those who abuse the sit out button at high stakes (10/20+).

Is it true that pstars takes screenshots of your comp sometimes when you play?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with your job, but something needs to be done about those who abuse the sit out button at high stakes (10/20+).

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Hi M2M, We did introduce a specific rule to counter this a few months back. See rules 10 and 11 here:

Poker Ring Game Rules - Poker Game Rule Guide for PokerStars

The rule addition/change was prompted by problems at high stakes NLHE tables. Since then we've been monitoring tables and have passed out warnings and then temporary bans for offenders. The situation has improved greatly at these tables as a result.

A few days ago our Ring Games Managers started putting more focus on monitoring high stakes PLO tables for the same purpose. They aren't monitoring 24/7 but they are checking in fairly regularly. If you want to discuss the rule or report a violation (ideally with screenshot), contact [email protected] for direct access to ring games managers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Numbr2intheWorld

Is it true that pstars takes screenshots of your comp sometimes when you play?

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No, we don't take screenshots.

just live streams i think?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by reDZill4

just live streams i think?

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Hah, no live streams either.

Below is an announcement about recent changes to the game speed. I'll be happy to discuss any of these changes in this thread and pass along any input.

After listening to player feedback, we have enacted changes in the PokerStars software to speed up dealing in certain situations. A few other related changes have been made as well, though in most cases the time a player has to act on their hand has not been affected. Read below for more details.

Non-Satellite Sit & Go Tournaments

Hyper Turbo Sit & Go Tournaments are most affected by the changes. Players in these tournaments will have 12 seconds to act on their hand instead of 16. Several other dealing speed improvements including time taken between hands and speed of dealing cards once players are all-in have also been made.

All other Sit & Go tournaments have had dealing speed reduced, but not quite as much. Cards dealt after all action is complete due to players being all-in are now dealt twice as fast. The time between all hands being shown or mucked and the next hand being dealt has also been reduced by one second per hand.

Players in regular speed Sit & Go’s will now have 16 seconds to act on their hand, reduced from 18 seconds.

The time taken to start dealing after all players have registered and been seated has been reduced for many popular Sit & Go tournaments. Many Heads-up and Hyper speed tournaments now start after only a 10 second delay. Other popular tournaments start after 20 seconds.

Scheduled Tournaments, Satellites, and Step Tournaments

Dealing speed has been increased in these tournaments similar to the changes made in Sit & Go’s. Cards dealt after all action is complete due to players being all-in are now dealt twice as fast. The time between all hands being shown or mucked and the next hand being dealt has also been reduced by one second per hand.

Players in some tournaments will experience slightly different amounts of time to act on their hand. This is as a result of standardizing this setting across all tournaments.

Hyper-turbo satellites have been sped up drastically. These satellites will run at the same speed as hyper-turbo cash S&Gs.

These changes will not take place for all future tournaments, but will instead filter their way into the tournament schedule over the next few weeks.

Ring Games

As with all tournaments, cards dealt after all action is complete due to players being all-in are now dealt twice as fast. The time between all hands being shown or mucked and the next hand being dealt has also been reduced by one second per hand.

The delay prior to dealing the first hand of a session at a table has been reduced from 15 seconds to 10 seconds.

The changes to ring games will not have a significant impact on the number of hands played per hour at this point in time. PokerStars is considering further changes that may include changes to the amount of time players have to act on their hand.

Comments about playing experience at ring game tables are appreciated. In particular, if there is anything about the ring game experience other than players’ time to act that seems too slow or too fast we’d love to know.

Request for Comments

While PokerStars never stops considering player feedback, in this case we are particularly interested in response to these changes. Additional tweaks are possible if desired by players as a whole. Thanks in advance for any constructive suggestions.

Thanks to all players who have already provided input that helped us make this round of changes. Special thanks to all of those who helped test these settings on PokerStars.test and provided helpful input.


Dylan C

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PokerStars VIP

Below is an announcement about recent changes to the game speed. I'll be happy to discuss any of these changes in this thread and pass along any input.

After listening to player feedback, we have enacted changes in the PokerStars software to speed up dealing in certain situations. A few other related changes have been made as well, though in most cases the time a player has to act on their hand has not been affected. Read below for more details.

Non-Satellite Sit & Go Tournaments

Hyper Turbo Sit & Go Tournaments are most affected by the changes. Players in these tournaments will have 12 seconds to act on their hand instead of 16. Several other dealing speed improvements including time taken between hands and speed of dealing cards once players are all-in have also been made.

All other Sit & Go tournaments have had dealing speed reduced, but not quite as much. Cards dealt after all action is complete due to players being all-in are now dealt twice as fast. The time between all hands being shown or mucked and the next hand being dealt has also been reduced by one second per hand.

Players in regular speed Sit & Go’s will now have 16 seconds to act on their hand, reduced from 18 seconds.

The time taken to start dealing after all players have registered and been seated has been reduced for many popular Sit & Go tournaments. Many Heads-up and Hyper speed tournaments now start after only a 10 second delay. Other popular tournaments start after 20 seconds.

Scheduled Tournaments, Satellites, and Step Tournaments

Dealing speed has been increased in these tournaments similar to the changes made in Sit & Go’s. Cards dealt after all action is complete due to players being all-in are now dealt twice as fast. The time between all hands being shown or mucked and the next hand being dealt has also been reduced by one second per hand.

Players in some tournaments will experience slightly different amounts of time to act on their hand. This is as a result of standardizing this setting across all tournaments.

Hyper-turbo satellites have been sped up drastically. These satellites will run at the same speed as hyper-turbo cash S&Gs.

These changes will not take place for all future tournaments, but will instead filter their way into the tournament schedule over the next few weeks.

Ring Games

As with all tournaments, cards dealt after all action is complete due to players being all-in are now dealt twice as fast. The time between all hands being shown or mucked and the next hand being dealt has also been reduced by one second per hand.

The delay prior to dealing the first hand of a session at a table has been reduced from 15 seconds to 10 seconds.

The changes to ring games will not have a significant impact on the number of hands played per hour at this point in time. PokerStars is considering further changes that may include changes to the amount of time players have to act on their hand.

Comments about playing experience at ring game tables are appreciated. In particular, if there is anything about the ring game experience other than players’ time to act that seems too slow or too fast we’d love to know.

Request for Comments

While PokerStars never stops considering player feedback, in this case we are particularly interested in response to these changes. Additional tweaks are possible if desired by players as a whole. Thanks in advance for any constructive suggestions.

Thanks to all players who have already provided input that helped us make this round of changes. Special thanks to all of those who helped test these settings on PokerStars.test and provided helpful input.


Dylan C

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more than 24 tables please

Rake at nano stakes / micro stakes PLO is ridic high, what up with that?

It would be really cool if you made some options/shortcuts for:
1. closing only tables at which I'm sitting out
2. closing tables where number of players is less then X (like if there is 3 players in 6max game close that thing)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Penneywize

Rake at nano stakes / micro stakes PLO is ridic high, what up with that?

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rake at any game micro/nano is ridic.

is pretty easy to argue that if the rake was say 3% vs 5% more people in the 5nl 10nl games would be winners and move up, leading to equivalent or more profit for pstars and a bigger player pool generally since it would be easier to win consistently and many losers would become break even.

and even if it reduced pstars profit they'd still be rolling in cash..

thx stars for getting rid of the redic delay when ai for the turn and river. was abso pointless

What about dropping the dollar symbol ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scott_owen

rake at any game micro/nano is ridic.

is pretty easy to argue that if the rake was say 3% vs 5% more people in the 5nl 10nl games would be winners and move up, leading to equivalent or more profit for pstars and a bigger player pool generally since it would be easier to win consistently and many losers would become break even.

and even if it reduced pstars profit they'd still be rolling in cash..

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yeah but the consensus is that rake is generally worse at nano/micro PLO than it is for NLHE

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celtic123

What about dropping the dollar symbol ?

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You mean in all tournaments and Sit n gos?


I appreciate all the input guys. Not going unnoticed.

i think he meant removing USD from the site because people in the U.S. can't play but i could be really wrong :s

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Imthenewfish

i think he meant removing USD from the site because people in the U.S. can't play but i could be really wrong :s

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Are you guys insane? And what will you play in? I sure as hell ain't leaving my money in Euros. Unless you want to risk a chance of losing much of it. ;)

nah i think he did mean the dollar signs from tourneys i.e. in spots they really shouldn't be

Hi Dylan C

Change Request - please have player options/preferences stored as part of their account settings.

Cheers!

^^ depending on how easy that is to do technically it would be a huge help for grinders who play on their laptop and desktop

+ all player notes on opponents being saved to accounts, not computers!

Going to pass this feedback on to the Poker Team. Thanks for the suggestions.

Dylan C

props to Dylan C for staying on top of this thread

+1

btw - is it worth making this a sticky?

I will sticky it for sure as soon as I get back to my computer in a couple days. I will actually be "sticky"ing the few threads of poker room VIPs. I just don't like to log into the mod panel from my phone or tablet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jyms

I will sticky it for sure as soon as I get back to my computer in a couple days. I will actually be "sticky"ing the few threads of poker room VIPs. I just don't like to log into the mod panel from my phone or tablet.

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Great! Thanks Jyms.

I wanted to ask if any of you might have some input or suggestions on the Billionth hand promos. During the promotion, would something like adding a VPP counter for VPPs accrued at each table help? Another idea being considered is slowing down the dealing for the actual Milestone hands.

I'm open to any other suggestions that would make the promotion more effective and easier to understand.

Thanks for any feedback.

Dylan C

any chance of dealing me pocket Aces on the 70th billionth hand? they'll get sucked out on , but at least it will be a CSB.

also, how about a 4th bet slider button for the terminally lazy?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PokerStars VIP

I wanted to ask if any of you might have some input or suggestions on the Billionth hand promos. During the promotion, would something like adding a VPP counter for VPPs accrued at each table help? Another idea being considered is slowing down the dealing for the actual Milestone hands.

I'm open to any other suggestions that would make the promotion more effective and easier to understand.

Thanks for any feedback.

Dylan C

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How about something for SNG/Tournament players?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Icanhastreebet

How about something for SNG/Tournament players?

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battle of the planets promotion seems to fit that criteria

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Keith

battle of the planets promotion seems to fit that criteria

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only for games with <27 entrants.

When I log into the PS client I have the save password button checked.
Sometimes when I log in my password has cleared, sometimes its saved. Its annoying that its not always saved.
Is this the same for everyone?

Also, the same login GUI, there is an option for create new account. This tilts me. Second accounts can't be created. Why is this option offered? I can see its there for new users. But regulars don't need to see this option.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celtic123

When I log into the PS client I have the save password button checked.
Sometimes when I log in my password has cleared, sometimes its saved. Its annoying that its not always saved.
Is this the same for everyone?

Also, the same login GUI, there is an option for create new account. This tilts me. Second accounts can't be created. Why is this option offered? I can see its there for new users. But regulars don't need to see this option.

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Passwords are not saved forever on your computer for your own security. They are cleared periodically for this reason. If it's clearing for you on a frequent basis, it could be another issue.

The account creation option is available because new players can create an account on an existing players client. When the PokerStars Client launches, the client doesn't know who is launching it (until you have logged in).

Hope this info helps.

Dylan C

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celtic123

When I log into the PS client I have the save password button checked.
Sometimes when I log in my password has cleared, sometimes its saved. Its annoying that its not always saved.
Is this the same for everyone?

Also, the same login GUI, there is an option for create new account. This tilts me. Second accounts can't be created. Why is this option offered? I can see its there for new users. But regulars don't need to see this option.

---

also if you login at home then some place else like work (yikes) the client detects a different location (for lack of technical term) and you will need to reenter your PW.

as a US player i still play at the *.net site for play as i think it's the best for play money. i wish the pokerstars.net software client would have enough features available for Tounament Indicator to work fully and other pokerstars features.

Hi Dylan,

another CR - could there be an option to disable the auto-action buttons (e.g. the check/fold, call any, etc)? I never use them and they just clutter up the table.

also, would it be possible for the playing audit Excel output to be a little less...errr...garish?

Thanks!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DoubleJ

Hi Dylan,

another CR - could there be an option to disable the auto-action buttons (e.g. the check/fold, call any, etc)? I never use them and they just clutter up the table.

also, would it be possible for the playing audit Excel output to be a little less...errr...garish?

Thanks!

---

Thanks for the suggestions, I will pass it on and let you know if something comes of it.

Dylan

Hi Dylan long time listener first time caller. I want to know more about doom/boom switching.

why are you so pro-active when it comes to banning my chat?
was it something i said?
or something to do with how i look?
will you give me Supernova Elite benefits if i am polite at the tables?

Hi Dylan

Thanks for monitoring this forum

A few rants/suggestions

1. The Game Filter is very annoying, because you do not have and/or options and thus it is relatively useless unless you want to filter specific games; for example I am playing Sngs 6 max Holdem at $15 and Omaha h/l at $7-$15 - 9 players - no way to filter those without getting the holdem 9 max

2. The new table theme that you added kicks ass

3. It would be nice to have a way to manage a buddy list and see if they are online when you are online

4. Is there any way to see the player notes as tooltips ?

5. Option to roundup auto bets to X - I have an auto button for 2.5 bet which is a pretty standard bet size for me, but then you sometimes get numbers like 537 that I round up to make my bet look normal, auto round up to nearest 50 would be great

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TLR

3. It would be nice to have a way to manage a buddy list and see if they are online when you are online

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i like this idea but, do you think it would deter weaker players somehow? ie if they feel they are being preyed upon at all. i guess it cant be any worse than 21 players on a waiting list in the hope of getting their piece of the "live one".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rpm

i like this idea but, do you think it would deter weaker players somehow? ie if they feel they are being preyed upon at all. i guess it cant be any worse than 21 players on a waiting list in the hope of getting their piece of the "live one".

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I dont think it is any different then the 'Find a player' option except it is done automatically for players you define. I assume that players who actively block themselves from find a player will be blocked from this as well

dear god but can you turn my 12 week doomswitch off please

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TLR

Hi Dylan

Thanks for monitoring this forum

A few rants/suggestions

1. The Game Filter is very annoying, because you do not have and/or options and thus it is relatively useless unless you want to filter specific games; for example I am playing Sngs 6 max Holdem at $15 and Omaha h/l at $7-$15 - 9 players - no way to filter those without getting the holdem 9 max

2. The new table theme that you added kicks ass

3. It would be nice to have a way to manage a buddy list and see if they are online when you are online

4. Is there any way to see the player notes as tooltips ?

5. Option to roundup auto bets to X - I have an auto button for 2.5 bet which is a pretty standard bet size for me, but then you sometimes get numbers like 537 that I round up to make my bet look normal, auto round up to nearest 50 would be great

---

Thanks for the suggestions. Regarding #4, can you elaborate?

Dylan

Hey Dylan,

Can you please tell someone that cares that 10 am EST for WCOOP starts is too early? Like even an hour later would help a lot. People in PST time zones have to wake up at 6:30 am to make the start of the events, and that's just too damn early :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PokerStars VIP

Thanks for the suggestions. Regarding #4, can you elaborate?

Dylan

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Sorry, I wasnt really clear about this one

I actually meant two things
1. When you are in the lobby and you stand on a table you have the list of players on the side, when putting the mouse over a player it would be nice to be able to see your notes about him, so you can better table select. In ring games you can just open the table and see, but in tournaments there is no easy way that I know of (other then opening the notes files outside of pokerstars) to see the player notes
2. When playing at a table standing on a player should show in a tooltip the notes about it

Come to think about it if there is a way (maybe there is and I am not aware of) to automatically merge PT notes and PS notes/stats it would be great

Thanks for the clarification TLR, I understand what you mean now will pass that on to the Development team.

Any of you try out the "East Seat" feature yet? If so, any opinions on it? We're actively looking to get some feedback for any improvements that can be made.

Cheers,

Dylan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PokerStars VIP

Thanks for the clarification TLR, I understand what you mean now will pass that on to the Development team.

Any of you try out the "East Seat" feature yet? If so, any opinions on it? We're actively looking to get some feedback for any improvements that can be made.

Cheers,

Dylan

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What is this feature?

Going to repost something Stefan from the PokerStars Poker Room Management Team posted about the recent software changes/upgrades. I'd be happy to discuss these with you guys personally.

Basically, the goal of the east seat feature is to facilitate the process of getting a session going for multi-tablers, so this feature is for Ring game players.


Easy Seat (Beta)

Easy Seat transforms the experience of starting your multi-tabling session. Once you set up your Easy Seat preferences you will be able to launch your sessions with just a single click from the main lobby! Taking seats has never been this easy.

Once started, Easy Seat will automatically look for free seats at tables that match your criteria. If there aren’t enough free seats Easy Seat will add you to suitable waiting lists. For example, if you specify that you want to play 18 tables of $1/$2 No Limit Hold’em at fast tables, the Easy Seat system will seat you at 18 tables as fast as possible. Here is a screenshot of the lobby control which is located in the bottom right of the list of ring games.


Easy Seat can also help maintain your desired number of tables. If you enable “Session Mode”, when tables close Easy Seat will open new ones to keep you at your desired number.

Easy Seat will initially be in a Beta stage and not shown by default in the main ring game lobby. To test out Easy Seat, please go to ‘Options’ > ‘Lobby Display Options’ and select ‘Show Easy Seat (Beta)’. For best results you should enable Auto-Buyin to make the process as seamless as possible.

If you have any feedback about this new feature, please email us at [email protected].

Timed Tournaments
Timed tournaments are perfect when you want to play a tournament but only have a limited amount of time. Timed tournaments end after a pre-defined period. Once the time limit is reached, surviving players are paid out based wholly or partially on chip counts. Currently we are testing various configuration options at low stakes but we will be rolling out more timed tournaments after WCOOP.

New “PokerStars Nova” Table Themes
The new table themes that some players have already tested will be released to all players with this update. These themes include a new table design, and features that many players asked for, such as North/South seating, bigger fonts, more distinguishable cards of opponents etc. To use one of the new themes simply go to ‘View’ > ‘Table Themes’ and pick one of the Nova themes. These new themes are still in Beta stage, so please email feedback to [email protected]. Below is a screenshot with slight modifications from what the testing players experienced:

4-Max Final Table
4-Max tournaments will now go to the final table at 5 players. This means that you will be playing 5-handed in a ‘4-Max’ tournament but this avoids the uneven situation of one table having to play heads-up while the other is 3-handed.

Show Full Hole Cards
If you enable this option (under 'Options' > 'Table Display Options') you will see the whole of both hole cards. Many players suggest that this makes it easier to read your hand.

Show Large Opponent Cards
If you enable this option (under 'Options' > 'Table Display Options') the size of your opponents’ hole cards is increased. Many players suggest that this makes it easier to quickly see who is left in a hand.

Fold and Show/Show One Card
Players will now be given the ability to Fold and Show (rather than just fold) when last to act. Players will also be able to only show some of their cards rather than having to choose between showing all or none. You choose which card(s) you want to show by clicking on them.

Fold and Show does not work in draw games. As before, general preferences for whether to ever show are controlled in the ‘Showing / Mucking Hands’ section of the Options menu.

Ring Game Lobby Improvements
We have made improvements to the ring game lobby. There will be a new ‘Type’ column that will show game speed and buy-in structure, and an icon for table size. The table column will now only have the table name.

Animation Improvements
We have made improvements to some of the table animations in the client so they are smoother. This is part of a large project that will gradually improve animations in the client even more.

As always we have also made a number of other minor fixes / improvements to the client and server. These include changing tournament filters to reflect total buyin including knockouts and rake (rather than just buyin as previously).

A big thanks to all players from the community who were involved in the testing of the new table themes or Easy Seat over the last month. Your feedback has been very valuable!

Note: The above changes would only take effect once your gaming client has been updated, which could happen at different times for different players. Please ensure you are running PokerStarsUpdate.exe to get the update.