Leaving Pokerstars after a decade.

[jimmiandersen]

I have recently made the decision to leave pokerstars after about a decade of playing there, and was wondering if anyone else have decided to do the same and why?

In my case it was several things and it started after Amaya took over.

1. The stupid non transparent chest system with random rewards probably based on how good a player you are. I have heard rumors about good players getting less. So probably some redistribution of wealth there. Making it harder for good players to make a profit and rewarding losing players. It is clear to me that Amaya really just see Poker as another casino game and they are only interested in having losing players. The chest rewards rewards is one example of them trying to make it more casino like. Tempest is another. They want degenerate losing gamblers, not poker pros. On other sites it is very transparent. Earn this amount of points and get back this much of your way too high rake.

2. The antes on zoom tables. Probably not something that anyone asked for, but instead just a way for them to get bigger pots and more rake from their "casino" players. I plan on moving up from the micro limits if I am ever able to follow good BRM, and when I get to NL10 I would have the options to play ante games, slow down to a ridiculously low number of hands per hour on standard tables or play somewhere else. I have decided to play somewhere else and deleted Pokerstars from my computer.

3. That awful aurora engine. When playing with a background other than the default one the table is blinking between zoom hands. Probably because the default background is used first and then replaced with the non default one. Blink blink blink in like 60-90 % of hands.Very frustrating.

4. Lower effective rake somewhere else. Despite what some people might say, higher rake is not good. That is unless you are paid some of that rake to promote the site.

5. partypoker is not that bad. The inability for some people to download hand histories will probably be fixed, and when we can all do that instead of just a select few, it will be an awesome place to play. I have also played some on ACR which was okay some of the time, but often there would be some incredibly frustrating tournament announcement pop ups on the screen. The same announcement about the same tournament every few minutes. So I stopped playing there. But there is at least one good alternative to Pokerstars. Maybe several. Not sure. Just happy that I found a new home

 

[Johnny78B]

I have recently made the decision to leave Pokerstars after about a decade of playing there, and was wondering if anyone else have decided to do the same and why?

In my case it was several things and it started after Amaya took over.

1. The stupid non transparent chest system with random rewards probably based on how good a player you are. I have heard rumors about good players getting less. So probably some redistribution of wealth there. Making it harder for good players to make a profit and rewarding losing players. It is clear to me that Amaya really just see Poker as another casino game and they are only interested in having losing players. The chest rewards rewards is one example of them trying to make it more casino like. Tempest is another. They want degenerate losing gamblers, not poker pros. On other sites it is very transparent. Earn this amount of points and get back this much of your way too high rake.

2. The antes on zoom tables. Probably not something that anyone asked for, but instead just a way for them to get bigger pots and more rake from their "casino" players. I plan on moving up from the micro limits if I am ever able to follow good BRM, and when I get to NL10 I would have the options to play ante games, slow down to a ridiculously low number of hands per hour on standard tables or play somewhere else. I have decided to play somewhere else and deleted Pokerstars from my computer.

3. That awful aurora engine. When playing with a background other than the default one the table is blinking between zoom hands. Probably because the default background is used first and then replaced with the non default one. Blink blink blink in like 60-90 % of hands.Very frustrating.

4. Lower effective rake somewhere else. Despite what some people might say, higher rake is not good. That is unless you are paid some of that rake to promote the site.

5. Partypoker is not that bad. The inability for some people to download hand histories will probably be fixed, and when we can all do that instead of just a select few, it will be an awesome place to play. I have also played some on ACR which was okay some of the time, but often there would be some incredibly frustrating tournament announcement pop ups on the screen. The same announcement about the same tournament every few minutes. So I stopped playing there. But there is at least one good alternative to Pokerstars. Maybe several. Not sure. Just happy that I found a new home

I do not want to leave PS because spent a long time over there and still hope that room will make some changes. But you are right about their chest rewards even in the black chest I did not get much. And there are no any bonuses for deposits too, I remember before they offer a different bonuses every week for deposing but no anymore.
I really do not know why everybody are complaining about aurora because I really do not have a problem with that.

 

[jimmiandersen]

Not 100 % sure about the lower effective rake statement. I saw some claim about lower effective rake on Party vs Stars but it seems to be kinda complicated due to variance on different stakes.

 

[capo1014]

Poker Stars

Most of the big poker sites play to on-line casino players, bad news for poker in general. For generations in my family we have passed down the skill of poker. This game has been a big part of our lives. Bottom line is all the big corporations just want more money and do not care about any of us in general. You stopped playing because you disliked the chest system, antes on zoom tables and etc. No matter what site you play on there will always be likes and dislikes. In general for me I have problems with all sites as they are only interested in the bottom line and not our ROI. Capo1014

 

[linf]

I don't like that there are too many people on the PS. tournaments last very long, this is not my format

 

[Risto234]

Pokerstars is only worth leaving whenever they do not have cardchat daily tournaments anymore lol :damnmate:

 

[Andrei Korolev]

Yes, the last time PokerStars also disappoints me,this year I have just zero...I rarely play in it.I wish you good luck and success in your new room...

 

[Joe]

You're far from alone.

The mass exodus of ambassadors speaks volumes in itself.

Nobody was a bigger PokerStars fanboy than me. You couldn't say a bad word about them unchallenged when I was around.

Back in the day I sent them many long, fawning emails about how much I loved them. How I dreamed and aspired to being a team pro member someday. How I'd work for them in any capacity (even suggesting fetching coffee for Hartigan and making sure Stapes always had a clean pressed suit [which actually fitted]).

If they offered me team pro tomorrow, I'd more than likely decline. Regardless of how big of a crush I have on GJReggie... :laugh:

Despite me being a very loyal puppy, even I have fallen out of love with the platform.

Withdrew my BR from the site a while ago and now only play CC games and freerolls there.

It's fairly obvious that they think they're untouchable and that their size will carry them through regardless of how they treat their customer base, I.E. the people who pay their wages.

As more and more regs boycott their games it will be interesting to see if and how they try to undo the damage done to their image/reputation and win players back.

You may have noticed recently they have been splurging out on a whole host of pretty awful adverts on TV & YouTube. This is totally symptomatic of their terrible attitude and ethos these days, I.E. focusing on generating new traffic rather than looking after the client base they already have.

In my opinion it's truly sad and disappointing to see what was a great poker company, with exemplary customer care, which did so much for the poker world, turn into a corporate cash cow which quite blatantly couldn't give a flying **** about anything besides maximising profits and lining fatcat board members' pockets at the expense of their everyday customers, who put them where they are today.

They've lost sight of the fact that without players they're nothing.

Yes, - it brings me no joy to say - PokerStars can whistle. :thefinger

P.S. In the interests of fairness, PokerStars are still amazing for paying out withdrawals promptly and I appreciate their relationship with CC and how many games they give CC there. Can't fault them there and I'm grateful and thankful for that, if nothing else.

 

[jimmiandersen]

It's fairly obvious that they think they're untouchable and that their size will carry them through regardless of how they treat their customer base, I.E. the people who pay their wages.

Exactly! That pretty much sums it up. They got too big and now the new owners think they can do basically anything due to their size. I kinda hope that other people will leave too, even if it is just temporarily. Just until Amaya realize that there are limits to what they can do without losing customers.

 

[kamciono5]

Next player leaves pokerstars. In my opinion the only reason to play currently on pokerstars are cardschat platinium freerolls, nothing else
Good decision my friend

 

[jimmiandersen]

Next player leaves pokerstars. In my opinion the only reason to play currently on pokerstars are cardschat platinium freerolls, nothing else
Good decision my friend

I feel good. Tired of Amaya so bye bye to Amaya. Previous owners knew what they were doing.

 

[indrelivdist]

For all players that have left Pokerstars site due to personal grievances, can you tell Cardschat forum readers where you have chosen to play your games now, and why you have chosen the site you now play? Good gaming to ya! Pokerstars is Awesome, and still no lack of players!
Jesus of Nazareth is The LORD!

 

[jimmiandersen]

For all players that have left Pokerstars site due to personal grievances, can you tell Cardschat forum readers where you have chosen to play your games now, and why you have chosen the site you now play? Good gaming to ya! Pokerstars is Awesome, and still no lack of players!
Jesus of Nazareth is The LORD!

I already did. Pokerstars was awesome. Now it kinda sucks and have lots of players.

 

[CheezeWiz]

Good Luck Finding a Site Concerned about Our ROI

Most of the big poker sites play to on-line casino players, bad news for poker in general. For generations in my family we have passed down the skill of poker. This game has been a big part of our lives. Bottom line is all the big corporations just want more money and do not care about any of us in general. You stopped playing because you disliked the chest system, antes on zoom tables and etc. No matter what site you play on there will always be likes and dislikes. In general for me I have problems with all sites as they are only interested in the bottom line and not our ROI. Capo1014

Well, good luck finding a site that is concerned about "our" ROI. But look at the bright side, it could be worse. You could be a Horse Player rather than a Poker Player! Take-outs on horse betting is OUTRAGEOUS! You have a much better chance at developing the skill level to beat the poker rake than you ever would beating the track take-out.

Best of Luck at The Tables All,

CheezeWiz

 

[MattRyder]

I'm okay with Pokerstars. The chests are dumb and aurora graphics are annoying, I don't play enough to really comment on rake.

But the software is still pretty good and they have lots of players/games.

 

[DaaBee]

Pokerstars is only worth leaving whenever they do not have cardchat daily tournaments anymore lol :damnmate:

Cardschat freerolls are the only reason i play on PS

 

[Hanosch]

Don t know how you cannot see the great progress of their room...

I mean take my day for instance: i got the senseless 'you can ban yourself for 24 hours' after login in for the 20th time, just so i know about it in case i am really stupid. The button is, of course, righz in the main lobby, and once you click it accidentally your instantly banned without even beeing asked if u are sure, right away.
To sum it up: I was experiencing no bad beat whatsoever by using Pokerstars today.

Gg Pokerstars!

(I don t know what I would have done in case i would play a real bankroll there and was banned while beeing in games...)

 

[samsonand]

What a surprise to leave this room because it has many facilities for each player

 

[MsUniverse]

Well, this rake goes to all sorts of draws and pretty tasty freerolls, don't forget about it

 

[souza155]

I still think pokerstars is the best place to play poker online, but it is always good to change places sometimes and I think it is cool to look for a new poker site if pokerstar is no longer suitable for you.

 

[longjohn1012]

I too am frustrated with Pokerstars. I have been playing on that site for approx. 13 years. It gets disheartening when you see the little things slowly getting removed. I.E. the deposit bonuses, the chests that want you to take out a second mortgage on your house just to try to complete the challanges. It has changed alot since I started playing there. I play PP and their format is pretty good and seems to be improving all the time. One gentleman here is correct, there are pros and cons to every site. I hope Pokerstars gets back to their roots and give some incentives for players to stay there. I too am getting slowly distant wtih PS.

 

[theRaven68]

Pokerstars left me in September 2020 when they left Serbian market

 

[valanddon]

I play pokerstars, 888poker and party poker. Pokerstars has the worst
bad beats of them all but cardschat has great tournaments with them
so I will stick with them as long as cardschat dose.

 

[4give4live]

I have recently made the decision to leave Pokerstars after about a decade of playing there, and was wondering if anyone else have decided to do the same and why?

Lucky
They had a variation of 3max sng hold'em with elements of strategy, accumulating "mana" and using it to change the course of the game. I do not remember what this beast was called. Why did they remove it?

 

[johnnylawford]

I have recently made the decision to leave Pokerstars after about a decade of playing there, and was wondering if anyone else have decided to do the same and why?

In my case it was several things and it started after Amaya took over.

1. The stupid non transparent chest system with random rewards probably based on how good a player you are. I have heard rumors about good players getting less. So probably some redistribution of wealth there. Making it harder for good players to make a profit and rewarding losing players. It is clear to me that Amaya really just see Poker as another casino game and they are only interested in having losing players. The chest rewards rewards is one example of them trying to make it more casino like. Tempest is another. They want degenerate losing gamblers, not poker pros. On other sites it is very transparent. Earn this amount of points and get back this much of your way too high rake.

2. The antes on zoom tables. Probably not something that anyone asked for, but instead just a way for them to get bigger pots and more rake from their "casino" players. I plan on moving up from the micro limits if I am ever able to follow good BRM, and when I get to NL10 I would have the options to play ante games, slow down to a ridiculously low number of hands per hour on standard tables or play somewhere else. I have decided to play somewhere else and deleted Pokerstars from my computer.

3. That awful aurora engine. When playing with a background other than the default one the table is blinking between zoom hands. Probably because the default background is used first and then replaced with the non default one. Blink blink blink in like 60-90 % of hands.Very frustrating.

4. Lower effective rake somewhere else. Despite what some people might say, higher rake is not good. That is unless you are paid some of that rake to promote the site.

5. Partypoker is not that bad. The inability for some people to download hand histories will probably be fixed, and when we can all do that instead of just a select few, it will be an awesome place to play. I have also played some on ACR which was okay some of the time, but often there would be some incredibly frustrating tournament announcement pop ups on the screen. The same announcement about the same tournament every few minutes. So I stopped playing there. But there is at least one good alternative to Pokerstars. Maybe several. Not sure. Just happy that I found a new home

100% all of these, I especially agree with the Aurora engine and Amaya treating poker as another casino game. The introduction of new game formats always feels like the equivalent of a casino trying to add in versions of table games.