M
MrUnlikely
Enthusiast
Silver Level
I was recently banned for 6 weeks on GG. At first I thought it was some kind of error, and they are now reviewing it because I made a complaint. They said they will reply in 21 days, but really it doesn't take that long to investigate. It has been over a week. I was hopeful of a good outcome because it seemed like such an obvious error. Some concerns I have are that:
They banned me to protect me when I had only deposited $100 once a month for the last two months and had $750 in balance- doesn't sound like I am in danger right? They were kind enough to inform me of the reason for my ban, which was that I sometimes chase losses. But I never said I chase losses and I even have a $100 loss limit. The question I was asked was "Do I ever play for longer than I intended or chase losses". I said I play for longer than intended when winning sometimes. They also asked, in regard to casino games, if I feel positive or something like that. I said yes, but I do expect to lose when I play casino games, which I thought was a reasonable answer. I was thinking, how positive should one feel when you are playing blackjack and you know you have approximately 48% chance to win each hand? You can feel happy and excited about playing casino games, but you should also know you will probably lose, right?
Anyway, they clearly said that because I said "Yes, I sometimes play for longer than I had planned to when winning" that I was chasing losses, and the other reason for my 6-week ban was that I thought I would probably lose, when playing casino games. Honestly, it seemed so silly that I was sure it was human error and brought it to their attention. No luck except they said that the suspension was not reversible. They also suggested aI lodge a complaint if I was unhappy. The funny thing is that if they banned me for winning, I almost always win but almost always give it back. This time I won at 25NL and then played 100NL and went on a heater when I flatted pocket aces several times and wound up with top set vs a set of jacks and a set of 4s on a dry boards for about 300bb in a few hundred hands. My win rate at 100NL would have been something like 400BB per 100 hands in that short session. If they really did ban me based on my asnwer to their questions, then it was an obvious error on their part and should have been dealt with when I pointed that out or quite quickly after lodging my complaint. Lastly, I was naturally a little concerned when Sean and Cat from the safer gambling team suggested I email complaints if I was unhappy, and when I did, I got an email back from "Cat" in complaints. That could be a coincidence, but when I asked if this was the same Cat, I got no reply to my email for a week. I am not saying "cat" can't objectively access my complaint, but when "Cat" in safer gimbling team says they satnd by the suspension and suggests I lodge a complaint if I am unhappy, and I do, I don't expect a reply back from "cat" saying my complaint is being reviewed and they will get back to me in 21 days or less. I was really happy about everything at GGPoker, so I am pretty disappointed. I even self-excluded form poker stars for 6-months to play there exclusively. To be fair to them, I did regularly change and try to change my limits- but I don't think that means I have a problem. When I was playing badly and annoyed, I would take a week or month time out, which was fine, but on occasion I regretted the decision and asked them to undo it, which of course they do not which is good. reasonable I do also note that I sent an email to GG asking about PVI (player value index) 12 hours before my ban. I found that when I made platinum octopus, as was my goal, and got 35% cashback, It might actually be less than 20% platinum fish cashback. That was disappointing, but I understand the system. As part of my responsible gambling strategy, I use deposit limits and only play on GG. I have to wait until mid-December to play on pokerstars again. I wouldn't say I had a problem gambling, and certainly there was no financial impact. I think like most people I found it exciting, sometimes somewhat addictive, but I also felt I was getting close to being a regularly winning player. What is next? I feel that after the six weeks is up, I will get a permanent ban. If not, I feel I can't ask for limit changes etc without risking ban. I also feel that by telling people what happened I will vastly increase my chances of getting banned, even though I have tried to be objective and give them time and ample opportunity to review the decision and complaint- I have to say, I don't know how bust they are, but my feeling is that even those who put the ban in place could easily see it was in error if they looked at it, which they did. I am glad they paid me my $750 but I won it playing zoom so it would be hard to say it was bum hunting or something.
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Lastly, I think many poker rooms work on the assumption that the use of responsible gaming tools such as limits is an indication of a problem gambler. It seems that setting limits invites responsible gaming teams to interfere so much it seems like harassment at times.
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What's next? I feel that the obvious error will not be addressed and that I will likely get a permanent ban after the 6 weeks, and that positing about it, even trying to be objective, greatly increases the chance of that.[/FONT]
They banned me to protect me when I had only deposited $100 once a month for the last two months and had $750 in balance- doesn't sound like I am in danger right? They were kind enough to inform me of the reason for my ban, which was that I sometimes chase losses. But I never said I chase losses and I even have a $100 loss limit. The question I was asked was "Do I ever play for longer than I intended or chase losses". I said I play for longer than intended when winning sometimes. They also asked, in regard to casino games, if I feel positive or something like that. I said yes, but I do expect to lose when I play casino games, which I thought was a reasonable answer. I was thinking, how positive should one feel when you are playing blackjack and you know you have approximately 48% chance to win each hand? You can feel happy and excited about playing casino games, but you should also know you will probably lose, right?
Anyway, they clearly said that because I said "Yes, I sometimes play for longer than I had planned to when winning" that I was chasing losses, and the other reason for my 6-week ban was that I thought I would probably lose, when playing casino games. Honestly, it seemed so silly that I was sure it was human error and brought it to their attention. No luck except they said that the suspension was not reversible. They also suggested aI lodge a complaint if I was unhappy. The funny thing is that if they banned me for winning, I almost always win but almost always give it back. This time I won at 25NL and then played 100NL and went on a heater when I flatted pocket aces several times and wound up with top set vs a set of jacks and a set of 4s on a dry boards for about 300bb in a few hundred hands. My win rate at 100NL would have been something like 400BB per 100 hands in that short session. If they really did ban me based on my asnwer to their questions, then it was an obvious error on their part and should have been dealt with when I pointed that out or quite quickly after lodging my complaint. Lastly, I was naturally a little concerned when Sean and Cat from the safer gambling team suggested I email complaints if I was unhappy, and when I did, I got an email back from "Cat" in complaints. That could be a coincidence, but when I asked if this was the same Cat, I got no reply to my email for a week. I am not saying "cat" can't objectively access my complaint, but when "Cat" in safer gimbling team says they satnd by the suspension and suggests I lodge a complaint if I am unhappy, and I do, I don't expect a reply back from "cat" saying my complaint is being reviewed and they will get back to me in 21 days or less. I was really happy about everything at GGPoker, so I am pretty disappointed. I even self-excluded form poker stars for 6-months to play there exclusively. To be fair to them, I did regularly change and try to change my limits- but I don't think that means I have a problem. When I was playing badly and annoyed, I would take a week or month time out, which was fine, but on occasion I regretted the decision and asked them to undo it, which of course they do not which is good. reasonable I do also note that I sent an email to GG asking about PVI (player value index) 12 hours before my ban. I found that when I made platinum octopus, as was my goal, and got 35% cashback, It might actually be less than 20% platinum fish cashback. That was disappointing, but I understand the system. As part of my responsible gambling strategy, I use deposit limits and only play on GG. I have to wait until mid-December to play on pokerstars again. I wouldn't say I had a problem gambling, and certainly there was no financial impact. I think like most people I found it exciting, sometimes somewhat addictive, but I also felt I was getting close to being a regularly winning player. What is next? I feel that after the six weeks is up, I will get a permanent ban. If not, I feel I can't ask for limit changes etc without risking ban. I also feel that by telling people what happened I will vastly increase my chances of getting banned, even though I have tried to be objective and give them time and ample opportunity to review the decision and complaint- I have to say, I don't know how bust they are, but my feeling is that even those who put the ban in place could easily see it was in error if they looked at it, which they did. I am glad they paid me my $750 but I won it playing zoom so it would be hard to say it was bum hunting or something.
[FONT=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
Lastly, I think many poker rooms work on the assumption that the use of responsible gaming tools such as limits is an indication of a problem gambler. It seems that setting limits invites responsible gaming teams to interfere so much it seems like harassment at times.
[FONT=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif]
What's next? I feel that the obvious error will not be addressed and that I will likely get a permanent ban after the 6 weeks, and that positing about it, even trying to be objective, greatly increases the chance of that.[/FONT]
