Pokerstars recently attempted to change the rake as well as the VPP distribution method, and as a result, poker forums such as 2+2 have been in crisis mode ever since. As was stated on my podcast by Joss Wood earlier this week, Pokerstars is effectively the “lone superpower” in the online poker industry, and as such they have the ability to dictate policies that help both players and the industry as a whole. While the discussion on how the 2+2 representatives to the Isle of Man are in the early stages, signs that Pokerstars is listening to players can be seen in their recent concessions to French players. And while these concessions still leave high-volume players in a worse position than in 2011, its at least something. But over the last few months poker rooms across the industry have been limiting options for winning players in an effort to “level the playing field”. This has taken various forms:
- Bodog (Anonymous tables): This was probably in part to combat the data mining efforts of sites like PokerTableRatings, but Bodog also stated that this combated bum-hunting and leveled the playing field. Never mind that I think anonymous tables are anything but poker, but Bodog made this an implementation across every table on the site. There was a (rather easy) workaround that allowed people to get user ID numbers from the client, which was a huge security risk in its own right, but that wasn’t by design.
- Everleaf Network (restricting access based on winnings): If you play on Everleaf (and yea I know there aren’t many of you that do), then you have to be careful about how much you win. If you win more than 750 euros in a given week, you are subject to being restricted from tables because “your player rating is too high.” Everleaf claimed it affected only a minute percentage of their player base, and would allow for “easier” games now that the sharks have a limited allowance. The cap was reset weekly, and it didn’t limit Everleaf players from playing on all tables, but it was still pretty bad.
- Pokerstars (Lower VPP generation, changes to rake): This one we know about, as it is the most recent occurrence of a site getting “back” at winning high-volume players. Addressed in the intro, the Pokerstars changes included a shift from the dealt method to the weighted contributed method for determining VPPs for a given hand. On top of that, Pokerstars moved to switch to a more linear system of getting rake, rounding to the cent instead of 5 cent increments like in the past. The latter was removed shortly after protests were getting louder on forums, but the fact that high-volume players are seeing a 10-20% drop in VPPs has, to date, not been resolved. Unlike the last two, Pokerstars does seem amenable to hearing player concerns, and 2+2 is sending people to the Isle of Man to put forth their proposal.
As you can see though, many sites are tightening their grip on winning and high-volume players one way or another. Players are concerned that with win rates being what they are, it’s hard to maintain a presence in the big games if the sites are going to make it harder for them to stay in business. From the site’s perspective, with Black Friday effectively cleaving the player pool by 30%, there is a bigger desire to keep afloat with what they’ve got left, and certainly in Pokerstars’ case you have to acknowledge they are probably gathering quite the legal bill.
I think though, at this point, is that many sites are following the same path that another industry I follow does, the video gaming industry. Yes, its a vice, but I play a lot of video games, and particularly ones that involve playing with others (read: MMOs and first person shooters). Like clockwork, a wave of complaints always occurs when the content is perceived to be “dumbed down” in order to create a level playing field. “Hardcore” players deride this as making the game more suitable for “casuals” and I can’t help but feel similar statements are being used in the fight 2+2 posters are making here. Which, is a shame, because it ignores a key reason video game and online poker companies alike do things like this: they are trying to make money, and its better to appeal to the 99% than the 1% (to abuse a OWS cliche). In gaming, everyone pays a static amount into the system, so raw increases in subscriptions or sales is going to drive this push toward the recreational gamer.
The analogy breaks down, admittedly, when discussing online poker businesses and their changes to make games more “recreationally” friendly. Sure, more players is a good thing and all, but if all they are doing is playing 25NL because the rake is too much and winning is, for all intents and purposes, punished, then you probably aren’t going to make more money as a site in the long run. Subsequently, you know that a certain percentage of the players you are attracting by “punishing” the sharks will then themselves become sharks, so it punishes the successful players at the expense of the novices (to abuse some sort of Tea Party cliche, just to show I play both sides).
What is the answer to this? Given the number of players on sites like Bodog and Everleaf, I doubt anonymous tables and restricting winnings will ever truly catch on, so I am not too worried about that. What I am worried about is the kinds of changes Pokerstars is making. They are the undisputed ruler of the online poker world right now, and usually being the superpower causes you get a bit arrogant at times. Fortunately, Pokerstars has shown they are willing to give a little, it just depends on how much they will listen to the 2+2 crew when they arrive in the Isle of Man for a discussion on rake.
Its an odd balance that sites like Pokerstars have to address. How do you make your high volume players (which arguably contribute more rake as an individual) happy while increasing your business by making your tables friendly to new players (which will increase revenue as a collective group). The War on Winning that poker sites was starting to get a little ridiculous, but it may take a poker titan and a ragtag group of forum posters to try to put a stop to it.