PokerStars Extends Olive Branch to Winning Players

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Thursday, September 7th, 2017 | Written by Adam Brown

After Amaya, since renamed the Star Group, purchased PokerStars in 2014, professional poker players quickly became dissatisfied with the new direction of the company. This is because major changes to the VIP Program subsequently eliminated their ability to earn a profitable living through multi-table play, as the company pursued its policy of putting more emphasis on attracting recreational players.

Although the motivation for this is fiscally sound and arguably necessary for growth, seasoned pros have interpreted the moves as a cash grab, and an abandonment of their most loyal high-volume players. Now, PokerStars seems to be trying to make amends.

Reaching Out

In 2017, Amaya and PokerStars implemented some changes in order to address the problematic moves made after their acquisition of the online gambling website. These have included:

– Changing the name of Amaya to the Stars Group in order to dissipate the bad press and negative connotation of the brand.

– Bringing back popular brands like the PCA

– Holding player meetings to receive feedback, and restructured payouts at live events, as well as tournament scheduling methods based on the opinions shared.

– Reimbursing players who lost money when PKR shuttered its doors and walked away with deposits

All of these moves have been clear signs that PokerStars values seasoned players and wants winners on their site, contrary to the narrative that has been circulating online. The truth of the matter is that PokerStars does want winning players; however, they want to see players win while fostering an environment that is fun and exciting for everyone who comes to the tables.

Making Poker Fun Again

PokerStars realizes that for recreational players being at a table populated only with individuals who are multitasking 20 plus tables at a time, the experience is lacking. When players spread their attention so thinly, the social component of poker is lost. Instead, PokerStars wants to see players move up in stakes rather than making profits through high volume play. In other words, they want the business of winners as much as they do recreational players. After all, it’s seeing players win big that makes the occasional player aspire to visit more often, play higher stakes and move closer toward the realm of being a pro.

An Olive Branch

While some will say that the moves made by PokerStars are too small, their meaning is still significant. In fact, there is no doubt that the changes implemented during the first three quarters of 2017 are the company’s way of extending an olive branch to disenfranchised players.

There is still work to be done, though. PokerStars needs to address other mistakes made following the buyout, and invest time and money to better communicate their strategy and their message to players. Meanwhile, future changes will need to be rolled out more smoothly and with clearer communication to avoid making the already choppy waters even dicier.

Based on what’s already occurred, it seems that PokerStars is moving in the right direction. Hopefully, players who have become frustrated with the company will see their recent attempts as steps in the right direction.

Negreanu versus Polk Spat

In other related news, an ongoing spat between PokerStars’ leading sponsored pro, Daniel Negreanu, and top pro and active social media poster Doug Polk took a new twist this week after Polk offered the Canadian pro an apparently innocent “tip”. The players feud dates back to at least March of this year after Polk accused Negreanu of pandering to PokerStars by putting an undue slant on its new rake policy.

At the time, Negreanu said that he had never said that “higher rake was good for poker,”and countered that Polk was trying to stir up trouble by mischaracterizating him. Nonetheless, Polk proceeded to bait Negreanu further by wearing a ‘More Rake Better’ t-shirt while competing at this year’s WSOP.

In the latest bickering between the duo, Polk offered the following piece of advise to Negreanu after using a Blue Yeti microphone:

“Just a tip, Blue Yeti is a side address microphone. Audio quality will be better if it isn’t pointed towards you and is straight up.”

After retorting with a sarcastic comment, Negreanu then proceeded to tease Polk about his recent loss to Phil Hellmuth at a Poker Night in America event. As he wrote:

“Don’t you have work to do? Work,like getting back in the lab so you can figure out how to beat the HU GOAT & King of the Hill Phil Hellmuth?”

Needless to say, this dispute doesn’t appear to be close to resolving itself any time soon.