Sidelined PokerStars Grinders Start Three Day Strike

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Tuesday, December 1st, 2015 | Written by Stephen Smith

Online poker is just a shadow compared to the golden years that followed after Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP Main Event. The fact the amateur player first qualified via a $39 satellite on PokerStars helped spark the “poker boom” of 2003 to 2006, but since then the online arena has transformed from offering a fun, social place for recreational players to compete against one another, to a saturated environment populated with professional players relying on the game for a living. As iPoker rooms attempt to tempt disillusioned recreational players back online, increasingly in the line of fire are the professional high-stakes players and high-volume grinders believed responsible for scaring the amateurs away in the first place.

Having recently had their VIP rewards programs reduced at PokerStars, the online pros have now decided to launch a three day boycott of the site as they attempt to demonstrate their higher worth. Whether they will succeed in their goals, however, is highly doubtful.

Shark Saturated Waters

Online poker pros once helped inspire recreational players to take up the game, potentially promising a lucrative career for those players who studied hard and put in the long hours of practice needed. As the general skill level of players increased, however, the skill gap became even more pronounced between online grinders and those people looking to play a casual, social game of poker online. As a result, recreational players soon found themselves parted from their bankrolls in double time, and ever since have been staying away from the game in their droves. This is now seen as the biggest threat facing the iPoker industry, as without recreational players there is no fresh money circulating in the ecology, leading to the industry’s present stale and troubled situation.

Sweeping Rewards Changes

In order to combat the problem, PokerStars recently announced sweeping changes to its VIP rewards program which basically aimed to divert the money benefits distributed to its high-volume players to recreational players instead. Further changes implemented also included limiting multi-tabling, and restricting the use of heads-up displays (HUDs), or software programs which give good players an even bigger advantage over their unfortunate casual opponents.

Culling The Pros

One clear message PokerStars has sent by reducing the benefits paid to its high-stakes pros and high-volume grinders is that it no longer values the contribution made by this group of players, and is no longer concerned whether they are able to make a living from the game or not. This has naturally lead to a great deal of resentment, with one top pro, Terrence Chan, writing an interesting blog article entitled “The end of the online poker pro?“, in which he argues that PokerStars now views poker pros as “leeches on our games, parasites on our idyllic poker economy”. Previously, around just 1% of players could expect to break-even or make a living playing online poker, but with less rewards now being offered, Chan goes on to advise players to seriously consider their future options. As an extract of his post explains:

“If you are an online poker pro, and you have not made at least 100k/year in the last two years, you should strongly consider applying for a real job somewhere. If you are an aspiring poker pro and haven’t quite made the leap yet, you need to look long and hard about whether you really want to sign up for this grind. Stars’ goal is to create an equilibrium where everyone is a small loser. It is an uphill battle when you are fighting against the most powerful organization in poker.”

The Pros Strike Back

In order to protest their perceived ill-treatment by PokerStars, and possibly persuade the site to soften its stance against them, a three day boycott of PokerStars has been organized by the online pros, running from December 1st to 3rd. During this time, the strike’s organizer, Dani “Ansky” Stern, has requested that high volume players refrain from playing on the site, and especially not be tempted to play because of the softer games that will inevitably result.

More than one thousand players have already signaled their intention to take part in the strike, including some of the online game’s biggest stars, including Phil Galfond, Mike McDonald, Justin Bonomo, Ben Tollerene, JC Alvarado, Dan Smith, Doug Polk, Elio Fox, and Nick Abou Risk.

Whether the strike action will help bring about the changes they desire is doubtful, though, with the result more likely to help PokerStars realize its goal of creating a more recreational, shark free gaming environment. Perhaps a more considered approach would be for the online pros to form an organized interest group or union which could then present PokerStars with its concerns, negotiate possible solutions, and develop an authentic relationship with the site without having to resort to potentially negative actions as a first resort.