anybody still bothering to report people?

did you ever get a response to your screenshot email piranha?

Yes sort of. I'm scheduled to have a conversation with Baard tomorrow morning. I'll keep you posted.

I sent a screenshot of a 6max table where everyone was on sit out an hour ago. Lets see what stars is answering.
Anyway, i have to say that stars is doing a lousy job so far.
If u are not able to enforce your own rules, u shouldn't even bother establishing them.
If stars doesnt give me a satisfying answer, im thru with this topic.

Anybody else notice the "sit out next hand" option isn't always available? Or is it just me?

have not noticed that. only sit out next hand, or sit out next bb also? how recent? screenshot?

Sit out next BB is still there. Timing out also works.

Hmm, might just be me and it's only some of the time. My internet here is terrible so it's possible I'm just disconnecting and the screen isn't coming back up properly.

Solutions that can be baked into the software are optimal. Any solution or rule that relies on honor or constant human monitoring is bound to be abused and therefore fail.

Speaking of which, I wonder if Stars has considered the solution to blind abuse that I have proposed.

I hope so since your idea is the NUTZ!!!!! It really should already have been like that for 10 years!

I thought of a litle tweak that you might like : the idea is to have a bucket on the table( the Johny bucket) and that at the beginning of the orbit all the players put a sb+bb in that bucket. At the beginning of every hand then a sb+bb get taken from the bucket and posted in front of the players in the blind (instead of them posting from their stack) .

This way you pay when you commit to the orbit.
You can go allin with whatever is in your stack and players can leave when ever they want with whats infront of them.

This i think might make it more intuitive for recreational players.

I got it once yesterday. Think 15-30 table but can't remember any specifics.

I talked to Baard this morning and someone from PokerStars, likely Baard will be posting here soon and explaining what action they're taking with the sit-out problem.

of course there doesnt need to be an actual picture of a bucket(they can make a bar graph or something)...as long as it makes it clear that you pay when the orbit starts and that that money is gone. (getting fed back some of that equity with each hand you play)

i like this bucket.

DAMN, WHERE IS STEVE?

From reading the thread and talking to players, we are aware that players sitting out at tables is a problem, and we do take it very seriously.
First, if you have not read the rules on sitting out, I suggest doing so. They are rules 10 – 12 on this page:

http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/room/policies/ring/.

Starting this week, we will be increasing our focus on enforcing these rules in the limit games. It may take some time before the effects are felt, but we know from experience from the No-Limit games that once we reach all those who are regularly breaking the rules, we see gradual improvement.

We invite you to help us by contacting us on Skype when someone is breaking the rules. If you send us a mail on highstakes@ with your Skype name, we will add you to our contact list. Since most instances of players sitting out are legitimate, we do encourage you to give people a minute or two before making a report.

On a different note. One of the things that were agreed on during the meetings with the 2p2 representatives was that we should introduce some specific promotional activities that focus on the limit games. With that in mind, we are looking for players who are willing to participate in high-stakes (minimum $100/$200) heads-up matches that will feature as prominent events on the site. The format will be similar to that of the Superstar Showdown, with a fixed number of hands played over multiple, rake-free tables.

The participants must accept that their names will be used to promote the matches and that we put the buy-in for the match in escrow for a week or so before it is scheduled to start. A part of this buy-in will be non-refundable in order to ensure that both players actually show up at the agreed time.
If you’re interested in participating or want more information, send an email to highstakes@ .