I deposited $800 on PKR and was debited £528.

I withdrew $817 from PKR and was credited £514.

That is a net loss of £24 with profit and a net loss of around ~£34 - the $17 profit.

I queried what the same £528 deposit would have been on PokerStars - it would have been $828.

I spoke to a customer service agent at PKR at he said it was all dictated by currency conversion rates. PKR use the Royal Bank of Scotland conversion rate.

Now these kind of absurd conversion rates have never come to my attention, so I could simply be naive.

I'm especially worried by the fact Pokerstars would have given me a better conversion rate.

Can anyone confirm to me this type of absurd conversion rate is legit?

And why would I get a better conversion on Pokerstars? Simply because they probably use a different bank and a different conversion rate?

Responses appreciated.

did you use uk bank account or wallet? some banks add their own conversion fee if pkr paid in dollars, also rates fluctuate - what was the timescale from deposit to withdrawel?

also pokerstars lets you deposit in pounds and keep your bankroll as pounds - it only converts your buy in amount to a dollar or euro table at the time of taking your seat

bank account

+

3 hours

It's the processor that charges the fees. Stars have such a larger volume than any other site that I presume they get charged smaller %s by their processors. This is then passed onto the players.

Thankyou.

Rest assured I'll never deposit on that site again.

Imagine a grinder trying to earn a living and being devalued like...5% each time he withdraws...

Hope the site gets shut down.

Get a USD NETELLER/MB account

This won't help to avoid all currency exchange rate fees since his bank account is in Pounds ... in that case the eWallet will charge ~ 3% if he cashes out to his bank account again.

Pokerstars for give a spread free conversion rate for some currencies, including the pound, which is a very good deal, but what PKR are is probobly more standard.

PKR never used to do this nonsense. In the early days they had the same rate for deposits and withdrawals. It's just a way to 'steal' money from the players under the pretence of 'currency rates set by RBS'. They are based in London, their banking is in London, so the dollar bollocks is a smokescreen.

Thieves.

Exactly my reaction!

I went absolutely crazy to the support guy who fed me that trollop.

Safe to say, I uninstalled the software immediately, and will never use the site again.

dont play on PKR, but from my experience from playing on multiple sites.

- Let your bank handle the currency exchange not the site, EG Poker account in USD withdraw using USD option NOT £.

- Run your account up a bit then pay a flat fee for bank xfer withdrawal if possible.

- If playing on multiple sites, use a USD ewallet (neteller) to deposit/withdraw. Instead of withdrawing via the ewallet (paying 2.5%), some sites allow u to get away with depositing with the ewallet and withdrawing via bank transfer / bank card as long as u have deposited using this option in the past and if the deposit has been rolled over a bit. Spread small deposits over multiple sites as to not abuse it too much. PS wont allow it but some others will.

- Some sites your just gonna get shafted and nothing u can do, but if the sites soft enough its worth the extra "rake".