I think this needs to be moved out of deep in an Other Poker thread into somewhere where more people will see it, because it's seriously disturbing. Stars employee Alex Scott volunteers the information that Stars is manipulating the odds in Triple Draw games. Complete conversation below. It may be this doesn't bother anyone else as much as it does me, but I hate the precedent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Idolatrous
Pokerstars has prepared for this situation, since 6 handed it is possible that all the cards can be used and more needed. They have programmed it (allegedly) to allow for reshuffle where it is not possible to redraw cards you discarded. Which really would be extremely simple to program.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Scott
I can confirm that this is correct. It is not possible to draw a card which you have already discarded at PokerStars, even in Triple Draw.
Incidentally, having the ability to spread games with both a blinds and ante is on our wish list. Obviously if we get it developed, draw is one of the prime candidates for such a structure.
Regarding 8-handed - I remember supporting that when the decision was originally made (quite a while ago now), but research and a great deal of discussion led to 6-max being chosen (hey, at least we didn't go with 5-max, ugh). I believe graphics issues were a factor in this (it can be difficult to fit 8 lots of 5 cards on the table screen without overlapping something important).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tapirboy
If true, in Triple Draw this is an error. As in draw, it should not be possible to draw a card you have discarded in the current round. However, in TD it should be possible to draw a card you have discarded in a previous round.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Scott
It's not an error - the decision was made after much discussion and consultation with Team PokerStars (in fact, the original suggestion came from one of the most respected pros on the team). The theory is that no player would want one of their previous discards back, but there is no way to achieve that in a live game. Online, it's easy, so why not do it?
When people want to see hands turned up in NLHE games, you go on and on about how you're recreating the live poker experience. What the hell? And that's a minor thing, not messing with the card frequencies! This attitude isn't so far up the slippery slope from rigging flops because people like more action, IMO.
Anyway, you don't do it because it isn't fair. Knowing that your opponent is more likely to get your discards than random cards is a small advantage, but an advantage nonetheless. Since the vast majority of players will assume the game is played like a live game, those of us who now know otherwise have an unfair edge.
For instance, suppose I start with 22227, and all six players come along, so I go ahead and draw to the hand knowing that if I make a hand, it will be good and win me a huge pot. Now if it goes far enough for a reshuffle, all my opponents who are drawing at a deuce have better odds to hit one than they ought to! Even if I'm pat they must if I'm in position, because the software doesn't know if I'm going to draw or not. You've essentially rigged the game so I get sucked out on more!
All of poker is based on the odds of a standard 52-card deck. To violate that in any form is utterly unethical IMO. I'm giving serious thought to leaving Stars over this, and I'm going to repost this in the Zoo, because people deserve to know.