Any idea how much Stars makes off of play money games? - Poker News

I pass a couple of hours here and there playing mostly Stud/8 on Stars play money while surfing and watching TV. Sick brag: I've turned $2K into $2.5MM! At the 400-800 level the rake was an absurd number, $200/hand cap iirc. But they've just effectively ended that game and 'made' everyone play 1K/2K w/ the rake capped at 1K, I think (haven't payed enough attention as it's new and I don't really care.) As some of you may know Stars is now selling play money chips. I'm wondering how much they can be making off of this and if they are hooking up players into their games from other places.

Does anyone have any knowledge about this?

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09-02-2014 , 06:52 PM

iquitafter100k

journeyman

Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 255

Are play money games beatable anymore? Because of the high rake?

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09-02-2014 , 06:55 PM

PeteBlow

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 14,558

Excuse my ignorance as a UK player. What does 2.5MM mean?
I would say 2.5K is 2500, 2.5M is 2.5 Million and 2.5B is 2.5 Billion. Which is it?

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09-02-2014 , 06:58 PM

Masq

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Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 15,008

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteBlow

Excuse my ignorance as a UK player. What does 2.5MM mean?
I would say 2.5K is 2500, 2.5M is 2.5 Million and 2.5B is 2.5 Billion. Which is it?

Yes, it is messed up.

M in roman numerals = 1,000
So MM is meant to be 1,000 x 1,000 = 1,000,000

Pretty stupid way of doing it huh?

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09-02-2014 , 06:59 PM

DougL

Too helpful for this post

Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 21,810

M is a thousand. MM would be a million, as it is a thousand thousands. Old guys talk that way.

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09-02-2014 , 07:03 PM

PeteBlow

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Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 14,558

If you used M on its own to mean 1000 I would understand, but you don't. You use K, like everywhere else in the world...

Just saying...

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09-02-2014 , 07:09 PM

curtinsea

WA iPoker NOW

Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,361

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masq

Yes, it is messed up.

M in roman numerals = 1,000
So MM is meant to be 1,000 x 1,000 = 1,000,000

Pretty stupid way of doing it huh?

In Roman numerals, MM = 2000

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09-02-2014 , 07:13 PM

Howard Beale

Formerly red

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 22,190

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Originally Posted by iquitafter100k

Are play money games beatable anymore? Because of the high rake?

I'll find out. In actuality most of the highest limit play money players are at least moderately interested in playing decently but at Stud/8 most are just as terrible as they are in live games.

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Originally Posted by DougL

M is a thousand. MM would be a million, as it is a thousand thousands. Old guys talk that way.

lol. And here I thought $2.5MM was standard forum speak.

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09-02-2014 , 07:18 PM

Howard Beale

Formerly red

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 22,190

Play chips sell for

350K: $1.99
900K: $4.99
2 Milly (?): $9.99
7.5MM (to heck w/ it): $24.99
30MM: $49.99
75MM: $99.99

And they are raking the heck out of the games.

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09-02-2014 , 07:31 PM

#10

Masq

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Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 15,008

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteBlow

If you used M on its own to mean 1000 I would understand, but you don't. You use K, like everywhere else in the world...

Just saying...

Quite, if you wrote $1M people would assume it was million and not 1,000. The MM thing always bugged me when I saw it.

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09-02-2014 , 07:35 PM

#11

Big_Mick00

Verified Coach MTT

Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 8,688

They don't need to rake play chips to sell them, they can create how ever many they want

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09-02-2014 , 07:38 PM

#12

Howard Beale

Formerly red

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 22,190

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Mick00

They don't need to rake play chips to sell them, they can create how ever many they want

Wat? They rake the play money games at an absurdly high amount in order to make ppl need to buy more, good grief.

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09-02-2014 , 07:41 PM

#13

PeteBlow

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Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 14,558

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Mick00

They don't need to rake play chips to sell them, they can create how ever many they want

They create as many as there is a demand for. Raking play chips accelerates that demand.

It's bad, but it's business.

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09-02-2014 , 07:47 PM

#14

Liveidiot

journeyman

Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 302

This can't be true haha. How fishy are the players at these tables paying rake with no chance to win?

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09-02-2014 , 07:47 PM

#15

Big_Mick00

Verified Coach MTT

Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 8,688

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howard Beale

Wat? They rake the play money games at an absurdly high amount in order to make ppl need to buy more, good grief.

Calm down Howie, fire up some play money to relax

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09-02-2014 , 08:03 PM

#16

Howard Beale

Formerly red

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 22,190

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liveidiot

This can't be true haha. How fishy are the players at these tables paying rake with no chance to win?

I thought I was doing great w/ my number of chips and then I went and looked at play money PLO and there are ppl w/ hundreds of millions.

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Originally Posted by Big_Mick00

Calm down Howie, fire up some play money to relax

Sorry I got worked up into a froth. I just scratched my dog and it made me feel better.

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09-02-2014 , 08:10 PM

#17

bjsmith22

veteran

Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,235

I had no idea they even raked play money. What is the legal difference between play money and real money then? Do you still get xamt of chips/hour for free?

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09-02-2014 , 08:13 PM

#18

e1cnr

veteran

Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 2,008

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjsmith22

I had no idea they even raked play money. What is the legal difference between play money and real money then? Do you still get xamt of chips/hour for free?

play money has no value (although there were sites buying and selling playchips before stars/tilt (who priced theirs close to other sites))

I think 2000 free play chips if you are busted - it used to be

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09-02-2014 , 08:56 PM

#19

TooRareToDie

banned

Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 4,303

Imagine what kind of people do buy play-chips for 100$....
I think I can effectively narrow it down to former crack-addicts on a successful recovery, and mentally/logically flawed religious nuts.

They could just deposit 100$ and play 50c 180man SnG's, NL5 FR, PLO2, or any limit game at 25c/50c, while even using appropriate bankroll-management...

And yeah, the rake is ridiculous. My ex-gf used to play LHE HU play-money like others play candy-crush, but she stopped when she suddenly had to reload all the time, feeeling like losing. It made her from a break-even/slightly-winning LHE HU playmoney-reg to a constant loser.

Last edited by TooRareToDie; 09-02-2014 at 09:05 PM.

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09-02-2014 , 09:06 PM

#20

Howard Beale

Formerly red

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 22,190

Quote:

Originally Posted by TooRareToDie

Imagine what kind of people do buy play-chips for 100$....
I think I can effectively narrow it down to former crack-addicts and mentally/logically flawed religious nuts.

They could just deposit 100$ and play 50c 180man SnG's, NL5 FR, PLO2, or any limit game at 25c/50c, while even using appropriate bankroll-management...

I'm in the U.S. and don't want to deposit on the sites available but I still feel like clicking the buttons.

What about the 'other sites' part? Can ppl be accessing these games from FB or something?

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09-02-2014 , 09:08 PM

#21

bex989

centurion

Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 153

Stop with "MM", it's stupid, it's not Roman empire, even if it was it wouldn't mean a million (M = Mega = 10^6).

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09-02-2014 , 09:33 PM

#22

Tommy_Tomich969

old hand

Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 1,977

Quote:

Originally Posted by TooRareToDie

I can see why she is now your ex.

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09-02-2014 , 09:36 PM

#23

fishfood69er

old hand

Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 1,702

i rage tilt from play money bad beats. Idk why.

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09-02-2014 , 09:42 PM

#24

ArtySmokes

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Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 6,999

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howard Beale

I thought I was doing great w/ my number of chips and then I went and looked at play money PLO and there are ppl w/ hundreds of millions.

There was a billion chip pot a couple of months ago on FTP. http://www.pokernews.com/news/2014/0...bles-18898.htm

I'd love to say it would cost 'bout tree fiddy' to buy all those chips, but the "real money value" is apparently about $2000.

If I had that kind of cash to spare, I'd spend it on Candy Crush power-ups. A far more entertaining waste of time and money imo.