Hi,
tldr: lifetime ban on Stars, but didn’t do nothing.
I recently got a lifetime ban on Pokerstars for the use of “invisible script software”.
I played most of my volume on Stars last year from March - June and September - October on the NL 6max tables (NL200 - NL600). My screenname is ‘chieef281’. I didn’t battle a lot, but some of you might know me anyways. I managed to get a lot of seats in the “post-script-era” (after scripting was banned by Stars), just because Stars was my main site and I didnt play a lot of tables - mostly up to 6.
I was contacted by Pokerstars on
Nov 19. In November I played only < 200 hands (!). Traffic was pretty poor at the time and I focused on other sites (could prove if necessary), so I couldn’t manage to get a lot of seats on Stars. They told me that my account had been frozen for investigation and I had to answer some question about third party software I use while playing - it was about scripting.
My answers were reasonably short - I simply did not use any prohibited software with their client. However, in the next email I was asked to do a video recording of myself playing (70min, all monitors + head and hands visible), without telling me anything about why they think I’m scripting.
After ordering a tripod for my phone, I recorded myself on
Nov 27. In this session, I got every single seat that I wanted. I even attached a recording of my main monitor with OBS so they see things more clearly. They didn’t demand it, but I wanted to be as transparent as possible.
I sent them two videos of myself playing like normal and getting many seats. This was a huge inconvenience to me - recording myself and everything. But I complied fully.
On
Dec 11, I was asked to send info about all the third party tools I used while playing, including the ones I use for other sites - I did that. They requested the .exe files of all the software and I sent them.
On
Dec 25, Stars sent me the following email:
Quote:
Hello x,
After your account revision, we have concluded that you used the “The Invisible Script” software.
Before we decide on what action to take with regards to your account, we would like to give you the chance to cooperate, please provide information on the following topics:- Who sold it to you and who is the developer;
- What instructions have you received regarding how to use it and methods to avoid detection;
- Explain how do you interact with the program in our client;
- Anything else you believe it may be of our interest;
Your cooperation will be taken into account for the outcome of your account status.
Regards
Well, I simply could not “cooperate”. I’m not a programmer, I don’t know any programmers and I’m not a member of some super secret underground Pokerstars scripting ring - if there is any. It just felt so much like: “Okay, we didn’t find anything, so let’s increase the pressure.” I felt pretty much powerless at this point. I did not get any info about the reasons why. The only thing I could answer was no, I did not use any prohibited software with your client.
Jan 6, final decision was made:
Quote:
Hello x,
Due to several discrepancies observed in our ongoing review, we have concluded that it's in our, and our players', best interest to cease offering our services to you.
The evidence we have collected does not prove a rules breach beyond all reasonable doubt. However, we are uncomfortable enough with the circumstances that we cannot permit you to continue playing on our site. Since we cannot prove a rules breach with enough certainty to merit confiscation, you will be permitted to withdraw your funds.
Your account has been reopened without play privileges so that you may withdraw the remaining balance. If the balance is too small to withdraw, you may transfer the balance to another player whose account is in good standing. Your account will be permanently closed in 48 hours. Any funds remaining in the account at that time will be forfeited.
You are barred from future play on our platforms under all various licenses. Do not attempt to play on any of our platforms. Any account we find you to be using, whether it belongs to yourself or a friend, will be closed and all funds within will be confiscated. Should you circumvent our controls by opening or accessing another account with any of our brands and/or group companies, we reserve the right to confiscate any and all assets contained in the account(s). This will be irrespective of the amount of time it has taken us to identify and confirm the links between the account(s) and/or the account holder(s).
Regards
End of investigation - end of story. Well, one more point. I couldn’t cash out all my money (some was stuck because of player transfer). After Jan 6, I wrote 4 more emails to support so they unfreeze it or send it back to the sender. They ignored all of them, until
Jan 22, when I finally got at least all my money from the site.
I won’t comment a lot on the last email. For me it’s just unbelievable and unfair…
However, I want to outline some facts that can’t be disputed.
I NEVER got any info about the so called observed discrepancies that led to their decision, just nothing. The only communication was Stars asking for stuff that I had to send in.
In the recorded session, I got every seat that I wanted. It was clearly visible that I didn’t have any help.
My volume was super low in the time they contacted me compared to the beginning of the year. Why would someone with a script play <200 hands on Stars, while increasing his volume on other sites?
I play poker for a living. I know that Stars is super good at detecting stuff. I’m well known in Skype groups and know a decent amount of players from live events, who would all vouch for me. I’d never take the risk of cheating on a site where it’s very likely to be detected.
I want my PokerStars account back because I did nothing wrong.
Feel free to comment or ask questions, I have nothing to hide. Please support me! If this can happen to me, this can happen to anyone!
