Cliffs:
-A month ago I got an email saying that seating scripts were prohibited on their site, and that continued use would result in an account closure
-I had been using a seating script on 888, as well as on other sites, but promptly stopped using it on 888
-A few days ago I was kicked out in the middle of a session, when I was involved in some hands, and received an email saying that I was banned for a month for continuing to use a seating script
-I sent them an email saying I wasn’t using one and that it’s crazy, they responded saying that it was a permanent decision and they were confiscating my balance as well, over 30,000$.

Hi, my name is Sergio and I was just permanently banned on 888 for allegedly using a seating script.

I have been playing on the 888 network for over 6 years, firstly on LuckyAce as "pinchorl" and more recently as "plz.mercy" on 888. Over the years I have consistently moved up stakes, and now play the highest levels available, starting tables with other tough players. Two weeks ago I received this email:



At the time I was using a seating script on 888, as well as other scripts on different networks I play on. I stopped using the script after receiving that email, it wasn’t very useful on 888 anyway and I was already starting most of the tables I played on. However 4 days ago I received another email:



At the time I was playing, and was disconnected in the middle of several pots, losing any equity I had in them. I hadn’t used a seating script on 888 since the original message, though I did have some running for other networks. I sent them a very unhappy email, as I was so disappointed a long time customer would get treated like this.

To which I recieved:



After that email I sent back another one:



And just 2 hours after my last email they responded with this:



In that last one it’s the first time they said they were going to confiscate my balance, which is over 30K. I have not used a seating script on 888 since they asked me not to. I play 2000 and 5000nl almost every day, starting tables and battling against other regs. I do not use any banned software. I do not collude or chip dump or do anything else that breaks the TOS. I’m livid at how, after playing on their for 6 years, they can just wrongly steal 30 thousand dollars from me over their own mistake.

Ask them to review the situation with senior mgmt. tweeting @888 to ask for senior mgmt to look at the case might help too. Any site can remove any player they want at anytime, but maybe that part about bankroll confiscation was left in on that templated response by mistake.

Fwiw, leaving any scripts that 888 can dectect running while using their software, even if not using for that site, is pretty stupid though. Same as running bot software on IPoker while playing on Stars, just asking for trouble.

Be polite but firm in all emails to them. Blowing up at them will not help your case. Gl

Were you aware that seating scripts were illegal to use at this time, or were you unaware of the rule?

it matters less if he was or if he wasn't, only he knows that, point is the rule against them was in effect for a short time...it's not unreasonable to think he could've been unaware.
That was a warning only, he didn't get banned for it.
I personally know someone who wasn't aware and received a warning email like that.

The important thing is the second part: did he continue to use it AFTER receiving the warning?
If we take OP's word for it and he didn't then 888's actions were total BS.

Even if we don't believe OP and he continued to use them it's still totally unreasonable to confiscate 30k.
A reasonable punishment if he continued to use it was to confiscate whatever he made since the warning + ban him.

Based on what he is saying it could be possible that because he was playing multiple sites at once and was using seating scripts for the other sites, 888
could've detected that those scripts were running and banned him bc of that even if the 888 option was disabled on the scripts.

P.S: I don't think you're gonna get a fair "trial" here though, a woman accused of being a witch back in the old days had a better chance to convince to mob that was gonna burn her of her innocence than you do convincing the 2+2 population.

Bc you have 30k in your acct that means you have money so you must be a bot or a bumhunter or a grimmer or a crappy human being in general(even though none of those are the official reasons you got banned) and many will be glad you got banned, at least the most vocal posters.

Erm seating scripts have been banned for at least a year probably longer. I'd need to check.

Finding it very hard to have sympathy with the OP but for the sum of money involved.

As far as I know they were allowed, they started to give out warnings about a month ago.
Most players were using before, there was an endless loop of R(eserved) seats.

If OP got banned on PS, I'd say 95%+ he is guilty. If they confiscated funds too on PS, 99.999% he was guilty.
But this is 888, a site that was so moronic that they released a forced update that was borderline unplayable, even the fonts were messed up, you couldn't read the player names.
So excuse me if I don't trust their detection methods, most likely if they see you running a public seating script sold here and disable it for 888 but enable it for PS => they will see that it's running in the background and ban you

If the story is to be believed, I would think he was using scripts on other sites at the same time he was playing 888 and that is what was detected. Not much sympathy either way though.

On the bright side, with the rakeback changes having $30K confiscated probably ended up saving him money

I've got same issue: My 888 username is vickktor

-around 2 weeks ago i received warning that scripts are now prohibited, and further use will cause account disclosure

- On the same day after warning i stopped using script on 888 and started playing 4handed to get tables (mainly on nl1k/nl2k). But still had it on for pokerstars

-On friday i got kicked out in the middle of the session, and received similair email saying that my account is disabled for a month for continuing



Im still waiting for response, but the outcome of Plzmercy situation is very worrying, I have 21k on my account there.

I would like to add that Plz.mercy is one of the best regulars there, i often see him battling on nl2k/nl5k.

Told you the 2+2 mob will treat you like a witch.
So even if the story is to believe and he did nothing against the rules you still would have not much sympathy and think it's no big deal to ban and confiscate 30k, right?
Standard.
Nice username too, with the word "justice" in it.

I believe they will just ban both of you for a month without confiscating stuff...that sounds like a fair punishment.
There's no way they'd get away with confiscating 21k and 30k without solid proof, they are a licensed site in many countries.

its not even a little bit complicated, having a seating script program running on your computer at all while having the clients open, regardless of which site you are using/not using doesnt matter. if their detection is simplistic as to see what processes are running and nothing else then so be it. not going to get any support because you are unable to prove exactly which sites are using script running on your computer and which aren't

seems like a fair resolution if they are in fact not stealing your money.

Wow, just wow!

So he had to assume their detection methods are so simplistic that they just look at which processes are running and if they see "Somename seating script" they will ban and confiscate 30k?

He is unable to prove he is innocent so he needs to lose 30k?
Shouldn't the site have to prove guilt in order to confiscate?
They can ban you from their site bc they don't like you but in order to confiscate money they need proof.

Anyway, this initial ruling is so stupid that I can make a prop bet that they won't be able to confiscate entire balances bc of that.

Rofl idiots who posted no sympathy and didn't think anything wrong with it. But even 888 said it was a mistake and that would be conpletelty absurd for them to handle it that way.


Anyone who said no sympathy I hope you see what a total tool you are now that 888 said sorry since they know it is absurd too. But you don't. Srsly what

WTF? Not that I've ever had 30k in an account, but how would that make one a "crappy human being in general?"

But yeah, 2+2 always has people glad to see accounts confiscated regardless of whether it was right or wrong for that it to happen.

Jon isn't saying that. He is saying what he feels the 2+2 community acts like in cases like this and most of the time, in the zoo anyway, he's correct.

Bit different in internet poker though where most people are able to have an adult discussion.

says the biggest idiot around, anyone who has seen even 1 of your posts in mttc know what a

to ban they dont need to prove the use, to confiscate may be another thing

bah, there goes my prop bet...I was hoping one of the "burn the witch" posters would take it before 888 reverses their obviously silly decision :-)
prop betting is dead, sky is falling :-(

Seems like someone sure is witch hunting alleged witch hunters.

it's an unpopular job to fight the angry mob but someone has to do it.
Afterall, you as a mod stayed out of it and now when you posted in the thread it was to jokingly pick on me, the guy who was right( according to 888 revised decision) :-)

Seriously, someone relatively unknown and with ok hearsay reputation gets banned without breaking the rules from a site with really bad software and lag, his 30k get confiscated and many see it as ok.

Imagine the scenario where someone like TimStone makes a prank and says "Stars banned me and confiscated my 50k roll bc ...ummm...calling a Russian shortstacker a fkn moron in chat".
No joking when I say this, the mob would party for days that justice has been done.

P.S: end of posting for me in this thread :-)

+1 here

I acted the same like plz. mercy and viktor. after warn email stopped using the seating script. but it still ran on other sites.

also i can agree here: "I would like to add that Plz.mercy is one of the best regulars there, i often see him battling on nl2k/nl5k."

I don't make apologies for my loathing for scripters. If that vexes you, so be it.

I think the problem here is caused by both 888 and players having different definition of "using". It is much better solved on Stars where they have like 3 lists e.g. software that is allowed, software that is not allowed to be used when pokerstars client is open and software that never can be used and detection gives you ban if discovered.
It is the same like with flopzilla where Pokerstars would you give you warning for having it opened the same time as Pokerstars client.
And Stars don't really check either whether you use it or not.

They should just clarify it saying that you can't have the sofware running same time as pokerclient is opened and problem would be solved.

Here's your angry mob of witch hunters:

Two people who said they don't feel a lot of sympathy, and one who appears to believe OP has caused the problem himself.

You're not right about the only thing I was posting about. And the only reason I jumped in was because this is the second or third thread I've seen in the last couple of days where a poster has been asserting that people have been ganging up on someone when they haven't.

Yes, posters sometimes get a rough go of it when they don't deserve it. I think that happens over in NVG a lot more often than here, but it does happen. It usually happens here in IP because the regulars have grown accustomed to a large percentage of the "site X stole my money" threads ending up with the site having done the correct thing, so people have become fairly jaded and cynical. But this thread didn't look a lot like many of those, which is why there have been only two or three people not feeling especially sympathetic, rather than the "angry mob" you dreamt up.