PSA: This is not a bash PokerStars thread, I am just trying to get more clarification on my case.
TLDR: Played on this site for 7 years, 4 years as a VIP member. Got banned but was able to withdraw my funds because they had no proof that I broke any terms of service.
BACKGROUND: Deposited ~ 7 years ago while I was in University. Started playing 50nl/100nl zoom when I was working a full time accounting job. Ended up pursuing minor professional hockey in the USA which is what I have been doing for the past 5 years and playing Poker mainly during the off-season or sometimes in the spring months if my season ended early. I will share my results from 2021-2023 as it gives better insight on my game, I will just share my volume played on PokerStars (some hands might be missing as my HM3 corrupted a few times).
2021 (Global Pool):
2022 (Ring Fenced Pool)
As you can see I didn't put any volume into Stars during 2022 (this was all that I had in my database). I thought I remember putting some volume in at 100/200nl on Stars during 2022 but I can't find it in my database.
2023 (Ring Fenced Pool)
2024 (Ring Fenced Pool)
INVESTIGATION:
Here begins the investigation where I will be sharing the e-mails they sent me as well as some of my responses (not all). The timeline of my account freezing is this - I leave to USA during mid October 2023 to start my hockey season. I come home ~Feb 10th 2024 and play for 3 days when my account gets frozen on Feb 13th 2024. First off, very suspicious that my account gets frozen after 3 days of playing and approximately 3000 hands played.
EMAIL #1
My response to this email was no to every question and I told them I use HM3, StarsHelper, and PIOsolver. I didn't add GTOwizard as it's not really a downloadable software but after re-reading the question they asked I should have included this. The question about my playing style changing I told them I just came back after ~5 months of being abroad and my interaction with the software stayed the same.
EMAIL#2
So I don't feel the need to upload the 3 hours of footage of me playing but I sent them what they wanted. I had to go out and buy a new webcam and webcam holder as well. For those wondering there is 0 possibility of cheating during this liveplay recording with the way the cameras are positioned.
EMAIL#3
So i then receive this e-mail and obviously I am in shock. I respond to this e-mail with a nice response asking for more clarification and I got a copy pasted response. I then sent an e-mail stating I am making this case public and that it was a malicious attempt to ban a player making money on their platform. They then sent the investigation off to the manager of the game integrity team.
EMAIL #4
INVESTIGATION FINDINGS
My belief is that my account got flagged in 2023 and they were waiting for me to re-deposit to freeze my account. The ~3000 hands I played in 2024 ment nothing and my account was already flagged before this. The whole investigation was a joke, they found nothing and they were not looking for anything. It was my belief that I was banned before this investigation even started, they just wasted a month of my time.
BONUS INFO
Going off of my investigation findings I thought of something that may or may not be a coincidence. As a VIP member Stars would always send gifts to your house for the holidays. For three out of the four years I received gifts and the year I did not receive a gift was this most recent year (2023 holidays). This further strengthens my point of my account being flagged in 2023 and the 2024 hands and the investigation meaning nothing.
BONUS INFO #2
Based off the wording they used in their email as well as this article descrbing RTA and the PokerStars game integrity team, I believe they falsely banned me for RTA use.
https://www.pokerstars.com/poker/lea...ce-pokerstars/
There is a quote I have from the article that is interesting - "Some only when there’s significant EV on the line or when it’s a difficult decision." Of course I am reaching a bit but I believe I know the hand that I played which got me falsely banned for using RTA. I am sure it is no secret to their algorithms and AI that they are aware that over the millions of hands i've played on Stars I overfold the river. I put a lot of work in and even started to work on my heads up game as battling heads up was something that interested me. Here is the hand I played vs. a tough reg at 2/5 that I believe got me banned, either by them picking it up via their detection software or the Reg reporting me ( I read an article that 95% of RTA catches are from their AI and 5% is from real-player reporting).
HAND IN QUESTION?
Obviously reaching a bit by stating that this is the hand in particular which raised there suspicion but it's the only one that comes to mind as its a heads up pot and I tanked the river forever. Oddly enough after the session ended and I looked up the solution I would have pure folded this in game if I knew that villain was supposed to be value-betting AT+ (which is not very intuitive on this runout).
PokerStars - C$5 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
SB: CA$712.85 (142.6 bb)
Hero (BB): CA$606.92 (121.4 bb)
SB posts CA$2.50, Hero posts BB CA$5.00
Pre Flop: (pot: CA$7.50) Hero has T
J
SB raises to CA$12.50,
Hero calls CA$7.50
Flop: (CA$25.00, 2 players) T
2
8
Hero checks,
SB bets CA$30.00,
Hero calls CA$30.00
Turn: (CA$85.00, 2 players) 4
Hero checks,
SB bets CA$125.25,
Hero calls CA$125.25
River: (CA$335.50, 2 players) 5
Hero checks,
SB bets CA$545.10 and is all-in,
Hero calls CA$439.17 and is all-in
Results: CA$1,213.84 pot (CA$1.75 rake)
Final Board: T
2
8
4
5
SB shows 7
J
:
(High Card, Jack)
(Pre 28%, Flop 15%, Turn 9%)
Hero shows T
J
:
(One Pair, Tens)
(Pre 72%, Flop 85%, Turn 91%)
Hero wins CA$1,212.09
SOLUTION
Villain
Hero
CONCLUSION
I was wrongly banned for using RTA when I never did. PSA - make sure you don't get too good at this game or you will be banned, just be good enough not too good. Also, if you do get good just start a stream or make YouTube videos and create a following so Stars will be less inclined to ban you. Peace.