Didn't realize the promo's over already - and it barely ever really got started either

Was going to try to make Silver Star by guess it's probably better to use my StarsCoin to get cash, if there's not going to be any more zoom days?

Oh well, my nephews are arriving tomorrow - so probably time would have been tough to find anyways ...


GL to anybody who might be playing the Monday Million tomorrow!

Sorry, but who areyou talking too? Everyone of your posts seem to be private pms to a friend outlining your feelings and daily itinery. It's pretty annoying, lol

They expect their customers to fit the bill for all of these advertisements and sponsorships , Ronaldo,Neymar, which supposidly bringing in more degenerates to their casino games which is good for the economy. Ask Daniel Negreanu, he said blackjack is better tthan poker

Noone forces you to read it, so what's your point, kid?!

No it isn't. I enjoy reading her posts

Yeah I think it makes a nice change to threads like this.

Somebody seems too friendly, how will I cope?

I do at least try to stay on topic with each post

Guess there's room for less filler - will try to keep some of the extra stuff for my blog in the blog section, where interestingly stuff doesn't seem to get much traffic


Pretty disappointing end to the year - it makes it feel like things can only go downhill from here, especially once they add that new VIP system? Have been playing less and less instead of more and more, and it seems like am not the only one - guess there's always *a chance* they might decide to try other new things in the new year?

Guess if you really find me to not be your cup of tea, please feel free to put me on block - you won't be missing too much

Just wanted to let you know that i read through your posting history, and can appreciate how stressful the current climate must be if you depend on Stars for your livelihood, when they seem to be doing everything they can to grab every last piece for themselves.

Not sure will be able to offer you much solace, as things seem much more likely to get worse in the new year ... so yeah, understandably stressful ...

When does this new VIP system change take place , and does anyone have any ideas as to what changes will be made ?

Sometime next year and yes just look at whats happened in the last two years. Expect some action coming out the backend... or be naive and expect good promotions and good rewards. Choice is yours

You will find the info your looking for here:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29...p+changes+2017

'lol'?!...I don't find your post to Sam funny. I personally think it's a pretty ****ty thing to say.

You've only been a forum member for a few days. You must get annoyed really easily to feel the need to say what you did, within such a short time frame.

Sure, her posts may not be entirely focused on the thread topic all the time but, so what?! That's just Sam and you would know that, if you had been around a bit longer.

She has been a member here for years and consistently contributes to this thread. She's nothing but friendly and encouraging to others in her posts and no one else who is a regular visitor to this thread has a problem with what she has to say.

Take your ****ty comments elsewhere.

Thanks so much for all those words of support everybody - really appreciate you all taking the time to do that


There hasn't been this much drama in this thread since Pocket Ducks got banned

TrustySam is one of the most decent people on any poker forum. That post was pretty shifty.

Keep up the good fight Sam.

Thanks everybody

Is PokerStars collecting any rake from The Deal? I checked out the NVG thread but couldn't find any posts pertaining to rake.

Ofcourse they are, they arent just setting up a random gambling game just so they can take none of the action. Doubt that would be in their best interests ever

Have they made the rake % public?

According to stars they don't rake the deal.

Starscoins aren't raked on Pokerstars full stop. They are awarded as a result of players paying rake. If Pokerstars raked starscoins, they would be raking players twice over.

You don't buy-in to a starscoins satellite or tournament and pay 7 + 1 (rake) coins for example - it just doesn't happen. Same goes in the Vip store. You do a straight swap eg: 1000 coins (worth 1 cent each) for $10 cash etc...

The same can also be said for 'The Deal'. 100% of what is put into it by players in the form of starcoins, is paid back out by way of winnings and jackpots to the equivalent value of those starscoins put in.

'The Deal' was simply set-up to provide players with another alternative option when it comes to spending there starscoins.

Pokerstars benefit from it because, many players want a chance at hitting the jackpot and to have that chance they need to have starscoins. The only way to earn and accumulate more starscoins, is to get rewarded for paying more rake.

Whoops. Honestly I was taking a guess and thought it was a decent one the way the company has been trending. My bad

PokerStars Duel?

Beat the clock?

The rake on Beat the Clock is certainly bold!

They seem intent on these gimmicks while everything that made Stars number 1 dwindles away. Software, support, security - all getting worse while they frantically try to figure out ways to charge higher rake for less play.

I would disagree with calling many of these initiatives "gimmicks" - the fact of the matter is that these days, there is a lot more competition on your computer/phone/tablet for your entertainment dollars than there was in 2005, and the people spending that money have different needs and desires than they did ten years ago. It is a primary goal of the company to provide the product the customers want; for example, while it's a nice thought to say (for example) "there should be a mixed games week", it has been tried in the past, and it simply wasn't that popular and showed no impact beyond that week. On the flip side, a promotion that directs new players to a fast and less skill intensive format such as Spin&go is popular, and results in those players having an enjoyable experience and continuing beyond the promotional time frame.

To that end, when promotions like Xmas calendar are planned, there is a strong consideration of "what have the players responded to positively, and what are they likely to enjoy?". That is, in part, why you saw so many previously used concepts in this year's promotion.

With that said, I do continue to follow the thread on a daily basis and the comments here are read and considered. A few points:

1) Repetitiveness of the Xmas calendar - I did discuss this with the promotion manager, and there was agreement on this. The calendar is more fun if there are a range of different activities.

2) The excessive amounts of all in shootout days - this one confused me a little bit, as the "Santa clause giveaway" was always extremely popular, and this is (at essence) just that again in a different form - you show up and get free money at random. It's also important to note that on an all in shootout day, if we were to give out $48,000, while you individually and immediately might not receive a substantial amount, that money is now "in the system" and available for people to play with at the tables, and for you to win if you're skillful enough.

3) The perception of low or not worth it rewards - this has been a concern through the introduction of the puzzle challenges and CardMatch; how do we make the promotion accessible to casual players who are not playing high stakes or high volume while keeping the promotion worth playing without essentially lighting money on fire (for example, giving away a $20 reward for playing 50 hands of 5c-10c would be immensely popular but is obviously not realistic, while offering $1 to play those same 50 hands is resulting in the experience that some posters ITT are not enjoying).

As you saw with some of the Mega bonus promotion in Xmas calendar, there is definite consideration of differing tasks for differing rewards under consideration, and I believe it will continue to be considered and experimented with in the upcoming year.

As I've said elsewhere in the thread, it's never the desire with promotions to push people to do something they don't want to do; they are either to make the playing experience more enjoyable so you'll want to continue to play, or to give you an incentive to try something we have strong reason to believe you'll enjoy.

Has every attempt been perfect? Definitely not, but we continue to try our best, and threads like this absolutely 100% do help me understand which ones are working and which ones are not, and why, and I do thank everyone who posts here (except maybe that guy who didn't like Sam, who's great).