PokerStars Announces Changes

Nov 02, 2015
PokerStars Announces Changes
Eric Hollreiser, communications chief at PokerStars and Amaya Inc., took to the company blog to release a statement about upcoming changes in store to appeal to recreational players and breathe life back into the fun and social aspects of playing poker online. Players can expect to see the unveiling of a new VIP club program at PokerStars accompanied by a new range of games. Changes, expected to debut in 2016, will also include policy updates to eliminate the unfair advantage by limiting specific software programs. "For more than 95 percent of our players, the most obvious change will be the introduction of the VIP Steps program and changing our variable FPP currency into a constant value which will be called StarsCoin," Hollreiser said. "This will simplify the reward system and enhance its visibility during play, so that players can follow their progress in real time. VIP status players from BronzeStar to GoldStar will continue to be able to receive up to a similar level of rewards to what they receive now. In some cases, players will receive less; in some cases, players will receive more, but it's very much in the same ballpark. "PokerStars will also revamp the loyalty program to effectively incentivize and reward more players and to encourage competitive play over high volume play. The changes will result in improved rewards for the vast majority of players. "Approximately two percent of players - including our highest volume and high stakes players - will have significantly reduced rewards. The reason we are focused on the highest status levels is because these rewards have become so enticing that we have inadvertently altered why some people play and how they play. “We are introducing these changes to move towards a more balanced long-term poker economy and to return the game back to one that rewards skill via winning at the tables rather than playing primarily for volume." For a summary of upcoming changes and the entire corporate blog post, see here.
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