Poker News

Putting a plan in motion that was announced in February, Bodog Poker is beginning to prevent online poker data collecting sites from accessing both general and individual player statistics and plans to have everything entirely blocked by the end of the year.  The affected are sites such as PokerTablingRatings.com, SharkScope.com, and PokerScout.com.

Bodog’s reasoning for the move is to protect and grow its casual player base.  It feels that data mining sites provide an unfair advantage to pros and serious amateurs and thus results in driving recreational players from the online poker room.  Because the best players don’t re-deposit as frequently as casual players, online poker sites want as high a proportion of casual to pro players as they can get; they believe that data collecting sites harm this ratio.

“It is vital for the online poker industry that the depositing players are put first rather than the high raking professionals who rarely, if ever, add new money to the pot,” said Jonas Odman, Vice President of Bodog Poker Network, in a statement on Bodog founder Calvin Ayre’s website.  “This is the first in a long line of steps that will make Bodog’s Recreational Poker Model the best place for the casual player to enjoy the game again. Later in the year we will have some additional features that we will roll out along with the new software which we are confident will make the playability of the site one of the best in the industry.”

One way Bodog has already limited the ability to data mine is by removing full tables from the lobby listings.  This way, no data sites can get an accurate read on how many players are actually at the tables.  There could be fifty full tables, there could be one, nobody would know for certain.

The management of PokerScout.com, in particular, has taken exception to Bodog’s stance.  In statement released Monday, PokerScout management, responded, saying:

“Despite Bodog’s assertions, PokerScout does not give any advantage to some players at the expense of others. Unlike some other websites, we do not track or publish individual player statistics. Many of our readers treat PokerScout as an industry scorecard, showing where the sites rank relative to each other and who is outperforming whom. Other readers drill down into more detail to see what games and limits are popular at the various sites. The data is available freely to everyone, and none of it gives any particular advantage to winning players. Bodog is the only operator to suggest that it does.”

PokerScout continued:

“We continue to maintain close, cooperative relationships with many online poker sites. Some 19 operators, from major companies like PartyGaming and Playtech down to the smallest providers, voluntarily provide us data to improve our tracking of their site traffic. This includes both US-facing and non-US operators. These companies clearly have no problem with PokerScout. In fact, executives throughout the industry have repeatedly expressed enthusiasm and gratitude for the service we provide.”

As for what this means for PokerScout’s tracking of the cash game population at Bodog, the way it reports traffic will change, but it will still report Bodog’s numbers nonetheless.  Now, instead of gathering exact figures, PokerScout will make projections “based on a combination of available data and known traffic patterns,” as it does with some other, smaller sites.

One Comment

  1. Mark says:

    OK, but why must they block the ability to take notes on players? I don’t care who they are, but at least let me take my OWN notes from my OWN experience. Also, they don’t let you see hands that go to SHOWDOWN anymore. It’s truly absurd and a cheater’s paradise.

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