PokerStars has announced that it is ready to take the unprecedented step of hosting meetings with poker players at its headquarters in the Isle of Man to discuss sensitive, confidential company matters. A number of internet poker forums will send representatives, which are scheduled for April 11th through April 13th.
On the Two Plus Two poker forum, the most popular poker message board on the internet, the meeting discussion was introduced last weekend by forum moderator Mike Haven, who was contacted by PokerStars rep “PokerStars Steve” and asked to organize the player representative selection process. Haven relayed the benefits of the meetings, from PokerStars’ point of view:
“The first is to hear what players have to say. They state that listening to their customers has always been a very important part of the PokerStars decision-making process. They are the most experienced actual users of the product and thus able to provide important feedback on the software.
“The second is for players’ understanding of why PS does what they do, and that what they are doing is with good intentions and considerable logical thought and reasoning. What is posted here in these forums probably compares favourably with other companies, but they feel it’s only the tip of the iceberg. They are a private company that doesn’t have to publish financial details. There are some important topics that it’s simply not appropriate for discussion in public.”
Haven also said that PokerStars feels that meeting the players in person will foster better communication as well as allow the world’s largest online poker room to divulge information without fear of it leaving its headquarters via either paper or e-mail.
The meetings are a product of the player outrage from the end of the December, when PokerStars announced changes to its rake structure and VIP program. One of the changes that got players the most upset was the switch from the “dealt” to “weighted contributed” method of calculating VIP Player Points (VPPs). In the old method, every player who was dealt cards in a ring game hand would receive an equal share of the VPPs that were awarded to the table. In the new method, players are awarded VPPs relative to how much they contribute to the pot.
The problem many had with this was that the regulars – the loyal, high volume players – traditionally utilize a very tight style of play. Because they do a lot of folding pre-flop, they will lose out on the chance to earn VPPs in many hands with the weighted contributed method. Additionally, less VPPs means less Frequent Player Points (FPPs), rewards which can be converted into things like cash and tournament entries.
One player who would have earned 1 million VPPs and reached Supernova Elite status in the old system estimated that he would lose out on $41,200 in total rewards in the new system.
The outcry over the changes sparked a mass sit-out protest on PokerStars on January 1st as well as thousands of angry posts on internet message boards. PokerStars quickly quashed the protest, but at the time did offer to meet with players to discuss the issues at hand.
Two Plus Two accepted self-nominations to be included as a player representative for the April meetings and is now allowing members to vote for three of the seven players who have thrown their hats in the ring. Voting will be open for five days.
