gg Pokerstars

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/28/...tars-currency-exchange-rates-1484001/

Hello, PokerStars has made some changes to currency exchange rates and we thought we should provide a little context to the decision. PokerStars has historically applied the mid-market exchange rate from XE, and before that Reuters, for exchanging between USD and GBP, EUR, and CAD. That rate of exchange is simply not one you would have had from any financial institution or processor. The policy change to introduce a margin on these currencies does move us more in line with the market, but we’re very confident that the new rate applied to your selected currency is still going to be extremely competitive. In fact, we’d say that it’s better than that offered by most banks, card issuers and payment providers. The margin on these currencies, applied to the mid-market exchange rate provided by XE, will be applicable only at the point of deposit and withdrawal. There remains no fee to transfer between currency wallets in the PokerStars client, nor for joining or leaving poker tables in different currencies. We frequently review our policies across all parts of the business, which all go towards making PokerStars the safest and most secure poker site to play at, but we will post here again before any future currency exchange change goes live. Sincerely, Michael Josem PokerStars Communications Team

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=45019529&postcount=15

I just tried and it seems like they charge 2,5% for a USD--> EUR transaction. No way that that's cheaper than most banks like OP claims. It's just another money grab by Pokerstars. Really bad move to not openly disclose the percentages also... Long time PS fanboy and 5x SNE here, but these kind of things do annoy me a lot.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=45020174&postcount=25

It's actually a pretty big money grab. They do not only take 2,5% of the winning players profits (assuming a winning player doesn't have to deposit), but they also take 2,5% off the recreationals deposits. So the decrease the money to be won by regulars as well. And on top of that they also worsen the rec/reg ratio because they take 2,5% of rec's deposits... And the 2,5% is just for eur/usd and eur/gbp conversions. God knows what is taken from the more obscure currencies

Amaya grab

everytime there´s some news about pokerstars, its always bad news
fuck amaya

Hm that's very disconcerting......

But they say there's no fee for transferring between currencies in the stars wallet, so if I do like I have been doing, keep my wallet in USD and cash out in EUR, I wont get any additional fee right?

So when I cashout USD into Canadian dollars, they take 2.5%?... wtf

Tried converting $1 USD to CAD, then converted back. Lost 1c... weoooooo

transfered $5 to CAD, then cashed it out. We'll see what happens..

Ok, so for the record. If I cash out USD as a transfer to my CAD bank account, I get charged 2.5% fee whatever. But if I exchange USD to CAD in the client, then cash it out. No fee. This is going to be shitty for people who cashout into a currency not supported in the client though?

I love it, PS is continuing with the bad decisions, hopefully in some time they ll lose the monopoly cause of it

This is actually painful to read... I'll be writing them an email for sure. I hope they reverse the decision.

On October 24 2014 08:48 drone666 wrote: everytime there´s some news about pokerstars, its always bad news fuck amaya

The banks that credited Amaya for the purchase own stars now. Amaya Is just a vehicle or a shell through which to structure the transaction and paper

First of all, note that pokerstars don't disclose the rate in the OP but according to posts in the 2+2 thread its a 2.5% fee. I currently keep my acc balance in USD and cashout in SEK. SEK isn't allowed as a currency balance probably because it's a less used currency and because there are no SEK games. With the changes I will make 2.5% less from every withdrawal or deposit since the pokerstars cashier doesn't support SEK as a game currency. That will make it punishing to join/leave the site as I frequently do. Imo, that's fucking BS and it's punishing/discouraging to people playing from countries that don't use the main currencies pokerstars hosts games in.

Right now the software always cashes out from your preferred currency and you can change that whenever you want. However, say you play in USD and that's your preferred currency but you live in the UK (GBP), if you don't change your preferred currency to GBP and don't convert your desired amount of USD to GBP from within the client prior to cashing out you will get hit by 2.5% for withdrawing straight from USD to a GBP bank account despite the client supporting both. That is criminal and exploits customers ignorance. The old pokerstars would never have done that. Note that you can change between USD and GBP from within the client at mid-market rate which means you basically lose nothing on the conversion.

This change will hit all deposits and withdrawals with a 2.5% fee. That's 2.5% of fishes deposit money instantly removed before they play and 2.5% of fishes money removed when you or they cashout.

An old issue I came across from the 2+2 thread that I thought was worth pointing out again is about the automatic currency conversion option. I.e. you have all your money in USD but want to play a GBP game. When you sit, you either have to use money from a GBP balance or convert USD to GBP to sit. The problem with not keeping a GBP balance for when you play GBP games is that every time you enter and then leave the table you have gone through 2 conversions which round down. That means you lose 1-2 cents for just joining and leaving the table. That makes the automatic conversion option pretty punishing for low/micro stakes players. Say you open/close 40 tables in a session, that cost you up to about 80c. So yeah, stay away from the automatic currency option and always keep a balance for each currency you play in.

That is pretty shitty, nice timing considering they pretty much own the whole poker market atm. I hope it get alot of publicity and they get bashed for it, but they probably don't care cause they make money.

On October 24 2014 15:28 Oddeye wrote: That is pretty shitty, nice timing considering they pretty much own the whole poker market atm. I hope it get alot of publicity and they get bashed for it, but they probably don't care cause they make money.

Oh, but you are wrong, and so would they be too. Poker is starting to get regulated basically everywhere around the world. If it used to be somewhat between lines when it comes to laws about taxation and etc.before it's a whole different picture now. Those regulations allow a higher competition rate, especially if the USA does it too and when this happens and PS continues with this kind of policy they will suck it deep throat style.

It's already charging players huge over the years considering how lame their "rakeback" policy is and on top of that they implement even more costs for the players. So fucking scummy, im guessing billions a year aint enough, gotta get a few more milly on top of it... Only shows how bad monopoly is for a market in a nutshell

On October 24 2014 09:25 TianYuan wrote: Hm that's very disconcerting...... But they say there's no fee for transferring between currencies in the stars wallet, so if I do like I have been doing, keep my wallet in USD and cash out in EUR, I wont get any additional fee right?

Just read through the 2+2 thread and that seems to be right:

Email exchange with Stars. Me: I'm aware of the new exorbitant charges that Stars have introduced when depositing/withdrawing funds. However can you confirm that as someone who deposits/withdraws in GBP that I can avoid all of the atrocious new charges by only keeping a GBP wallet, and that my automatic currency exchanges that take place every time that I buy into/leave a USD game game do not incur a fee? Stars: Thank you for writing us and allowing us to be of assistance. Please be advised that if you cashout from your GBP bankroll in GBP then you will not be charged this margin . However, if you cashout from your USD bankroll in GBP then the margin will apply. This margin only applies to cashouts and deposits when PokerStars bankroll currency is different to the cashout/deposit currency. I hope this information explains the situation for you, however, please contact us again should you require further assistance or clarification. Regards, Shweta PokerStars Payment Services Me: Yes, I require further assistance: Can I deposit in GBP into my GBP wallet, then transfer those funds into my USD wallet and play using those funds- then at a later date when I am ready to cash out, reverse the process and incur zero fees? Stars: Thank you for contacting us. Yes you can do that. As that the changes in exchange rate margin where applied only to deposit and cashout transactions and not transfers. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any questions or comments. Regards, Marilyn S. PokerStars Payment Services.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=45024881&postcount=93

"Yes you can do that"

Translation: you can but we would prefer a good % of you didn't so you donate 2.5% on every deposit/withdrawl for no reason

I think this is the first time I've seen stars actually try to trick players into paying fees that are avoidable

On October 24 2014 12:17 Spitfiree wrote: I love it, PS is continuing with the bad decisions, hopefully in some time they ll lose the monopoly cause of it

I think they are trying to compensate for diminishing revenues

can't wait to hear what's next! seems like there's a new thread every few months with bad news