New bonus system for poker stars. What do we know about the new PokerStars VIP program? A significant blow to the regulars

In July 2017, PokerStars implemented a new loyalty program in its main game client , implying the replacement of the previously existing rakeback accrual scheme in the room with a new model of rewarding players with personal rewards. The new program "Stars Rewards" has launched a race, the goal of which is PokerStars chests. More about them and their content in the proposed review.

What is the meaning of the loyalty program for the room?

For Pokerstars, the meaning is obvious. Rum does its best to attract even more amateur players to their ranks, and the Stars Rewards program works for them. Let's explain. The fact is that players in this category have never focused their attention on rakeback - it was so insignificant for them. They focused more on the end result of the hands - actually winning.

"Stars Rewards" hit first of all the regulars of the room, who had VIP statuses. The last factor was decisive for accruing rakeback to them, which reached impressive amounts. For example, the highest status in the Supernova room allowed its owner to receive up to 30% rakeback. The new program has reduced the VIP rakeback by 80-85%.

What is Stars Rewards

Briefly describing the essence of the new system, we note that it randomly gives players certain prizes. However, not all so simple. Prizes are individual, as are points, thanks to which registered visitors of the room will be able to get chests, and, accordingly, access to rewards.

The specifics of prizes and accrued points in Stars Rewards directly depend on what the user does on the PokerStars website - whether he plays poker for money, bets in a casino or sports.

Naturally, the success of the player in one form or another of the PokerStars product plays an important role in the accumulation of points.

For poker players, PokerStars chests may contain cash rewards, a live tournament package, tickets to participate in large online events room, StarsCoin coins, points for the next chest. In terms of cash rewards, it was announced at the start of the Stars Rewards program that in general distributed in chests $ 10 000 000 . In some it's $ 1 or less, in some -$ 1 000.

The more PokerStars Gifts a player can open, the more chances they have of winning the maximum cash prize. There are no restrictions on the possible possession of chests during the day!

Which Stars Rewards chest is the best?

There are six types of chests in total - red, blue, bronze, silver, gold and platinum. It is clear that such a gradation is not accidental. Minimal amount rewards are contained in the red chest "Stars Rewards". Further - on the rise. You can get the first blue PokerStars chest by first taking possession of four red chests, etc.

By the way, you can open the Stars Rewards chest not immediately as soon as you become its owner, but you can later - when there are several of them in your asset. However, we do not recommend to delay this process too much, there are restrictions on the time of their use - 3 months. After this period, it will no longer be possible to use the chance to receive a gift.

Player chances for cash prizes

Today, different tables are walking around the network containing certain information about the Stars Rewards program. The table below contains information about the cash prizes in PokerStars chests and the chances of receiving them:

Boosters to speed up the receipt of gifts

To motivate players even more, the administration of the room introduced boosters. These are some kind of accelerators that help PokerStars players become owners of chests faster as part of the Stars Rewards loyalty program. Boosters double the amount of points earned. If you get a booster for, say, 20 points, then the next 20 points you earn will be doubled.

How to use them? Everything is simple here - you need to activate this function by clicking on a special icon in the interface. Boosters can be used once for 8 hours. After this time, the player will be able to use the booster again. However, there are some nuances here - boosters also have a shelf life of 3 months.

Each user who has registered on and downloaded a client for a PC or gadget that allows you to play poker for real money can become a member of the Stars Rewards program.

Two years ago, PokerStars updated the old loyalty program, which became known as Stars Rewards. Players from Denmark were the first to be allowed to try the new rakeback system in practice, after which they continued to test it for the rest of the world. The new loyalty program is aimed not only at regulars, but also at beginners who can earn extra money.

In today's article, we will tell you what the essence of the updated loyalty program is, what rules it works under, and what gifts you can receive by opening chests.

Everyone's activity poker room It is primarily a business whose purpose is to make money. While the poker players are playing at the tables, the room charges thema small percentage of the commission for using the room - rake. Given the number of players on the site, the amount of commissions is enormous, some of which goes to the players through the rakeback system.

Rakeback is an important aspect of the game that allows players to have a stable additional income. Until 2017, the PokerStars loyalty program included promotion through VIP levels from bronze to Supernova Elite. During the promotion, players received bonus points, which they spent on valuable prizes in the PokerStars store. The highest VIP status in the former loyalty program returned up to 70% commission to players.

But these conditions were replaced by new ones and the new loyalty program acquired a completely different character, and regular players immediately felt the worsening of PokerStars rakeback conditions. The biggest blow to seasoned regulars was the removal of Supernova Elite status and the reduction in rakeback.

The real rakeback system is quite simple. During each real money hand, the player receives Stars Rewards points. As points increase, a special progress bar increases. As soon as the progress level reaches the limit, you will receive a chest, inside of which a valuable gift is hidden.

Poker Stars Rewards suggests 6 chests different colors, each of which is valuable in its own way:

It seems that such a loyalty program is incredibly profitable and uncomplicated, because a platinum case is quite capable of compensating for the entire rake paid in games. There is a catch in probability theory, according to which the chance of receiving the maximum gift is 0.0001%.

Each player can move on to smaller and larger gifts, depending on how many prizes you received within 28 days. In order to move on to larger gifts, you must receive 10 prizes of the same type within the specified period. Larger gifts require more points. Your prizes will be reduced if you do not receive any gifts within 28 days. This rule applies to all types of gifts, while you cannot go below the level of the blue chest.

Earning Stars Rewards Points

At first glance, the essence of the new loyalty system is clear, but many are wondering how Stars Rewards points are awarded and how to earn Star Coins Pokerstars?

Points can be earned in three different ways:

• Take part in tournaments and cash games;
• Play online casino;
• Bet on sports in the room client.

In poker, you can earn Stars Rewards points in the following ways:

• 45 points for $1 rake in multi-table games.
• 100 points per $1 rake in cash game, ZOOM, Sit&Go.

Some poker tables do not pay out points: pot-limit and no-limit games with blinds from $5/$10, mix-8 tables from $20/$40, fixed limit tables from $20/$40.

To speed up the receipt of gifts, you can use boosters that speed up the process of opening a new chest, doubling the points earned. For example, if you are the lucky owner of a 20 points booster, then the next points earned will be doubled.

To activate the booster, click on the special button in the client interface. The use of boosters is limited to once in an 8-hour period, after which the player receives a new one.

What Stars Rewards prizes can I expect

By opening chests, the player can receive the following types of gifts:

1. StarsCoins, which are an in-game currency with its solvency. Coins can be exchanged in the Stars Rewards store for gifts and real money into an account - it all depends on the number of coins in the account. For every thousand coins, you get $10 on your balance. StarsCoins are used for exchange transactions in the room store, and sometimes as an entry fee for some satellites. StarCoins in Pokerstars can only be obtained from chests. They cannot be transferred, gifted or withdrawn.
2. Moneyto the account, which can be used in any games.
3. Tournament ticketsto participate in various competitions. You can often get an invitation to special Stars Rewards freerolls
4. Stars Rewards Points, allowing you to fill the progress bar faster and get the next prize.

Stars Rewards Shop

If you have accumulated enough StarsCoins, you can visit the room store and choose the following gifts for yourself:

1. Cloth. In this section you can buy branded hats, t-shirts, shirts and sweatshirts. The cost of things starts from 500 to 4000 coins.
2. Accessories. Here you can buy cups, plates, flasks, ashtrays, logical games, basketballs, cases and chargers from 700 to 3000 StarsCoin.
3. Security software in the form of a licensed antivirus Avira Internet Security Suite 2018 or RSA Security Token, which costs from 1800 to 4000 coins.
4. Goods related to poker. This includes card protectors, poker sets, chips and separate decks. Also on the showcase there are All-in triangles, big and small buttons. Prices for goods in this category start from 1200 to 15000 StarsCoin.
5. Literature. If you have accumulated more than 1700 Starcoins, you can purchase the comic "A World Apart" autographed by the creator.
6. Sweet gifts. A box of Chocolat ZBOX will cost from 6,000 to 9,000 coins.
7. On the counter of the PokerStars store you can find tickets for tournaments worth from $0.25 to $50. The purchase of an invitation will cost from 30 to 5500 coins.
8. Charitable donations. You can donate hard-earned money to the account of one of the charitable organizations. Such a donation costs 2000 starcoins.
9. In the store you can exchange coins for real money. You can buy a fixed amount from $10, $25, $100 to $1000 and it will cost from 1000 to 100,000 coins, respectively.

Finding a store is easy. Go to the "My Stars" section, which is located in the main menu of the client. Then go to the "Stars Rewards Store" section and choose a profitable exchange. By the way, the client allows you to see a greater number of products on the showcase than the site.

How to become a member of the Stars Reward loyalty program

Becoming a member of the Stars Rewards loyalty program is very simple. To do this, follow a short instruction:

1. Go to the room client and go through authorization.
2. Go to the "My Stars" section.
3. Sign up for the Stars Reward program and start playing.

FAQ

Can points be earned only for playing poker for money?

No. Stars Reward points can be earned in casinos and sports betting. The number of points earned depends on the size of the bet. So, playing roulette you will get 1 point for a bet of $1.5. For every $1 in multi sports betting, you will receive 5.5 StarCoin.

Does the program work on PokerStars Sochi version?

Yes. The loyalty program is the same for all room products and reservations. Poker Stars Sochi is focused on Russian-speaking players, so the showcase may differ slightly from client versions for other countries. Also, bets and casinos are not available in the Sochi version.

Where do I go if I have questions about Stars Rewards?

In order to resolve existing issues regarding the loyalty program, you should write to. You can contact the experts in different ways:

• Through an online request on the site;
• By e-mail address [email protected] rstarsonline.com;
• On twitter at @StarsSupport.

What other promotions and bonuses does the room have?

The room is generous with gifts for new users who have registered or made their first deposit. So, using promo code STARS600 at the first deposit, you can double it up to $600. The bonus must be wagered. For every $10 in rake you earn, you will receive 180 points, after which you will receive a gift in installments as you wager. Please wait...

Star Rewards- a new PokerStars loyalty program that came in the summer of 2017 to replace rewards for VIP statuses. Thanks to the Stars Rewards system, players can receive rewards personally and for every game they play!

How does the new system work and how to get rewards?

Playing for real money earns you Stars Rewards points.

After collecting a certain number of points, you become the owner of a gift. This is a virtual chest full of personalized prizes. For each dollar paid in rake, you will be credited exactly 100 points.

If earlier your rewards were determined by the earned VIP status, now the value and number of prizes depends on the level of the gift you filled yourself with. These levels are currently six.

The exact number of points for each gift depends on what level of gift you want to receive, as well as on the history of your game on PokerStars.

Beginners need to score fewer points than for regulars playing at higher stakes. So, to fill the most minimal gift - red - with rewards up to $50, for newly registered players, you need 150 points.

The following factors affect the number of points for earning gifts:

• recent gaming activity;
• game formats that you preferred;
• history of deposits.

Please note: Stars Rewards Points will slowly but surely be credited to you for any real money poker play and other products. PokerStars, including casino and sports betting!

You can follow the progress of earning the next gift on a special scale, which is displayed in the client program to the left of the balance field (previously, the process of overcoming the next stage of the VIP status was displayed in this place in the step-by-step PokerStars VIP program). As you approach the next gift, this strip begins to turn red.

Note. For 1 pound rake paid you get 130 points, for 1 Canadian dollar - 80 points, for 1 euro - 110 points.

What rewards are provided by the new system and how often can I receive them?

Each virtual chest has personalized content tailored to the gaming preferences of the user who won the gift. The gift may include:

• coins StarsCoin;
• tournament tickets (including Spin&Go);
• tournament money;
• free spins at the casino;
• instant bonuses.

If you do not play, say, Spin&Go at all, then tickets for it will not be included in your gifts.

As noted earlier, there are 6 different types of gifts available in the game, and for each type there are 8 possible sets of prizes for a certain amount:

1. Red gift - from $0.07 to $50;
2. Blue gift - from $0.21 to $100;
3. Bronze gift - from $0.53 to $250;
4. Silver gift - from $1.33 to $500;
5. Gold gift - from $3.44 to $750;
6. Platinum gift - from $10.37 to $1,000.

When you earn one or another gift, you will randomly drop one of the eight possible sets of prizes for this chest: for example, a bronze gift with tournament tickets and money to the account for a total of $5.3.

ATTENTION: you can earn an unlimited number of gifts every day!

In addition to the earned chest, you can also receive a special super reward. It also drops out randomly, but provides significantly larger prizes than regular chests. The higher the level of the gift that you earn, the larger the super reward will be and the more likely you will be to receive it!

What is the probability of my reward dropping in a gift of a particular level?

For a complete list of rewards for gifts and the chances of them falling, see the table.

How to move to a new level of gifts?

Each type of gift is a kind of old VIP status. You start by earning Red Gifts, but you can level up to earn Blue Gifts, and if you play even harder, you'll reach Bronze and other levels.

To go to the next level of chests, you need to get four gifts current level per day from 7 am Moscow time to 7 am the next day. Please note that you will need more points to earn gifts at the blue level and above than for the red level: the higher the level, the more points you will have to earn.

There is such a nuance when stuffing prizes: if the last three gifts were stuffed on different days (in other words, if you earned one gift in one or more sessions), then the requirements for points on the progress bar will be adjusted in accordance with your activity so that PokerStars could provide you with the opportunity to receive chests on a regular basis!

Is it possible to earn gifts on PokerStars faster?

You can speed up the process of earning gifts with the help of boosters, which double the number of points earned. Let's say you have a 20 point booster. After earning 20 points and using the booster, you will get 40 points as a result.

New booster will be given after 8 hours after using the old one.

Other nuances and conditions of the Stars Rewards system

• All gifts and boosters are valid for three calendar months from the date of receipt, after which they are irreversibly reset.
• In the "My Stars" section of the toolbar on the right, find out how long you can use your rewards. If you do not play for money on your account within three months, your progress bar will also be reset.
• StarsCoin coins are saved on your balance. Their purpose remains the same as it was before the launch of StarsRewards: purchase of goods in the VIP store (now it is the StarsRewards store), registration in some tournaments, exchange of coins for real money. However, StarsCoin will reset if you do not earn any Stars Rewards points within six months.
• Balance of StarsCoin coins, tournament money, instant bonuses and free spins can be viewed in the Cashier section.
• Poker Stars reserves the exclusive right to change the terms and conditions of the Stars Rewards program at any time. In addition, the poker room may refuse to receive rewards if it suspects that you are playing fraudulently or want to receive rewards without playing for money.

On January 1, 2006, PokerStars introduced a unique VIP system. All players in the room received FPP points that could be exchanged for various goods in the VIP store. For a long time, the PokerStars loyalty program remained the best for players, until the poker room changed its management, and with it the policy of the room.

To better understand in which direction the industry leader is developing, you should look at the past. Now we will tell you how the PokerStars VIP system has evolved over the past 11 years.

March 1, 2006: PokerStars FPPs

Each player on PokerStars received frequent player points, aka FPP. When playing cash hands or registering in tournaments, the player pays rake. The more rake, the more FPPs PokerStars gave. And the higher the VIP level, the more profitable it was to exchange FPP points for money.

The exchange of FPP points took place in the VIP store. Points could be exchanged for cash, tournament tickets or valuable prizes, including PokerStars branded clothing, poker books, a set of chips, electronic devices, etc. The most expensive item was the Porsche Cayman S-class. By the way, Dario Minieri was the first to exchange 5 million FPP points for Porsche. And in 2011, Cossett Spencer set a new record by buying a Porsche twice with FPP.

Perhaps, some of the Russian players would have managed to do this earlier, if FPP had been taken for customs clearance of a car.

March 1, 2009: Special conditions for regulars

It's been a great year for the regulars. When the Sheinbergs were at the helm, changes to the PokerStars loyalty system really meant improvements. In March 2009, the following changes were made:

• Reducing the number of WFP points to achieve Silver, Gold, Platinum statuses
• Increased guarantee in VIP tournaments by $25,000 (up to $75,000) and by $10,000 (up to $30,000)
• Special bonuses for Supernova. Now all Supernovas could buy $2,000 for 50,000 FPPs without making an extra 10,000 VPPs

Also changed are the concierge services that can be used by all players who reach Supernova status. The "concierge job" was that the player could send a check to PokerStars to buy anything they wanted, and the room would transfer $500 to the player's account for every 31,000 FPP.

This service was needed so that players could buy goods that are not in the VIP store. With such a situation, FPP points could easily become a separate world currency, given that the regulars wanted to pay for alimony, taxes, the purchase of a private dance in a strip club, the services of a psychologist and a statue of a Buddha for an aura.

Fun fact: the player under the nickname "blego151" traded FPP for a new horse. No, we do not mean Porsche, which was written about a little higher. This player bought a real live horse and named it "Midnight Gambler". Apparently, the guy liked to ride at night.

Since March 1, 2009, concierge services have been provided no more than three times and no more than once a month. And the total amount of the check must be at least $500. That is, a player could buy a case of beer and pay for it with FPP points if the case cost more than $500. And, of course, the concierge could only be used for legitimate purposes.

For example, "bouh" bought an African safari with FPPs through the concierge, and "Bigjoe2009" used FPPs as a down payment to buy a house.

Actually, everything was exactly like that, and for a long time the PokerStars VIP system did not give chances to other rooms. If a player could fill Supernova, there simply were no other rooms for him. And every year the Starz reward system really improved.

January 1, 2010: Getting VIP status just got easier

Changes in 2010 affected the acquisition and retention of VIP statuses. "Silver" became possible to earn for 750 VPP points instead of 1,200, and it was possible to save Supernova by accumulating 7,500 VPP, instead of 10,000. Increased the number of VPP points for $1. Also appeared new system Vip Stellar Rewards, which included 19 bonuses totaling $1,000. New VIP freerolls were also announced with prize fund$1 million for Supernova (Gold and Platinum could qualify for this tournament via a satellite).

January 1, 2011: Increased the VPP system for micro limits, Milestone Cash Credit for 1 FPP

In 2011, all micro-stakes players received a great gift: since January 1, NL2 players have been able to accumulate VPP 167% faster. SNE (Supernova Elite) players started earning $20,000, reaching 1,000,000 VPP + offline series discounts. And, most importantly, the cost of Milestone Cash Credits has changed to 1 FPP instead of 50,000 FPP.

And in the VIP Stellar Rewards was added new bonus$200 for 1 FPP. That is, the total VIP bonus Stellar Rewards was $1,200.

January 1, 2012: VPP points change

2012 has started very actively for PokerStars and all players. PokerStars switched to VPP scoring from a "dealt" method to a "weighted contribution". If earlier VPPs were divided equally among the participants in the distribution, now they are distributed in proportion to how much money each player put into the pot.

Public reaction: loose-aggressive players appreciated the innovation, while tight players went on strike.

January 1, 2013: New Chrome Status and Hall of Fame

The changes of 2013 were perhaps among the most unrevolutionary. A new "Chrome" status between "Bronze" and "Silver" has been introduced so that other players can also evaluate the PokerStars VIP system. Chrome had weekly $5,000 Gtd Freerolls and a $100,000 Freeroll.

As for other changes, Silver and Gold have become even easier to get. To do this, since 2013, it was necessary to fill 500 (less than $100 rake) and 2500 VPP (slightly more than $400 rake).

Since 2013 the most devoted and loyal PokerStars players were inducted into the VIP Club Hall of Fame. All players who scored 5 million and 10 million RPL points began to be enrolled in the VIP club. In addition, each player of the VIP club was given a Tag Heuer watch with a personal engraving as a gift in a solemn atmosphere.

Also, players who reached 10 million VPPs received a PokerStars manager's phone number to resolve urgent issues.

Tipping point: In the summer of 2014, Mark Shreinberg sold PokerStars for $4 billion to Amaya Gaming. After that, hard times began for all the regulars.

January 1, 2015: SNE players lose free tickets

Changes in 2015 became, in a way, the first wake-up call. All Supernova Elite players have been stripped of free $5,200 tickets to the major online WCOOP, TCOOP and SCOOP series.

In general, the January changes were more like an announcement. The regulars had a premonition that PokerStars would never be the same again. The players are in for a tough time...

January 1, 2016: Rakeback reduction and VIP levels

The new year 2016 started with bad news for many players. The new leadership of PokerStars has made sweeping changes to the loyalty program:

• Introduction of a "simple and clear system of VIP levels". The regulars did not agree with this wording, and in general did not consider the old system to be extremely sophisticated and difficult.
• Reduced rakeback. As explained in an official letter from PokerStars: "As of January 1, 2016, we have revised the rewards system to limit the motivation to play for the rewards themselves." Therefore, the maximum rakeback for players earning more than 200,000 VPP has stopped at 30% since 2016. Maximum rakeback for Supernova = 28%.
• The emergence of Star Coins. Now all rewards are converted into Stars Coins at the rate of 1 Star Coins = $0.01. That is, now all bonuses are bought for these coins. $25 = 2,500 Star Coins, $100 = 10,000 Star Coins and $1,000 = 100,000 Star Coins.

Remember the 1 FPP Milestone, where an SNE player could get over $100,000 extra? Now these bonuses are gone. Nor are there quarterly freerolls for Supernova with a $1,000,000 guarantee. The hall of fame of the VIP club is now also gone, as is the concierge.

And so that the players once and for all forget about the old days of luxury and wealth, as of January 1, 2017, the Supernova Elite status has been abolished. And Supernova status became monthly.

The reaction of the players was unequivocal - protest. Internationally, opposition to the new management of PokerStars was led by Talal Shakerchi. Players agreed that they need to play less at PokerStars, support mass sitout promotions and take the bankroll out of the room. In social networks, the players set protest avatars.

Were the measures of the regulars successful? Obviously not. Some of the regs jokingly took out a diploma from the mezzanine and blew the dust off it, someone opened a newspaper with vacancies for the factory, someone fled to other poker rooms. But still PokerStars remains the largest poker room in the world…

What awaits us in the summer at PokerStars?

It is not yet clear what the new loyalty program will be. Now it is being tested in Denmark. It is known that chests with random prizes will appear for players. The poker community is anxiously awaiting the final details of the new VIP program.

Severin Russet, Chief Innovation Officer PokerStars, posted a blog entry in which it was written that soon the room will completely switch from a multi-level monthly VIP program to daily payments, which will not only become several times smaller, but will also carry some element of randomness.