Third Party Tools and Services FAQ
- What is this all about?
- As online poker has grown in popularity, people have developed tools and web-based services to help them play better online. We think it is okay for players to use some of these tools and services. However, we think that some go beyond what we consider acceptable as an aid to playing online.
There are many things that a player can do to improve their chances in a poker game. For instance, they can play a lot and gain experience, or they can read a book about poker. Both of these techniques are clearly appropriate. At the other end of the spectrum, they can work in collusion with a partner, sharing information about hole cards and teaming up against other players. This is clearly cheating.
In between those two extremes are many tools - some of which we consider to be too close to cheating. For example, there are people building huge databases with profiles of every player on PokerStars, and they are selling access to these databases. A player with access to such a database can call up detailed information about every one of his opponents without ever playing against those opponents himself. We believe this gives that player an unfair advantage against others at his table.
Obviously, knowledgeable people will disagree over what is appropriate and what is not. We have developed what we consider to be a reasonable compromise between letting players take every possible fair advantage, and prohibiting the unfair ones.
- Why did this all get started?
- We have received emails on this subject from many players. Some want to use these tools and are asking if they're okay. Other players are concerned that their opponents are using them. We needed to establish a policy so we could draw a line between acceptable and unacceptable programs. We made this decision only after thorough discussion within PokerStars and with poker experts outside PokerStars, including our team of professionals.
- In general, what kind of tools and services are acceptable?
- The following types of tools and services are generally acceptable:
- Tools, services or charts that simply tell you odds, starting hand recommendations, etc.
- Tools and services that profile your opponents, but make use of only information which you have accumulated through your own play.
- Macros and Hotkey programs that don't have any bearing on gameplay logic. For example, you can use AutoHotKey, MacroExpress or AutoIt3 to make it such that you 'bet the pot' when you press the 'P' key, but you cannot use these or other utilities to create an autofolder that folds poor starting hands, or that automates advice or actions from any other program.
- Why is this an issue?
- Consider this: you are playing at a six-person table and the other five players at that table are using a shared database program. After each hand, they are able to see what cards every other player (except you) had. Do you want to play at that table?
- Can you give me some examples of acceptable tools and services ?
- The following are examples of tools and services which are permitted:
- Auto HandPoster
- Calculatem Pro
- Coach Rounder
- DonkeyTracker
- DoN Indicator
- Draw Poker Source
- FreePokerDB (aka FPDB)
- Gam Poker Analyzer
- GameTime+
- Holdem Advantage
- Hold’em Cockpit
- Holdem Genius
- Holdem Indicator
- Holdem Manager
- Holdem Partner
- Holdem Radar
- Holdem Ranger (including RealTime HUD)
- LongHUD
- NotesNL
- Omaha Brain
- Omaha Indicator
- Omaha Poker Coach
- Paragon Poker Pal
- PlayerGPS
- Poker Academy Prospector
- PokerAce HUD
- Pokerbility
- Poker Buddy
- Poker Butler
- Poker Calculator Pro (aka Poker Pro 2007 by PokerProLabs)
- Poker Copilot
- PokerEval (Registered Version Only)
- Poker EV
- Poker Evolver
- PokerGrapher
- PokerHands
- PH Stars
- Poker Indicator
- Poker Juggernaut
- PokerKant
- PokerObserver HUD
- Poker Office
- Poker Potjie
- Poker Sharpener
- Poker Sidekick
- Poker Sleuth
- Poker Sniffer
- Poker-Spy
- PokerStat
- Poker Stove
- PokerStrategy Equilator
- PokerStrategy Elephant
- PokerTracker (including TableTracker)
- Poker Vitals
- Poker Weapon
- Poker Wingman
- Pot Odd Rechner
- PPA Poker Calculator
- Sharktoolz Bankroll Manager
- Sharktoolz Poker-Reader
- SitnGo Wizard (version 1.0.1.163 and newer)
- SmartBuddy
- Star Tracker
- StoxPoker Combo
- Stud Inspector v1
- TableNinja
- Table Shark
- Telescope by SpadeIt
- Texas Calculatem
- ThePokerDB
- Tournament Indicator
- Tournament Shark
- Tournament Updater
- Tourney Manager
- In general, what kinds of tools and services are prohibited?
- The following types of tools and services are prohibited:
- Any program that shares hole card data with other players or programs is colluding, and is prohibited.
- Any program that works off of a central database of player profiles or hands played is prohibited.
- Any program that plays without human intervention (a 'bot') or reduces the requirement of a human playing. For instance, an 'auto-folder' is prohibited.
- The practice of datamining (observing games without playing in order to build up a database of hand histories for future reference) is prohibited.
- Any software that offers direct game play advice on the appropriate action to take, and which is also programmable or configurable beyond a very basic level.
- Can you give some examples of tools and services which are prohibited?
- The following are examples of tools and services which are prohibited at all times:
- Advanced Poker Calculator
- CardAnalyzer
- Gambot
- Hand HQ
- HHCollector
- hhSmithey
- Holdem Hawk
- Holdem Pirate
- Holdem Inspector a.k.a. Online Holdem Inspector
- Holdem Spy
- Hold’em Watcher
- ICM-Bot
- iHH Harvester
- Magic Holdem
- Mandraker
- MyPokerIntel
- NoLimitFoldem
- Online Omaha High Inspector
- Open Holdem Bot
- OPI Wizard
- Poker Android
- Poker Bot+
- Poker Bloodhound
- Poker Crusher
- Poker Edge
- Poker Inspector a.k.a. Online Poker Inspector
- Poker Mate
- Poker Prophecy
- POKERobot
- Poker Sherlock
- Poker Table Manager
- Poker Usher
- Preflop Autofolder
- Preflop Poker Bot
- Seeker
- SharkMate
- Sit n' Go Brain
- Sixth Sense
- SmartCollector a.k.a. Mixed Harvesters
- SpadeEye
- Stars Hand History (SHH)
- StarSpy
- StatsForPoker
- Texas Auto Fold
- WinHoldem
- Insight Poker Hound*
- PokerAnalytics
- Poker Player Winnings
- PokerStrategy ICM Trainer
- Real Poker Rankings
- SAGE Decision Calculator
- SharkScope (including SharkScope HUD)
- Short Stacking Strategy Calculator
- Sit n’ Go End Game Tools
- SitnGo Wizard (v1.0.1.162 and older)**
- SNG Power Tools
- Spade ICM
- STT Analyzer by PokerSoftwareTools
- StoxEV
- Table Ratings aka Poker Table Ratings
- TheCashDB
- How do I opt-out of being tracked by third-party tools?
- Many of the tools listed above allow you to opt-out from being tracked, or having your information displayed to other users of the tool. Follow these links to opt-out:
- Official Poker Rankings
- PlayerGPS
- Poker Pro Labs
- Why are there two lists of prohibited tools? What is the difference between them?
- The first list details tools which are prohibited at all times. None of these tools may be used on your computer, even if not installed on the machine, and even if you do not use them in conjunction with the PokerStars client. PokerStars will take active measures to detect these tools and will take punitive action against players who have them (see 'What steps are you going to take...' below).
The second list details tools and services which may not be used in conjunction with PokerStars or while the PokerStars client software is open. We recognise that these tools have legitimate uses - perhaps for analysing your game or tracking your results - but we feel that they cross the line of what is acceptable for use during play. PokerStars will take measures to detect these tools and will issue warnings to players using them. PokerStars will also work with the developers of such tools to assist them in complying with the rules.
- There's a tool / service I'd like to use, but it's not on any of these lists. Now what?
- Please send an email to support@pokerstars.com with all the information you have about the tool or service in question. Please include a URL to a relevant web page if possible. We will review the tool or service and let you know if it's permitted or not.
- Are all of the programs on the permitted list safe to use?
- PokerStars does not actively endorse or support any program on the permitted list, nor do we make any guarantees regarding the functionality, reliability, or safety of any program whatsoever.
- Are the above lists subject to change?
- Yes. In addition to evaluating new tools and services that come to our attention, PokerStars frequently re-examines those already on the permitted and prohibited lists to ensure they continue to fall within our terms of service. In addition, the terms of service themselves and the definition of a prohibited tool or service are periodically re-examined and are subject to change without notice. These re-examinations can result in a tool or service being reclassified without notice, moving from the permitted list to the prohibited list or vice-versa. PokerStars assumes no responsibility to notify players of any such reclassifications. Players should regularly check the lists of tools and services to verify the current status of any item's classification.
- May I use a permitted tools and service to record information about players from hands in which I am not playing?
- No. You may only collect hand histories and player information from hands in which you are a participant.
- What steps are you going to take to prevent players from using prohibited tools and services?
- We are going to look to see if any of those tools or services is running on a player's computer. If we find one of the prohibited tools or services, we will alert the player that they are running a prohibited tools or service and tell them what it is. We will ask that they stop running the tool or service immediately. If they comply, fine. If not, then we will prevent the PokerStars client from running on their computer.
- Are you going to look for anything else on players' computers?
- Absolutely not. Our sole interest is in protecting our players and our site from tools and services that we believe are bad for the integrity and fairness of our games.
- Can PokerStars see my internet browsing history, documents, or other private files and information?
- No. PokerStars takes your privacy very seriously and complies with relevant Data Protection law. PokerStars does not collect personally-identifiable information, other than that provided by the player during account registration and routine security verifications. It is not possible for any member of PokerStars staff to read or copy private data from your machine. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.
- Can PokerStars make any changes to the files on my computer?
- PokerStars may, at our discretion, prevent the PokerStars client program from running on your machine, or require players to upgrade the client program. However, it is not possible for PokerStars staff to remotely modify any file on your computer, or send any file to your machine.
- Are you going to confiscate the account funds of somebody running a prohibited tool or service?
- While we reserve the right to confiscate the funds of somebody running a prohibited tool or service , we are not going to do this lightly. We want to educate our players - not punish them. However, we will confiscate funds if a player shows a consistent pattern of using prohibited tools and services after being warned, or if a player attempts to bypass our detection measures.
This list was last updated June 20th 2009
This list was last updated June 20th 2009
There are some tools and services which have legitimate uses for analysing your game, but which are not appropriate for use during play. For example, ICM (Independent Chip Model) and Nash Equilibrium tools may be used for post-game analysis and for studying hands which you have previously played. Also, there are some web-based results databases, and its fine to use these to look at your own results. However, you may not use such a tool while the PokerStars software is open.
Some examples of tools and services which are prohibited only while PokerStars is running are:
This list was last updated June 20th 2009
* PH Stars (a compliant version of Insight Poker Hound) is permitted
** SitnGo Wizard version 1.0.1.163 and later is permitted
