Joined: Oct '14
Location: Serbia
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Ike decided not to renew his team pro status... I will not post link because he said on other poker forum why, and I dont want to comercialize other poker sit (because this is the best ) I will just copy what he write there... here it goes...
"As of today, I am sad to report that my PokerStars Team Pro Online contract has expired and I have made the decision not to renew it.
In November, as I'm sure most of you know, Stars announced a number of unpopular changes to their VIP program (details here, if you're not familiar: http://forumserver.t************m/28...-club-1568814/). There have been times when I have not seen eye to eye with PokerStars. I have vehemently opposed certain changes that were made or lobbied strongly in favor of changes which were not implemented. At the end of the day, though, I have always respected that those decisions were not mine to make and remained enthusiastic about endorsing the brand. This time is different. In the past, when I have disagreed with a PokerStars decision, it has been on practical matters of which goals are most important and which policies most effectively advance those goals. This time my disagreement is simpler, and deeper. I believe PokerStars is behaving unethically.
There's a lot not to like about these most recent changes and the way they've been communicated, but there's one aspect that I just can't accept. Announcing in November that players who earned Supernova and Supernova Elite status in 2015 will not receive the benefits they had expected in 2016 strikes me as dishonest and unfair. As a four time SNE, I know what it takes to rake 1M VPP in a year. It's a tough grind. For most of the players who do it, it is an all-consuming commitment more intense than most full time jobs. Many of them have relocated far from their homes and families to pursue it. Finding out, just as you approach the finish line, that your efforts will not be rewarded as you expected them to be is brutal. I cannot in good conscience continue to endorse a poker site that treats its players this way. This is a difficult day for me and I'm truly sad to be parting ways like this with a company that I once held in such high regard. In 2012, when I first signed with PokerStars, it was one of my proudest moments in my career as a professional poker player. The PokerStars brand was beloved by the poker community and had a well established and well deserved reputation for treating its players well. I felt thrilled and honored to have my name associated with it. And for the most part, my time at the company has been a true honor and it has been an experience I'll always be grateful for. I've learned a lot about how the poker industry works, I've made good money, and I've had the opportunity to meet and work with incredible people, both other sponsored pros and PokerStars employees. I'm proud to call many of these people my friends and it hurts to know that I won't have the chance to work with them in the same way again.
I am, however, happy and relieved to now be able to speak candidly about the recent changes. I have every intention of responding to questions and I'm excited to join the ongoing conversation. Unfortunately, as I'm going to have to actually earn my living by winning at poker this year, I'm on the next flight to Manila. Please be patient with me if my responses come slowly and at irregular intervals. Happy new year, everyone!"
Joined: May '08
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exactly as IQA said- he knew bout them changes long time ago and still made his PR act just in time to get the most attention and to look like a dude who is defending other poor poker players who have been hit with this major injustice. probably we'll hear about him joining the pro team of other "more caring for their players" site in a few days or so...
Joined: Oct '14
Location: Serbia
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Posted by IceQueenAce: He omits how he didn't make this decision straight away when it was announced, and has waited till now. He had a couple of months to quit
He also omits how he knew high stakes players were cheating and chose to do NOTHING about it.
He isn't the great guy everyone is making him out to be tbh
(And I doubt he will talk too candidly, cause of legal restrictions regarding his contract).
First of all he didnt want to break contract, because that can lead to many complications... he said he was offered renew contract, whit not less value than current one, and he rejected it... thats very good for me... that means he actualy quit...and all you haters can hate that...second it wasnt players cheating, but player (singular) and he isnt only one who know it, a lot of poker pros and high stakes players know its multi account...so why dont you bash other players, but you come down on Ike?
Joined: Feb '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 47 (F)
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Posted by StheP:
Posted by IceQueenAce: He omits how he didn't make this decision straight away when it was announced, and has waited till now. He had a couple of months to quit
He also omits how he knew high stakes players were cheating and chose to do NOTHING about it.
He isn't the great guy everyone is making him out to be tbh
(And I doubt he will talk too candidly, cause of legal restrictions regarding his contract).
First of all he didnt want to break contract, because that can lead to many complications... he said he was offered renew contract, whit not less value than current one, and he rejected it... thats very good for me... that means he actualy quit...and all you haters can hate that...second it wasnt players cheating, but player (singular) and he isnt only one who know it, a lot of poker pros and high stakes players know its multi account...so why dont you bash other players, but you come down on Ike?
Regarding contract, he would have been able to break it I am sure. He chose not to, beacause he was happy taking the money.
Regarding cheating. Firstly I am coming down in him because he is the one posting that he is quitting as morally its right. Morally he doesn't have a leg to stand on.
And the fact many knew about it just strengthens my reasoning that stars are doing the right thing by facing down on the top stakes
Fact is, scripters/bots/stables is ruining poker and I will play on whatever site has the least of em. And that means the top players.
Joined: Feb '11
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So! Pokerstars appears to have created much discussion about , not just itself, but the world of online poker in general: while getting lots of coverage for themselves. On a personal note, morality is about stopping the cheats, regardless of the financial or contractual 'complications' that you think may exist. One simple tenet: do the right thing at the right time!
Joined: Feb '13
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Posted by damosk: On a personal note, morality is about stopping the cheats, regardless of the financial or contractual 'complications' that you think may exist. One simple tenet: do the right thing at the right time!
Joined: Oct '14
Location: Serbia
Age: 34 (M)
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Posted by IceQueenAce:
Posted by StheP:
Posted by IceQueenAce: He omits how he didn't make this decision straight away when it was announced, and has waited till now. He had a couple of months to quit
He also omits how he knew high stakes players were cheating and chose to do NOTHING about it.
He isn't the great guy everyone is making him out to be tbh
(And I doubt he will talk too candidly, cause of legal restrictions regarding his contract).
First of all he didnt want to break contract, because that can lead to many complications... he said he was offered renew contract, whit not less value than current one, and he rejected it... thats very good for me... that means he actualy quit...and all you haters can hate that...second it wasnt players cheating, but player (singular) and he isnt only one who know it, a lot of poker pros and high stakes players know its multi account...so why dont you bash other players, but you come down on Ike?
Regarding contract, he would have been able to break it I am sure. He chose not to, beacause he was happy taking the money.
he could still stay and take same amount of money... this what you said just make no sence...
Joined: Nov '14
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I am wondering what icey and pochui read? Did we read the same text? Or they have personal vendetta against Jokerstars, or mb Ike Hexton? He did not turn a blind eye, and those couple of months he knew did not change anything, from hes pocket point of view, as he said, and i quote " I'm going to have to actually earn my living by winning at poker this year, I'm on the next flight to Manila" which means he can`t count on the money he was getting from Jokerstars for being part of the pro team. I appreciate Ike bit more now, he always came across to me a bit gay, super nerd who always when he spoke, lowers he`s voice to sound less gay, but regardless gay or not, he has a heart of lion, to quit the steady income he was getting from stars, and actually roll up his sleeve`s to make a living, hats off for that... Ohhh, and Icey, if u think players that use HUD`s are cheating, u r just dead wrong, the hud gives a little info on other players at your table so that u can make a pic of their play based on previous hand`s, and that`s all u get from hud`s... Don`t get me wrong, i still hate Jokerstars used to be my favy, but not any more for a loooooooooong time now, and dont worry, the path that they chose and the things that they are doing, they will be their own outlaw, judge and executioner, they will put the rope on their neck and kick the chair allllllll by them self, so just make some pop corn, kick back and enjoy the show
Joined: Oct '14
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Posted by SBEP: I am wondering what icey and pochui read? Did we read the same text? Or they have personal vendetta against Jokerstars, or mb Ike Hexton? He did not turn a blind eye, and those couple of months he knew did not change anything, from hes pocket point of view, as he said, and i quote " I'm going to have to actually earn my living by winning at poker this year, I'm on the next flight to Manila" which means he can`t count on the money he was getting from Jokerstars for being part of the pro team. I appreciate Ike bit more now, he always came across to me a bit gay, super nerd who always when he spoke, lowers he`s voice to sound less gay, but regardless gay or not, he has a heart of lion, to quit the steady income he was getting from stars, and actually roll up his sleeve`s to make a living, hats off for that... Ohhh, and Icey, if u think players that use HUD`s are cheating, u r just dead wrong, the hud gives a little info on other players at your table so that u can make a pic of their play based on previous hand`s, and that`s all u get from hud`s... Don`t get me wrong, i still hate Jokerstars used to be my favy, but not any more for a loooooooooong time now, and dont worry, the path that they chose and the things that they are doing, they will be their own outlaw, judge and executioner, they will put the rope on their neck and kick the chair allllllll by them self, so just make some pop corn, kick back and enjoy the show
exactly 100% agree with you, and any regular poker player would have same opinion....
Joined: Feb '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 2372
Ok ok, I will bite...
Posted by SBEP: I am wondering what icey and pochui read? Did we read the same text? Or they have personal vendetta against Jokerstars, or mb Ike Hexton?
Why would I have a personal vendetta against Stars? I am fairly sure I am standing up for them here and said I would play on Stars more from now on.
As for Ike, all I have said is he isn't the night in shining armour that you seem to think he is.
As for my reading, I am fairly sure I have read a fair bit more than most.
All you have done is quoted a couple of first posts from a couple of threads. I have read and contributed to both threads in their entirety. I have read exactly what Stars are doing and compared it to the reading I have done on other sites (primarily Party who are doing a similar thing in trying to get rid of huds/scripts). I have read on several forums, including one that is set up for mainly high stakes players and is not general knowledge, you generally need to be a live pro to get access. But heh, let's not take facts into account eh!
Posted by SBEP:He did not turn a blind eye, and those couple of months he knew did not change anything, from hes pocket point of view, as he said, and i quote " I'm going to have to actually earn my living by winning at poker this year, I'm on the next flight to Manila" which means he can`t count on the money he was getting from Jokerstars for being part of the pro team.
He DID turn a blind eye. He knew a high stakes, high profile player was cheating and he did nothing about it. And as he was employed by the site itself, there is no difference for me from him turning a blind eye to a cheater and the site itself knowing it and allowing it. Remember UB?
As for Manila, of course he knows he cant count on money since he has no contract with them now. But do you really think for a second that's all there is to it? No doubt he will be getting kick backs from manila for all of this. He will be backed and staked. He will profit more from this than staying with Stars.
What he could have done is make a stand when micro-stakes rake went insanely high. Or when he knew about cheating and ignored it. Or made a stand when all this latest news was first announced. But he didn't.
He is looking out for himself and no-one else and nothing I have read from him, the pro's close to him or anyone has made me feel any different.
Posted by SBEP: I appreciate Ike bit more now, he always came across to me a bit gay, super nerd who always when he spoke, lowers he`s voice to sound less gay, but regardless gay or not, he has a heart of lion, to quit the steady income he was getting from stars, and actually roll up his sleeve`s to make a living, hats off for that...
This is just homophobic, I wont reply.
Posted by SBEP: Ohhh, and Icey, if u think players that use HUD`s are cheating, u r just dead wrong, the hud gives a little info on other players at your table so that u can make a pic of their play based on previous hand`s, and that`s all u get from hud`s...
HUD's give a massive advantage to anyone who can afford decent ones and know how to use them properly. Whether they are illegal or not a debate. On stars they are legal and allowed. On Sky they are illegal and banned. On party poker they are working hard to make sure they cant be used.
If Stars turn around and say 'huds are now banned on stars' (which I believe will be sooner than people may realise), then they will be illegal there too.
Posted by SBEPon`t get me wrong, i still hate Jokerstars used to be my favy, but not any more for a loooooooooong time now, and dont worry, the path that they chose and the things that they are doing, they will be their own outlaw, judge and executioner, they will put the rope on their neck and kick the chair allllllll by them self, so just make some pop corn, kick back and enjoy the show
They have long been going down the 'casino model', I don't see why this is a surprise to anyone. There are plenty of sites out there, all these high stakes players can switch.
They won't because they believe they have it too easy at Stars and wont make as much profit on another site and it wont be so easy for them to use the seating scripts etc that most use to get as much profit as possible.
As I posted on one of the threads you are copy-pasting from, this is simply the elite trying to protect their cash cow. They claim they are trying to save poker but its b******t, they just wanna protect their own little empires.
------------
Posted by StheP:
exactly 100% agree with you, and any regular poker player would have same opinion....
Actually plenty of people agree with me and plenty of people have posted to say so on many, many forums.
Or do you not count me as a regular player? Surely now I am in my 16th year of making a profit from poker and have not only participated in forums but built them from scratch and passed them on to others to run, I can count myself as one?
Joined: Oct '14
Location: Serbia
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 4358
Posted by IceQueenAce: Ok ok, I will bite...
Posted by SBEP: I am wondering what icey and pochui read? Did we read the same text? Or they have personal vendetta against Jokerstars, or mb Ike Hexton?
Why would I have a personal vendetta against Stars? I am fairly sure I am standing up for them here and said I would play on Stars more from now on.
As for Ike, all I have said is he isn't the night in shining armour that you seem to think he is.
As for my reading, I am fairly sure I have read a fair bit more than most.
All you have done is quoted a couple of first posts from a couple of threads. I have read and contributed to both threads in their entirety. I have read exactly what Stars are doing and compared it to the reading I have done on other sites (primarily Party who are doing a similar thing in trying to get rid of huds/scripts). I have read on several forums, including one that is set up for mainly high stakes players and is not general knowledge, you generally need to be a live pro to get access. But heh, let's not take facts into account eh!
Posted by SBEP:He did not turn a blind eye, and those couple of months he knew did not change anything, from hes pocket point of view, as he said, and i quote " I'm going to have to actually earn my living by winning at poker this year, I'm on the next flight to Manila" which means he can`t count on the money he was getting from Jokerstars for being part of the pro team.
He DID turn a blind eye. He knew a high stakes, high profile player was cheating and he did nothing about it. And as he was employed by the site itself, there is no difference for me from him turning a blind eye to a cheater and the site itself knowing it and allowing it. Remember UB?
As for Manila, of course he knows he cant count on money since he has no contract with them now. But do you really think for a second that's all there is to it? No doubt he will be getting kick backs from manila for all of this. He will be backed and staked. He will profit more from this than staying with Stars.
What he could have done is make a stand when micro-stakes rake went insanely high. Or when he knew about cheating and ignored it. Or made a stand when all this latest news was first announced. But he didn't.
He is looking out for himself and no-one else and nothing I have read from him, the pro's close to him or anyone has made me feel any different.
Posted by SBEP: I appreciate Ike bit more now, he always came across to me a bit gay, super nerd who always when he spoke, lowers he`s voice to sound less gay, but regardless gay or not, he has a heart of lion, to quit the steady income he was getting from stars, and actually roll up his sleeve`s to make a living, hats off for that...
This is just homophobic, I wont reply.
Posted by SBEP: Ohhh, and Icey, if u think players that use HUD`s are cheating, u r just dead wrong, the hud gives a little info on other players at your table so that u can make a pic of their play based on previous hand`s, and that`s all u get from hud`s...
HUD's give a massive advantage to anyone who can afford decent ones and know how to use them properly. Whether they are illegal or not a debate. On stars they are legal and allowed. On Sky they are illegal and banned. On party poker they are working hard to make sure they cant be used.
If Stars turn around and say 'huds are now banned on stars' (which I believe will be sooner than people may realise), then they will be illegal there too.
Posted by SBEPon`t get me wrong, i still hate Jokerstars used to be my favy, but not any more for a loooooooooong time now, and dont worry, the path that they chose and the things that they are doing, they will be their own outlaw, judge and executioner, they will put the rope on their neck and kick the chair allllllll by them self, so just make some pop corn, kick back and enjoy the show
They have long been going down the 'casino model', I don't see why this is a surprise to anyone. There are plenty of sites out there, all these high stakes players can switch.
They won't because they believe they have it too easy at Stars and wont make as much profit on another site and it wont be so easy for them to use the seating scripts etc that most use to get as much profit as possible.
As I posted on one of the threads you are copy-pasting from, this is simply the elite trying to protect their cash cow. They claim they are trying to save poker but its b******t, they just wanna protect their own little empires.
------------
Posted by StheP:
exactly 100% agree with you, and any regular poker player would have same opinion....
Actually plenty of people agree with me and plenty of people have posted to say so on many, many forums.
Or do you not count me as a regular player? Surely now I am in my 16th year of making a profit from poker and have not only participated in forums but built them from scratch and passed them on to others to run, I can count myself as one?
WHY ARE YOU SPEAKING ABOUT HUDS??? CHANGES ABOUT HUDS DIDNT COME, THEY WILL AND THAT IS NOT DISCUSION RIGHT NOW.... YOU ARE JUST SAYING HUDS HUDS HUDS HUDS... THEY INCREASE RAKE, CANCEL A LOT OF VIP REWARDS, REMOVED A LOT OF FREEROLS AND PRIVILAGE, BUT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT HUDS???? AND THIS WILL EFFECT YOU ALSO, THEY INCREASED RAKE TO YOU ALSO...
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unrelated to the main subject just wanted to say that people can't just break a contract whenever they want unless they are ready to compensate the other party if this was not true , it was just make the contract a useless piece of paper
it is so funny to me when people believe otherwise
Joined: Feb '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 47 (F)
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Posted by StheP: WHY ARE YOU SPEAKING ABOUT HUDS??? CHANGES ABOUT HUDS DIDNT COME, THEY WILL AND THAT IS NOT DISCUSION RIGHT NOW.... YOU ARE JUST SAYING HUDS HUDS HUDS HUDS... THEY INCREASE RAKE, CANCEL A LOT OF VIP REWARDS, REMOVED A LOT OF FREEROLS AND PRIVILAGE, BUT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT HUDS???? AND THIS WILL EFFECT YOU ALSO, THEY INCREASED RAKE TO YOU ALSO...
I didn't bring up Huds, the guy who you agreed with 100% did.
And as I replied to all of his thread in sections, I left that bit in as well (especially because he is wrong lol). And in replying, only 2 out of the 16 paragraphs were replying about huds.
Use caps all you like, that just means you cant discuss it properly like I have done, probably because you are just copying/pasting what you have seen rather than read it yourself
Joined: Oct '14
Location: Serbia
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please tell me what will be better for you with this changes, exept you will have to pay more for rake, and have less rewards, no matter what vip stats are you...also you will have less freerols, and vip freerolls...
Joined: Feb '13
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Posted by Skpmorita: unrelated to the main subject just wanted to say that people can't just break a contract whenever they want unless they are ready to compensate the other party if this was not true , it was just make the contract a useless piece of paper
it is so funny to me when people believe otherwise
Again, this is untrue (football if nothing else should tell you that).
It could have been broken by mutual consent. It could have been with compensation paid (but he wouldn't do that because as I pointed out, he is making sure he looks after himself and takes no losses). He could probably even have found a clause in there that Stars actions breeched the contract he signed with them originally. Or he could have stated months ago that due to actions taken he would not be renewing his contract.
But he chose neither. He chose to look after number one and then morally post all over the internet about it
------------
Posted by StheP: please tell me what will be better for you with this changes, exept you will have to pay more for rake, and have less rewards, no matter what vip stats are you...also you will have less freerols, and vip freerolls...
Well for starters when I sit at a table, I know I wont be auto-joined by people using a script to find players like me who aren't regs and perceived easy targets. Have you ever been sat at a table that has a fish at it, and seen how scripts make people auto-join on mass, especially to their right, and then all leave the second the fish moves on, stalking him down until he is bust?
I wont be playing so much against people using all manner of software to give them edges (such as huds etc), because the ones who mainly use it are winning regs and they will all be boycotting right?
I wont be missing out on freerolls as the freerolls on stars are a joke at best and there is way more value to be found in freerolls on many of the other sites that we can use.
It will be much more man v man, rather than man v software. I play on a site where all these software stuff is banned and I make 8x more profit there than on stars. That is what all these edges can do to a player. So good riddance tbh.
I know what will happen anyway. All the regs will leave and go elsewhere and it will be much more fishy on Stars. Then the regs will all come back with their tails between their legs cause they need to play where the fish do.
Edited by IceQueenAce (02 January 2016 @ 13:28 GMT)
haha Lmao enjoyed your post SBEP very much , that with the rope and popcorn is a catchy one , still lmao . Well its not the first time in history the giants fall and regular rise. Musta happend any day anyway. Bye bye Jokerstars - not gonna miss you
Joined: Oct '14
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Posted by IceQueenAce:
Posted by Skpmorita: unrelated to the main subject just wanted to say that people can't just break a contract whenever they want unless they are ready to compensate the other party if this was not true , it was just make the contract a useless piece of paper
it is so funny to me when people believe otherwise
Again, this is untrue (football if nothing else should tell you that).
It could have been broken by mutual consent. It could have been with compensation paid (but he wouldn't do that because as I pointed out, he is making sure he looks after himself and takes no losses). He could probably even have found a clause in there that Stars actions breeched the contract he signed with them originally. Or he could have stated months ago that due to actions taken he would not be renewing his contract.
But he chose neither. He chose to look after number one and then morally post all over the internet about it
------------
Posted by StheP: please tell me what will be better for you with this changes, exept you will have to pay more for rake, and have less rewards, no matter what vip stats are you...also you will have less freerols, and vip freerolls...
Well for starters when I sit at a table, I know I wont be auto-joined by people using a script to find players like me who aren't regs and perceived easy targets.
this tells me all.. again you are saying scripts, and pokerstars didnt ban scripts... what are you talking about???I am talking about vip changes, they didnt ban scripts...
P.S. this tells me all... all players that are using scripts play same when they are not using, and they are targeting you because you dont know to play, and they can see mistakes you are making and take advantege on you, like I would do with or without hud...hud just make slightly easier proces to do, but they can (also I ) can figure out what player are you with or without hud... and that will make my decision... only thing for you to make a profit is to learn more, and improve your gameplay, and not by complaining about hud... I can play without hud with easy, and my gameplay will not change at all... all players that are using huds will tell you same... their gameplay will not change that much, they will make same decisions...
Joined: Feb '14
Location: Tunisia
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i don't care about Ike Haxton but when they fire a coach in football they gave him lot of money .. but you never hear that in the news
so he can't leave unless he is ready to pay them which is logical to wait couple months (why give them more money)
and he can't speak bad about them or about the work they are doing while he is under contract because that leads to breaking their agreement which leads to them suing him and getting money
you had good arguments in the discussion with StheP but you can't just use the one " why did he didn't talk before or why did he finish his contract and stay extra two months "
because if i was a lawyer i would tell him " suck it up and keep it inside till 2016 or you gonna face consequences "
) I will just copy what he write there... here it goes...
. Well its not the first time in history the giants fall and regular rise. Musta happend any day anyway. Bye bye Jokerstars - not gonna miss you 
