In what has been a very hot topic since the Amaya takeover at PokerStars, rake changes have once again risen to the surface of discussion, after a news bulletin outlined another round of rake increases set to hit certain game types on March 28th 2016. Having initially announced planned rake changes in October 2014, the plans were then partly scrapped. While PokerStars still removed certain player rewards such as Sit and Go leaderboards and made small cuts, their reversal of plans to squeeze more rake out of their customers was met with widespread relief.
March 21st 2016 has seen an announcement by PokerStars, which brings fresh rake increases back to the table, and will undoubtedly cause great furore among players over the coming days. The following statement was issued by PokerStars: “Following a review of the current business environment and the pricing policies employed across the competitive landscape for online gaming, PokerStars will change its pricing for a select number of games in its shared liquidity market, effective March 28, 2016.”
The statement went on to provide details of the rake changes, which include:
– A 1%-2% rake increases for Spin & Go tables for buy-ins from $1 to $30. $0.25, $60 and $100 buy-ins will remain the same
– MTT players have also been hit hard, with all rebuys now being raked at the same level as the initial buy in.
– Hyper turbo MTT's will also see rake increased to 5%.
– Cash games will also see increased rake but mainly in Heads Up games. Some rake caps will be lowered. Limit games will not be affected.
Tournaments and Spin & Go players will be the most affected by the rake increase
PokerStars have stated that they expect the changes to amount to an overall rake rise of around 4%, but went to great lengths to provide numbers and a graph which suggest that they are still cheaper than competitors.
Full Statement in PokerStars Corporate Blog