PokerStars Announces Rake Increase on November 4
With a note sent to the public on Thursday, PokerStars announced some new strategic changes that include a rake increase at the end of the Battle of the Planets promotion.
The room's new rake structure will be implemented in two different steps between Nov. 4 and Jan. 1, 2015, whereas the Battle of the Planet promo will officially cease to exist on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Announced only few days after the introduction of a new currency exchange rate, the two changes are part of what PokerStars Head of Corporate Communications Eric Hollreiser called PokerStars' commitment " to keeping poker exciting, fresh, and relevant to new players and to loyal grinders."
Starting from Nov. 4, PokeStars will increase the rake for all stakes of heads-up hyper-turbo sit-and-go tournaments.
"Hyper-turbo scheduled tournament fees will increase from 2% to approximately half of the fees charged for other scheduled tournaments at same or similar buy-in levels," a room representative wrote on a thread posted on the Two Plus Two poker forum.
This, given the fact that PokerStars does not plan to adjust the events' buy-ins, should result in a smaller amount being devoted to the tournaments' prize pools.
"The cap for ring-game rake for hands dealt at [pot-limit Omaha or no-limit hold'em] games to exactly two players will increase to $2 for stakes $25/$50 and higher and $1 for all other stakes," PokerStars' message continued. "The cap for ring game rake for [pot-limit Omaha or no-limit hold'em] games at $25/$50 and higher stakes with 5+ players dealt in will increase from $3 to $5."
During the same day, PokerStars plans to implement some changes also to the newly added Spin & Go games. The rake of the room's hugely popular jackpot sit-and-go tournaments "will be increased at stakes $3 and above," PokerStars explained.
Initially introduced with the best rake of the industry, the Spin & Go tables will see the rake go up to six percent for the $3 and $7 events, and move from four percent to five percent for the $15 and $30 events.
On Jan. 1, 2015, "hyper-turbo satellite sit-and-go fees will be increased at stakes below $2,000 from two percent to an amount equivalent to roughly 75 percent of the fees charged for cash prize hyper-turbo sit-and-go tournaments of the same buy-in. New tournament fees will apply in rebuy tournaments for players whose play is subject to significant local taxes in the form of gaming duty and/or VAT."
PokerStars also added that it will soon provide a list of the countries and sites that will be affected by this change, even if it has also explained that "PokerStars.be, PokerStars.dk, PokerStars.uk, and PokerStars.bg will qualify due to gaming duty, and players from Germany will qualify due to VAT."