3-Bet: PokerStars VR Offers In-App Purchases in 1st Major Upgrade, Rebrands Spin & Go Tournaments With UFC; partypoker Shuts Down 277 Bot Accounts

3Bet Cover April 11
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  • Attreyee Khasnabis April 12, 2019
  • 3 Minutes Read

PokerStars delivered a double whammy, starting with its virtual reality social game – PokerStars VR which received its very first major upgrade and will now feature several updates that had previously been demanded by players. However, the most notable development for the virtual reality game is that players will now be able to make in-app purchases of additional chips at various tier levels starting at $1.99 for 10,000 chips. The international poker giant also announced the rebranding of its popular Spin & Go Tournaments. The events will henceforth carry UFC branding.

Not to be outdone, the other online poker giant, partypoker, through a press release dated April 9, announced that it had closed down 277 “bot” accounts and had redistributed $734,852.15 in funds to affected players.

 

PokerStars VR Offers In-App Purchases in 1st Major Upgrade

The much-awaited and talked off virtual reality social game, PokerStars VR was launched in November 2018. The free-to-play game seamlessly recreates the live poker environment on the virtual platform.

PokerStars VR

Though PokerStars already offers its player base to play poker with real money on its online platform, PokerStars VR brings out the more social aspect of poker. This means that players who enjoy and want to play poker socially, get to do so in a near-realistic environment provided by the virtual reality platform enhancing their overall experience.

However, like other “social” free-to-play poker games like Zynga Poker and PokerStars’ own Jackpot Poker, chips have no real monetary value, which means that the chips cannot be converted into real money or otherwise withdrawn. The chips can unlock more features, bigger games and high roller tournaments in the app.

Coinciding with the first major upgrade was PokerStars VR allowing players to purchase additional chips at various tier levels. Chip purchases begin at $1.99 for 10,000 chips and max out at 10 Million chips for $99.99. With in-app purchases becoming a significant revenue generating factor for online gaming, PokerStars monetizing its virtual reality game seems to be in-line with the prevailing trend.

Players can also choose to remain in the free-to-play mode and accumulate chips by playing at the tables. But their journey can be expedited with real money in-app purchases of chips.

Besides monetizing the virtual reality game, PokerStars VR’s first major upgrade included several features that were brought on due to popular demand by players. These include Sit & Go tournaments, the introduction of leaderboards and a “privacy bubble” that stops other players at the table messing with one’s table “props.”

PokerStars posted a video on its YouTube channel discussing the latest update in detail. You can catch the video right here.

 

PokerStars Partners With UFC & Rebrands Spin & Go Tournaments

PokerStars seems to be on a roll with non-stop revamping of late. After news of PokerStars VR receiving its major upgrade came through, PokerStars also announced that it’s Spin and Go tournaments will carry its UFC branding.

PokerStars UFC Spin & Go

PokerStars became the first-ever official poker partner of the UFC in December, last year. It had long since been rumored that the online poker giant would release a new game in partnership with UFC due to the agreement established between the two brands. Instead, PokerStars decided to rebrand their Spin & Go offerings without actually changing anything about the gameplay.

Despite the additional branding, the Spin & Go events will see the same mix of stakes and the games still work in exactly the same way. Each mini-tournament will continue to have three players playing a hyper-turbo structure, with the winner earning a prize determined by a random spin before the start of the action.

The actual changes from this rebranding will be on the visual side. The default Spin & Go table layout will now resemble a UFC Octagon, with the UFC branding appearing prominently in the backdrop. The UFC logo will also appear in the lobby for the games.

Talking about the rebranding Stars Interactive Chief Marketing Officer Christopher Coyne said, “UFC is the perfect pick for PokerStars. UFC fans have a high propensity to engage in gaming and many of our players are fans of UFC. Our plan is to thrill as far as wide as possible with games, promotions, content and competitions that trigger passions and enhance the overall experience at PokerStars.”

UFC Senior Vice President Paul Asencio expressed his delight with the mixed-martial-arts promotion saying, “It’s been great to work on exciting, new and innovative ideas along PokerStars since our exclusive partnership went live.”

Though this latest update does not bring any changes to the structure of the Spin & Go games apart from featuring the UFC branding, PokerStars has assured its fans that there will be more UFC-themed promotions coming soon, including ticket and VIP experience giveaways attached to UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro on May 11.

 

partypoker Shuts Down 277 Bot Accounts, Redistributes $734,852 to Affected Players

The second largest online poker site in the world, partypoker, is hellbent on proving its worthiness to its players and fans. In a recent announcement, the brand declared that it has shut down 277 “bot” accounts and has simultaneously redistributed $734,852.15 in funds to affected players.

partypoker

Bot accounts are programs designed to play against humans, thus giving players using them an unfair advantage. Most top poker sites are extra cautious regarding their bot detection systems, including partypoker; however, it seems that the company has recently upped their commitment to safeguarding their legitimate player base. According to a press release dated April 9, a specialist Poker Fraud Team has been put in place consisting of “a collection of former poker professionals who are equipped with the necessary knowledge and expertise to investigate suspicious activity and aid partypoker in ridding the site of unscrupulous accounts.”

The press release further stated that “over 75 percent of the account closures in the four-month period of the report were the direct result of the work of this new fraud team, which plans to continue what they’ve started. Besides seeking out bot accounts, they are also on the lookout for any other kind of suspicious activity like player collusion or use of other illegal programs.”

partypoker Team pro Patrick Leonard verified the strength of the present security team saying, “Two years ago it wouldn’t have been possible, but after seeing the security department first hand, the team working there and the tools they are using, I’m very confident now that they can tackle people trying to play against the rules. In my opinion it isn’t worth somebody trying to bend the rules because, in the words of Liam Neeson: ‘They will find you; they will catch you and they will… ban you!’”

Patrick Leonard
Patrick Leonard
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