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What’s Six Plus Hold'em all about?

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How to Play 6 Card Omaha Poker. In Pot Limit 6 Card Omaha, the games are referred to by the size of their blinds (for example, a $1/$2 Pot Limit 6 Card Omaha game has a small blind of $1 and a big blind of $2). If you like to play tournament poker, PokerStars offer 6 Card Omaha tournaments as well. Each player receives six hole cards and betting action proceeds. PokerStars is home to the best online poker events. Every year we run the best online tournament series in the world. We also host the best weekly tournaments, plus many more every day of the week. With a game starting every second, PokerStars is the only place to. Available in cash games, exclusively at PokerStars, 6+ Hold’em is your chance to play an action-packed variant loved by high-stakes players around the world. Let’s face it – fives, fours, threes, and twos got in the way a little bit in regular Holdem. PokerStars operates the world's most popular online poker sites, serving a global poker community of more than 63 million registered members. Since it launched in 2001, PokerStars has become the first choice of the world's top players, with more daily tournaments than anywhere else and with the best security online.

Everyone has been hyped up about this new game that arrived to the Macau tables where Ivey and Dwan play, called Six Plus Hold’em. At the first glance, it looks like a very exciting and attractive game for new players! This just might be the new Chris Moneymaker in terms of attracting the fun players to play online, and the good thing is, if you know how to play Texas Hold’em well, you’ll have an easy transition to this new game mode.

It’s becoming a really popular game, and I predict that it will be added and instated as a permanent game on PokerStars in a few weeks, or even less, and the traffic will be huge. Let's get into it and learn the Six Plus Hold'em rules!

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The Rules of Six Plus Hold'em

So, what are the rules to this weird sounding variation of the Hold’em game? It’s still Hold’em, right? RIGHT. The only difference between 6 Plus and classic is that all the cards from deuce to five are taken out from the deck, leaving 36 cards instead of 52.

The Ace is still low, A6789 making the lowest straight or the wheel as you may know it, and it’s still high making TJQKA.
There are also some differences in hand strength, like 3-of-a-kind now beats a straight and a flush beats a full house (since it’s harder to make one because you only have 9 suited cards out of 36 with which you can make a 5-card flush from).
Although Six Plus Hold'em is for the most part played as the traditional Hold'em in terms of streets, the main difference comes on the river, at least in some variations of the game, when, instead of dealing a community card, every player is dealt one extra card. In the final round of betting, every player still in will have three hole cards and will need to combine two and two only of those with the four community cards to create the best possible five card hand. In other variations, it is played with a traditional river.

Hand Rankings

Royal (straight) flush
Four of a kind (quads)
Flush
Full House
Three of a kind
Straight
Two pair
A pair
High card

Why is it good?

It’s good because having less cards in the deck makes it so that you get better hands more often, and for a recreational player that’s awesome because he’ll be getting a lot more action this way, and even though A6 represents the absolute minimum Ax type of hand, it can still be kind of hard to find a fold for a beginner.

It’s also simpler to play than Omaha, so that’s another reason why it could turn out to be very attractive for recreational players.

For us regs out there, it’s also a very good thing, because it’s more fun and more action-packed than Classic Hold’em; it’s like a breath of fresh air that you take from playing the classic format. Also, playing multiple formats of poker has been proven to yield high skill increases in all your other poker games, so learning how to play Six Plus Hold’em will most definitely make you a better player overall.

It’s also important to play it as much as you can at the onset. I remember playing Razz online and people would HU SnG me for 10$ and after a few hands they’d rage in chat saying something like “Why did I lose, I had 3 kings?”.

At the beginning, a lot of players will be attracted to the novelty factor, and some of them will even play not knowing the full set of poker rules, so that’s where you make the biggest profit. Like Hold’em was so loose in its online beginnings, where people would stack off with top pair no kicker on any flop back in '03, and people who were decent by that time’s standards made thousands, if not millions of dollars. It was the same with Omaha when people first started playing it, so the time to act is right now as you don't want to lose this opportunity.

You have the skills needed, now it’s time to make money!

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Adjustments and Six Plus Hold'em Strategy

The first thing that you have to understand is that there are 36 cards instead of 52, so the chance that you'll make better hands on average is higher. This means that you’ll value TPGK less, but some other players might overvalue them and call you down even though it’s much easier in this game to make two pair+. I remember playing 5-card draw 9-plus when I was a kid and a straight or a full house were very frequent.

Also, there’s a bigger difference between the odds of hitting. Now, one out becomes one card out of 31 which is roughly 3% chance to hit it. So to hit a flush draw on the turn or on the river you have 5 cards (2 in your hand and 2 down, 5 left out of 9), so 5x3x2=30% chance to hit a flush. But remember that this beats a full house, so it’s the virtual nuts.

The good thing is, although the percentage of hitting a flush is a bit smaller than in regular Hold’em, you’re almost never beat when you do make your hand, because you’re not afraid of sets or paired boards anymore.

Probability of flopping a set is increased to about 18%, which makes calling 3bet with pocket pairs a much more profitable proposition

Next up we have the straight draw, and this is going to be interesting. To hit an open-ender by the river you have 8(outs)x3(percent)x2(turn and river)= 48% which is insane. Basically, if you know that your opponent doesn’t have trips or better, you can just keep on raising, because if you have any kind of fold equity, you’re going to profit in the long run; and when you do get called, it’s as close to a flip as it will ever be, provided you’re not drawing dead.

The modification in draw hitting percentage and flush strength make the game more action-packed and people will get it in a lot more often on flops, making it a very exciting variation to play.

Two pair is also easier to hit because we have 5 outs from 31 cards so it’s going to be 5x2x3%=30% to hit two pair until the river, which renders overpairs a bit less powerful.

Another thing that we need to talk about and everyone absolutely loves is the probability of flopping a set. Here, it’s about 2x3x3%=18% so calling 3bets with pocket pairs becomes more profitable proposition.

AT and AJ lose a lot of their power, but AK becomes much stronger. I’d never 3bet AQ though, because we’re never, ever getting called by a worse ace if we are up against a decent player.

More strategy and math considerations

Now that we know the basic rules of Six Plus Hold’em and that money will fly around way more often, I expect that all poker sites will integrate it pretty fast after it appears on the main one, and that it will be fairly easy to exploit opponents, especially at the beginning, if you integrate the knowledge from this article into your game.

Let’s start off by talking about all of the aspects of pre-flop game.

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Stacking off

Obviously, stacking off now becomes a little bit tighter because we have less cards in the deck, ergo we will get AA or KK a lot more often.

If the chance to get AA pre-flop in regular Hold'em is 0.45 percent, let’s try to calculate that in Six Plus Hold’em:

The chance to get dealt one ace in one card is: 4 / 36 = 1 / 9 (one out of nine possible cards).
Now, the chance to get dealt the second ace is: 3 / 35 = 8.5%
To get the probability of catching aces, you have to multiply the two probabilities and get the percentage, so the probability that we get Aces is: (1/9)*(3/35)=3/9*35=3/315=1/105

Once every 105 hands you’ll get AA in Six Plus Hold’em, which is 0.95%, which, to tell you the truth, is insane! It’s more than the double of regular Hold’em, and that goes for KK QQ JJ TT and any pair!

Also, let’s see what the probability of getting AK is now:

Probability to hit an Ace: 4/36
Probability to hit a King after you’ve hit the Ace: 4/35
If we multiply these probabilities we will get the odds to get AK pre-flop, so the result is:
4/36 * 4/35 * 2(because the order doesn’t matter) = 4*4/35*36 = 16/1260 *2 = 2.53%

So this means that the range of QQ+/AK now is 0.95+0.95+0.95+2.53= 5.38%. In Hold’em it’s 2.6%. This is going to invite more action into the game and make it a lot more 3bet oriented, because in Six Plus, 2.6% is very close to AA/KK/AKs.

2/36*1/35=0.158%

To verify our calculations, we re-calculate pair and AK probabilities like this:

AK – 16 combos – 0.158%*16 = 2.53%
AA – 6 combos – 0.158%*6 = 0.95%
AKs - 4 combos – 0.158%*4 = 0.63%

So we now have the solution to the combinations problem.

3-betting and stack-off ranges

The pressing matter here is that now, QQ+/AK is 5.38%, which is a huge 3-bet value range and is advisable in 6-max but in FR it’s a lot looser than it may seem. Also, a lot of players in the beginning will still stack off QQ/AK from virtually any position in 6-max games, so you’ll benefit from that by playing QQ a lot more like JJ/TT/99 and only 3bet AA/KK/AK.

Why do we still 3-bet AK? Isn’t this a good hand to flat now ? Yes and no.

Let’s say you have AK
This means that from all of his combos of AA, 3 are taken out of the 6 because you hold the Ac.
Also, from his combinations of KK, 3 are taken out of the 6 because you hold the Kd.
Also, from his 16 combinations of AK, he is left with 9 out of 16 because you hold Ac and Kd.
This means that he’s 50% less likely to have AA, 50% less likely to have KK, and 43% less likely to be holding AK, so he’ll fold a lot more often pre-flop

Fold Equity

Let’s say the UTG opens for 3x and you 3-bet from the button 9x.
If UTG opens 10% of his range and continues only with KK+/AK, even if you fold every time to a 4-bet, you’re making a profit in the long run.
How? Well, 4.5% of that opening range is AA/KK/AK, but you’re holding blockers so it’s reduced to about 2.5%. That means 3 out of 4 times you win 4.5 blinds(bb/sb/open) and 1 time you lose 9 blinds. That’s good profit in the long run and cannot be overlooked.
If his opening range is bigger than 10%, you’re winning a lot more in the long run.

Keeping his weaker hands in.

If your opponent opens UTG and you only flat AK, he will not have the option of folding AQ, possibly AJ/KQ to a 3-bet and you can get value from him post-flop, when an ace or a king hits.

The element of surprise

Most players will discount AK out of your range when you’re not 3-betting it, and thus make mistakes post-flop. A lot of them might bet AQ for two streets on an ace-high board and check/call the river, and the same goes for KQ on a king-high board. That’s when you get 3 streets of value with your AK against hands that would have folded pre-flop to a 3-bet.

Not having a standard play, varying your game

Sometimes if you combine 3-betting AK for 50% and flatting it 50% you become much harder to read, thus your opponent will never know this frequency and it will be hard for him to adapt to your play style.

Most players will discount AK out of your range when you’re not 3-betting it, and thus make mistakes post-flop.

I’d actually be more inclined to 3-bet AKo and flat AKs (leaving my AK flatting range 25%), just because AKs has better playability post-flop from flopping a flush draw. The equity of getting it in pre-flop with AKs is not much higher than that of AKo so I consider flatting a lot more often with this type of hand.

Also, when using your HUD, watch out for the people who have a 2% 3-bet range, because they’re only 3-betting AA/KK, so it becomes super-profitable to call for set-mining purposes (because now you flop a set 18% of the time), and stacking off with only AA versus these players becomes the ultimate exploitive strategy. I’m even folding AK pre-flop because if we call the 3-bet and we hit a king, he’s most likely holding aces, and if we hit an ace, he’s most likely not paying us off with KK.

Conclusion

All in all this will be a very interesting, action-filled game and I can’t wait for it to become an official format adopted by the major sites, because I really believe this is the new Hold’em and it will be a worthy breath of fresh air for all of us that have been playing the same game for years and years. I hope you found these Six Plus Hold'em rules easy to follow and useful as an introduction to the game.

To wrap it up, I leave you with the words of wisdom from a great man:

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. Walt Disney

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The launch of PokerStars in New Jersey back in 2016 was maybe the most anticipated event in the history of US online poker. Since, PokerStars has brought the heft of its international brand back into the US and re-established itself as a major player in the expanding US poker scene.

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Current US states where you can play real-money poker on PokerStars:

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You can open a new PokerStars account from anywhere in the US (and play play-money poker). But you must be physically within a licensed state’s borders (and be of legal age) to play real money poker.

Below find a complete overview of what PokerStars currently offers poker players in the US; check back to see which new states have been or are soon to be added.

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PokerStars Spin & Go’s

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PokerStars Deposit Bonus

The first-deposit bonus for PokerStars US players, using the marketing code STARS600, is:

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PokerStars Download

New PokerStars players have two ways to download the PokerStars platform and hit the tables:

Full PokerStars download for PC or Mac (Apple)
Download PokerStars app for your iPhone/iPad/Android

Both are fast and simple. To start the download on your computer, just click the appropriate link below for your state to get to the main PokerStars download page. Here are shortcuts for NJ and PA:

PokerStars software works for both for PCsand Macs; it’ll self-prompt you to download the proper format for your computer type. Once you’ve downloaded the PokerStars software you’ll finish the registration process by:

Creating your Stars ID (your poker screen name)
Setting your password
Entering the rest of your personal details required (email, age, etc) a
Bonus Code (see above)

Your account will be operational in minutes. You can also access your 1 million in play-money chips right away. If you want to play real money poker at PokerStars, you’ll also need to:

Download the Geolocation software to confirm you’re within New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Michigan state borders
Make a deposit to your account via any of the accepted methods via the “Cashier” tab

More on your deposit (& cashout) options below.

Download the PokerStars App

PokerStars has a slick and easy-to-use poker app for playing both play-money and real money poker. You can open an account via the App alone or create an account on your desktop and then log-in via the App to play.

To download the app for your iPhone, iPad or Android:

Download the app to your iOS or Android device
Register your account (or log in to your created account)
Make a deposit or buy/play with play-money chips

PokerStars App – Game Play

The PokerStars app is made for poker players so its known for its ease-of-use and in-game functionality.

Finding cash games and tournaments is simple with a slide bar to scroll through cash games, MTTs, SnGs and Spin & Go’s; there’s also a tab at the top to toggle between real-money and play-money games.

The Lobby, Cashier, My Stars account, Challenges, Leaderboards and Customizable settings are also easy to find and use. If you want to make a real-money deposit it’s hard to miss the “Deposit” icon – just tap and you’ll be walked through depositing in a few simple steps.

As for the action at the tables, as PokerStars has always been made by poker players the betting slide bars and buttons are well positioned and easily distinguishable to avoid misclicks.

Following the action at the table is clear and straight-forward and the betting bar allows for quick increment changes. Check/fold buttons are also big and visible as are set betting increments. Multi-tabling is also possible via the app.

PokerStars cash games and tournaments

Cash Games

PokerStars offers the widest variety of cash games in US online poker:

No Limit Hold ’em
Limit Hold ’em
Pot Limit Ohama
Limit Omaha Hi/Lo
Eight Game
Limit Stud
Limit Stud Hi/Lo

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SNGs

SNGs are always popular on PokerStars. The ones that do run are generally low- to mid-stakes No Limit Hold ‘em turbo games. Most of the site’s SNGs are of the 6-max variety, although heads-up games run as well.

Spin ‘n Gos

As mentioned above, Spin & Go’s are arguably the site’s mostpopular format. These three-person, hyper turbo games are known for their randomized payouts and blistering pace.

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The format is available at the $1, $2, $5, $10 and $25 buy-in levels, and feature jackpot prizes of 1,000x a player’s buy-in.

Multi-table tournaments (MTTs)

PokerStars is the home for New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan’s biggest online tournament series events. The annual New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan Championships of Online Poker and Spring Championship of Online Poker feature dozens of events and $1 million+ guaranteed prize pools.

PokerStars also host a nice selection of smaller tournament series events throughout the calendar year, and special events like PennsylMania. That’s a recurring special event which had a prize pool of over half a million dollars with just a $200 buy in on its first go.

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The Big $30(5 p.m. EST): $30 buy-in, $1,000 guaranteed
The Big $50(6 p.m. EST): $50 buy-in, $2,000 guaranteed
The Big $10(6 p.m. EST): $10 buy-in, $1,000 guaranteed
The Big $20(7 p.m. EST): $20 buy-in, $1,500 guaranteed

More daily tournaments include:

Hot Turbos
KO Fever
Nightly Stars
Moonlight Express for No-Limit Hold ’em
Change-up for Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud

Sunday Majors on PokerStars US

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Sunday Storm(5 p.m. EST): $10 buy-in, $4,500 guaranteed
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PokerStars Home Games

One of the favorite features for some players on PokerStars is the Home Games feature, which allows you to set up your own private poker club. You can then invite your friends to play poker online in any format you like, from cash games to tournaments to SnGs.

If you live or play in PA and NJ you can do so against each other with real money in your accounts. You can also play with play money and settle up outside of the poker game itself.

PokerStars Deposits & Cashouts

Deposits

With fully licensed and legal online poker comes a slew of easy-to-use and secure deposit and withdrawal methods. All transactions, via either the desktop or app, are encrypted, secure and protected.

Once your proper account ID and verification are set-up depositing to PokerStars NJ or PokerStars PA is virtually instantaneous. Popular deposit methods include:

Instant e-checks (ACH)
Skrill
Mastercard/Visa credit or debit cards
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PayNearMe (7/11)
Cash at the Live Casino partner’s cage (check with casino to confirm: Resorts Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ; Mount Airy Casino in PA; Odawa Casino in Petoskey, MI)
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Of these, players should consider Instant e-checks as their first line of offense. The Play+ Card is also a great option for players who have trouble completing ACH transactions. Those who favor in-person transactions are best opting for PayNearMe or cash at the casino cage.

Cashouts

Players are slightly more restricted with regard to withdrawals but still have plenty of options in both states:

Instant e-checks
Skrill
Cash at the cage
PokerStars Play+ Card

Generally speaking players must use a method as a deposit vehicle first before withdrawing via the same method.

Poker Stars Promotions

Alongside the Free Play and Deposit Bonuses, PokerStars NJ and PokerStars PA run plenty of ongoing promotions for players. Among the current or past promotions we’ve seen:

$10,00 Summer Holidays Challenge
Daily $20,000 Golden Button Challenge
Monthly MTT Leaderboards
Online satellites and Spin & Go’s for live tournament seats and packages

Check PokerStars’ promotions page in a particular state for ongoing promotions.

PokerStars Live Tournaments & Packages

PokerStars hosts some pretty spectacular live events around the world and players in the US can take advantage of low buy-in satellites online to win seats and packages. Players can win seats and full travel packages to live events including:

European Poker Tour
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
PokerStars Live London

and more. Also expected to return in 2020 was the:

PokerStars Players NL Hold’em Championship (PSPC)

The first edition ran in 2019 and awarded over $26 million in total to players that cashed.

Buy-in is €22,500 (approximately $25,000) but you can win your way there for much, much cheaper via the online satellites. Find the full daily and weekly satellite schedule for live events in the ‘Events’ and ‘Live’ tabs in the lobby.

PokerStars player rewards

All real money poker players at PokerStars are eligible for reward prizes through the Stars Rewards Program. Players get personalized rewards based on their playing preferences across all of the site’s products – casino and sports betting included.

Players who play real money games earn Rewards Points as they play. As you accrue points you’ll fill up an on-screen progress bar. When you reach the end of the bar for that reward level you will earn a Reward Chest to open.

Inside the Chest will be personalized rewards that best suit your level of play. There are six chest levels of increasing size and average value:

Blue Chest ($0.25-$5)
Bronze Chest ($0.60-$12)
Silver Chest ($1.50-$30)
Gold Chest ($5-$100)
Diamond Chest ($12.50-$250)
Black Chest ($35-$700)

Chests can contain StarsCoin — a virtual currency that players can spend at the site’s rewards store — tickets, and goods tailored to players’ preferences. Players can also win Top Rewards, which are massive prizes divided randomly among chests.

Boosts are also available whereby players will earn points at an augmented rate for a limited time.

PokerStars Customer Service

PokerStars offers an extensive FAQ portal divided into four primary sections:

Support
Deposit and Cash Out
Security
Account

Most of the common questions people have when creating/using a PokerStars account can be solved right there. Players can also fill out the site’s support form to request a callback or written response from an agent.

Is PokerStars Safe?

Beyond being one of the most reputable online poker brands in the entire world, every PokerStars US poker site is subject to rigorous vetting and regulations by the individual state’s Department of Gaming Enforcement.

In NewJersey, PokerStars has been approved and licensed by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE).
In Pennsylvania, PokerStars has been approved and licensed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PCGB).
In Michigan, PokerStars has been approved and licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MCGB).

It’s more than accurate to say PokerStars stands apart as one of the safest poker sites online.

PokerStars VR

Virtual Reality has come to poker in the form of PokerStars VR. If you choose to dive in, your perception of live poker will never be the same.

You’ll need the proper VR equipment (and graphics support) to try it out but if you do you’ll be rewarded with a one-of-a-kind, authentic, free poker experience like you’ve never seen before. PokerStars VR offers:

Dazzling realism from chip to cards to players to dealers
Real opponents in free ring games
Immersive, total poker experience with authentic body language, props and accessories
Play against your friends on private tables or against other players across the world
Streaming media integration
Free chips and in-game purchases
Exotic playing locales including Macau 2050, Monte Carlo Yacht, Showdown Saloon and Galaxy Space Station
New SnGs plus weekly leaderboards

You can download PokerStars VR from:

Oculus Store
Steam
Viveport

PokerStars US FAQ

Is PokerStars Legal in the US?

Yes. PokerStars officially relaunched to players in New Jersey on March 21, 2016. It launched in Pennsylvania on Nov. 4, 2019. It arrived in Michigan on January 29, 2021. These are currently the only 3 states where PokerStars can legally offer online poker games for real-money but more are soon to come.

Can I play at PokerStars in states outside of New Jersey?

PokerStars is currently licensed to offer games in three US states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania & Michigan.

Players from anywhere can sign up and create a new account but to play real money poker online (either cash games or tournaments) you must be physically within the state’s borders. You do not have to be a resident of either state to play.

How does PokerStars know I’m in NJ, MI or PA?

In order to abide by official state gaming regulations PokerStars must guarantee players accessing its real-money games are within state borders. To do so, players on PokerStars must download a geolocation app along with the PokerStars software or PokerStars App.

Can PokerStars US players play against international PokerStars players?

No, PokerStars US only includes players within the US as of 2019. There is a current compact that allows for a shared player pool between online poker players in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware but PokerStars does not have a site in Nevada or Delaware.

PokerStars PA and MI players are also ring-fenced and only able to play against each other. There is a likelihood, though, that all state player pools will eventually be merged among similarly licensed online poker states.

One day there is hope the full international player pool (or a portion of it) will be available again to US players.

What caused the delay of PokerStars in New Jersey?

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement had concerns about the past legal issues of PokerStars involving the US Department of Justice. The original PokerStars founder had not yet settled with the US Government at the time of the sale to Amaya Gaming.

The sale of PokerStars satisfied any issues New Jersey regulators had with the company.

Are SNG tournaments available ?

Yes. PokerStars has SNGs. Michigan and New Jersey (but not Pennsylvania) have Spin and Go’s as well.

Why does PokerStars have a casino partner in each state?

New Jersey interactive gaming law requires software providers to partner with Atlantic City casinos through their existing license. Casinos can host up to five gaming sites on a brick-and-mortar license.

Likewise, Pennsylvania and Michigan require online poker sites to have a land-based partner.

Which Atlantic City casino is PokerStars’ partner?

PokerStars is partners with ResortsCasino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Which Pennsylvania casino is PokerStars’ partner?

PokerStars is partners with Mount Airy Casino in Pennsylvania.

Which Michigan casino is PokerStars’ partner?

PokerStars is partners with Odawa Casino Resort in Petoskey.

Does PokerStars offer casino games?

6 Pokerstars Poker

Yes, PokerStars offers casino games via Stars Casino. You can also sports bet with its sister set, FoxBet.

How big are the Sunday PokerStars tournaments in New Jersey?

Due to the market’s low-population cap, the tournament prize pools on PokerStars New Jersey are not nearly as large as they on the operator’s international site.

At present, the biggest Sunday major is the Sunday Special, which guarantees $50,000. Following that is the Sunday High Roller ($500 buy-in, $15,000 GTD).

There is also a bevy of nightly and weekly tournaments that guarantee a minimum prize pool of $10,000.

PokerStars US Review

PokerStars Quick Review

Traffic - 91
Depth of Game Selection - 93
Software - 98
Customer Support - 84
Promotional Value - 94

Summary

The PokerStars client is nothing short of stellar, matching the quality of its award-winning international platform nearly every step of the way. PokerStars also offers two generous, first-time deposit bonus; one tailored toward recreational players and another to regulars. Biannual tournament events that guarantee over $1.2 million each and an eclectic mix of game formats round out New Jersey's most complete online poker package. Now if only customer service were more accessible.

PokerStars’ History

PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker site. It peaks in the neighborhood of 20,000 players daily, according to PokerScout.

In addition to its international poker site, it also holds licenses in the ring-fenced markets of Italy, France and Spain. It is the largest site in two of these three regulated and ring-fenced countries.

PokerStars was not always the largest online poker room in the world. PartyPoker held that distinction until October 2006, when it left the US market. PartyPoker has the most cash-game players, but PokerStars had more tournament participants.

As a result, PokerStars immediately became the largest cash-game site when it announced it would stay in the US market after 2006. It raked an estimated $2 million per day after this decision.

PokerStars’ legal woes

Because of this success, the US Department of Justice took notice. PokerStars became the target of an investigation from the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York.

On April 15, 2011, an indictment was unsealed that named PokerStars and two executives. The charges related to violating the Illegal Gambling Business Act and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Furthermore, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were also named on the same indictment.

PokerStars immediately withdrew from the US market, as did Full Tilt and Absolute Poker. Most noteworthy is that PokerStars was able to reimburse account balances for US players within 10 days. Full Tilt and Absolute Poker were unable to pay.

Subsequently, PokerStars acquired Full Tilt through a corporate settlement with the US Justice Department worth $731 million. Part of this settlement went toward paying Full Tilt Poker players that were victims of what the federal government described as fraud.

Once these charges were settled, PokerStars attempted to gain licensing in New Jersey for the state’s new interactive gaming industry that launched in November 2013. They partnered with Resorts.

PokerStars previously attempted to buy the Atlantic Club. They infused the ailing casino with much-needed cash while it attempted to get licensed. Atlantic Club backed out of the deal after the guaranteed closing date passed.

It appeared Atlantic Club was hoping to fetch a higher sales price. That never materialized. Atlantic Club fell into bankruptcy and closed in January 2014. Subsequently, its assets were divided between Caesars Entertainment and Tropicana Entertainment through a bankruptcy auction.

While PokerStars resolved its case through a civil settlement, executives of PokerStars never resolved their charges. This was the reason cited by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for suspending its gaming license application for two years.

PokerStars’ new owner and eventual entry into New Jersey

Rational Group, the parent company of PokerStars, decided the solution was to sell the company. Amaya Gaming was the suitor.

Amaya Gaming acquired PokerStars in July 2014 for $4.9 billion. As a result, PokerStars’ equity holders left the company at the close of the transaction.

It appears that this merger was the catalyst that gave PokerStars the green light in New Jersey. The Division of Gaming Enforcement is satisfied that PokerStars is now suitable.

Amaya Gaming was already licensed in New Jersey. It maintains several casino platforms, as well as Betfair’s poker platform.

The path was more straightforward to PokerStars to get licensed in Pennsylvania and Michigan, and it managed to be the first online poker site regulated by the state gaming control boards to launch in each state.

Amaya Gaming would either need to defeat that language in bills before they become law or prevail in court challenges under the position that the so-called bad actor clauses are unconstitutional.

Additionally, online poker regulations in Nevada include a tainted asset clause. This means that the sale of PokerStars does not clean the brand in the eyes of regulators. Unless current Nevada law changes, or is found unconstitutional, PokerStars will never operate in Nevada.

Delaware has no such language in its online poker regulations.