For the last week or so, players at PokerHost (PH), a poker room on the Merge Gaming Network, have been reporting that their accounts have been cancelled because they are winning too much.
From the player posts on several poker forums, it appears that PokerHost is not implementing a blanket ban on winning players, rather banning individuals on a case-by-case basis.
One player recounted a telephone conversation he had had directly with PokerHost: “PH told me Merge is determining who is a 'non’ [recreational] player and they tell PH which players to ban. [I] asked how many have been banned and why. PH said about a [dozen] that Merge told them were not [recreational] players.”
PokerHost has also switched its VIP program to the same format announced by Carbon Poker last month.
The new scheme at Carbon and Aced Poker—now adopted by PokerHost—has three VIP levels, with the top level being invitation only. Players are grandfathered into the new scheme based on lifetime earnings of VIP points.
Some players were angered by the reduction in levels, which was accompanied by a drop in the average dollar to VIP point conversion rates. Because no advance notice was given players saving point to cash out at a higher exchange rate must now accept a lower rate.
In an additional move, the poker room has cancelled player to player transfers, “in order to comply with the new established network rules to create a recreational environment.” according to a PH representative. These have been unavailable on Carbon Poker and Aced for some time.