French Players Paralyze Traffic at PokerStars.fr

On the 4th July, French poker players invaded the cash game tables at PokerStars.fr, and then they all went on sit-out, thus demonstrating against the illogically high rake structure.

As I have mentioned in previous posts [3], because of the French gambling regulations, PokerStars has said good-bye to its French players, and sent them to play at the PokerStars.fr site. This poker site, however, uses a much higher rake structure than its predecessor. Besides the huge amount of rake taken from each pot, French tax authorities also deduct 2% after every hand, up to €1.

Clubpoker, a French poker forum has organized a strike, and the French players rushed to the cash game tables on the 4th July. Instead of playing, however, they decided to go on sit-out.

[4]

This way, the site’s traffic went almost completely numb. With this, the players managed to put enough pressure on PokerStars.fr and ARJEL (French Gambling Authority) to start negotiations about creating a more beneficial structure.