7echno

Every casino site feels rigged when you're losing.
I've won about $600 playing poker on Stake and even qualified for the Warm-Up Final, but overall I'm down around $2,000, mostly from playing Stake blackjack. Stake blackjack feels rigged sometimes too, but I can separate emotions from logic and understand that it's provably fair.
Honestly, I think your poker game has a lot of leaks that you don't recognize yet. I have plenty of leaks in my own game as well, but I'm honest about them and work on improving little by little.

The problem is that this system basically forces everyone into an all-in-or-fold style during the last 15 minutes before late registration closes, no matter how trash the hands are, because this is only a qualifier stage.
A single player carrying a $100 bounty can even be worth more than finishing first after grinding 5–6 exhausting hours against thousands of players. The moment someone like that appears, everyone will dive in trying to steal the bounty. Just try shoving all-in and see if the whole table jumps in or not.
The next issue is that whenever I get covered in chips, it feels almost predetermined that I’ll lose in the most absurd ways possible regardless of the hand strength. Trash hands constantly get “drawn into” two pairs, straights, flushes, small pairs crack big pairs, weak AX hits one of its 3 outs against stronger AX — and after experiencing this hundreds of times, I’ve honestly gone numb. I don’t even have the energy left to rage or complain anymore.
This site, in general, feels terrible. It constantly manufactures ridiculous runouts just to force losses in the dumbest ways imaginable. There’s no real sense of randomness or skill here anymore — only setups and gambling variance. High-level players would never seriously stay in environments like this anyway; they’re busy playing million-dollar Main Events elsewhere.
The problem is that this system basically forces everyone into an all-in-or-fold style during the last 15 minutes before late registration closes, no matter how trash the hands are, because this is only a qualifier stage.
A single player carrying a $100 bounty can even be worth more than finishing first after grinding 5–6 exhausting hours against thousands of players. The moment someone like that appears, everyone will dive in trying to steal the bounty. Just try shoving all-in and see if the whole table jumps in or not.
The next issue is that whenever I get covered in chips, it feels almost predetermined that I’ll lose in the most absurd ways possible regardless of the hand strength. Trash hands constantly get “drawn into” two pairs, straights, flushes, small pairs crack big pairs, weak AX hits one of its 3 outs against stronger AX — and after experiencing this hundreds of times, I’ve honestly gone numb. I don’t even have the energy left to rage or complain anymore.
This site, in general, feels terrible. It constantly manufactures ridiculous runouts just to force losses in the dumbest ways imaginable. There’s no real sense of randomness or skill here anymore — only setups and gambling variance. High-level players would never seriously stay in environments like this anyway; they’re busy playing million-dollar Main Events elsewhere.
The problem is that this system basically forces everyone into an all-in-or-fold style during the last 15 minutes before late registration closes, no matter how trash the hands are, because this is only a qualifier stage.
A single player carrying a $100 bounty can even be worth more than finishing first after grinding 5–6 exhausting hours against thousands of players. The moment someone like that appears, everyone will dive in trying to steal the bounty. Just try shoving all-in and see if the whole table jumps in or not.
The next issue is that whenever I get covered in chips, it feels almost predetermined that I’ll lose in the most absurd ways possible regardless of the hand strength. Trash hands constantly get “drawn into” two pairs, straights, flushes, small pairs crack big pairs, weak AX hits one of its 3 outs against stronger AX — and after experiencing this hundreds of times, I’ve honestly gone numb. I don’t even have the energy left to rage or complain anymore.
This site, in general, feels terrible. It constantly manufactures ridiculous runouts just to force losses in the dumbest ways imaginable. There’s no real sense of randomness or skill here anymore — only setups and gambling variance. High-level players would never seriously stay in environments like this anyway; they’re busy playing million-dollar Main Events elsewhere.

Maybe you were simply lucky in that hand because the system wanted you to stay alive for a few more minutes before getting taken out by another garbage setup afterward.
I’ve lost with KK and AA all-in preflop against trash hands so many times while being covered in chips that I honestly can’t even remember the number anymore, so spots like that don’t feel special to me at all.
It becomes a programming issue and a mathematical randomness issue.

I don’t think this place resembles real poker anymore. It operates more like a roulette wheel built on pure luck, gambling, and bigger-vs-smaller outcomes — nothing more.
If there’s truly something wrong with the system, it’s that after grinding day and night without sleep just trying to fight for a few tickets and seats, I’m still only walking away with scraps of money.

Zero tables on 100 and 200 on Friday evening, very nice update indeed.....😝 

Hello Jake7589,
We would like answers to all the points that were raised in this thread. We're considering leaving the room if these changes are not planned following this slander.

I have to agree with the post. As a poker regular I created a forum account just to raise concerns with poker. This update is a clear and definitive downgrade from what was already in place. It introduced major bugs as well.
 
The table seating is hugely unintuitive and buggy. The tables seem lower population the last day because it seems like when you enter a game you are at an empty table and seems like there is no one actually playing.
Old features have become buggy. Bet sizing and buy in settings are no longer working.
The new run it twice slows down the game and is unintuitive. The new rabbit hunting slows down the game. Juggling tables slows down the game. Straddle on games over 6 slow the game down.
Nobody likes 5 and 8 max. 8 max is less action and 5 max is non standard and requires a large adjustment to an experienced players actions and is less action.
This update is a UI nightmare. There's less players and will be fewer soon. There's less action per minute and that's bad for both players and Stake in the form of less rake. And there's less fun for the casual stake player base.
 
It's obvious whoever okayed this has no experience actually playing poker and just implemented poorly thought of copycat features, and tried to make the game "different" from other platforms. Poker is not something you want to do the most "different" to attract players. It's something you want to do the most  polished top attract them. And your poker room was scratched with this update instead of polished.
 
Revert the features and table seating, and keep the bad beat for marketing to bring in more players.

Hello Jake! Please fix the seating system at the tables, it's a pain now. It's impossible to even get 6 tables now. It keeps throwing you to empty tables. And please return the number of tables played, at least to 9 as it was. What difference does it make to you how many tables are played at the same time?
yes, but before from a 200bb pot the rake was 10bb, and now it's 12.5bb
why?


and this is how we play now....

Worst update ever!! How 7echno said, i think its better to do something or you will lose your biggest grinders.

+ 2.5% rake to the jackpot fund is also a questionable decision. 
I played on this platform every day for more than half a year (nickname UsaVip), but now it is much less interesting activity

I completely agree. I want to play poker a lot, but instead, with the new update, I get a maximum of 6 tables, 4 of which are almost always empty, or I play 1v1. The only thing I like about the new update is the ability to open 2 boards. Please restore the ability to play more than 6 tables and optimize the seating. This used to be my favorite room, but with the new updates, it's not the same anymore.

I completely agree too. Nobody enjoys the game like this, neither the regulars nor the recreational players. It's unplayable like this!
 

Please Revert Poker Exactly to the way it was before on the rings games. The update has ruined Poker on stake and sent it from a solid 9/10 to a 3/10.
Lets list the issues:
-Max tables is now only 6
-Waiting list is gone and you can't pick tables so you end up on a table alone and maybe get a 1v1 and then they leave cause most people don't want to 1v1.
-Random bug where it exits you from table if in a tournament 
-Tournament lobby info tab thing at the top right doesn't tell you what the buy in for the tournament is so you forget which tournament is which
-The tournaments supposedly are filled with bots / afk
-max player count on tables is only 8 and 5 now ? Used to be 9 and 6
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I cannot play on here till they fix all of these issues, having only 6 tables is unbearable due to how slow poker can be and not being able to pick tables is pointless.
Even the rabbit feature where you can see the cards when everyone folds is pointless because it just makes you upset lol, Just revert it all.
This Update made me Quit and I will 100% come back if its rectified 

Dear Stake Poker Team,
 
This new 6-table limit is honestly ridiculous.
 
As a regular high-volume player, I used to run 10 tables without any issue. Now you're arbitrarily capping us at 6? This feels like a step backwards for grinders who helped build traffic and action on your site.
 
I'm fully with TheFoldFather on this — limiting multi-tabling punishes dedicated players and makes the platform significantly less attractive. If this change stays, many of us will have to seriously reconsider playing here.
 
Stake had a great thing going, but you're making decisions that hurt your most loyal players. Reconsider this move — fast — or risk losing the grinders that keep your games alive.
 
Sincerely,