Players Boycott GGPoker High-Stakes Games
GGPoker is a leading online poker brand available to international players. It’s also known to be one of the rooms with the highest rake caps, which is even more true after the recent increase. And it offers significant rakeback promotions of up to 65%, balancing the higher rake caps with higher returns. Still, players weren’t happy with the recent increase -- let’s take a closer look at the issue.
GGPoker Raises Rake Caps
GGPoker previously had rake caps of 0.25 blinds (12.50) on $25/$50 six-handed NoLimit Hold’em tables with two to three players. If the table had three or more players, the rake cap was 0.50 blinds ($25). Now, this has doubled, with 0.50 blinds for two to three people and 1.0 blind for three or more players.
The company implemented this change on all high-stakes tables except the $500/$1,000 tables, which increased 1.25x, from 4.02 big blinds to 7.08 big blinds.
What It Means
Rake caps are the maximum amount the operator can take from a pot. The average cap, which is a fraction of the big blind, is between $1 and $5. Factors influencing the rake cap include the number of people at a table and the buy-in amount.
With this increase, the cost of playing at the tables has increased, even though the rake percentage remains at 5%.
Players’ Reactions
This change upset many GGPoker customers, and the high-stakes players organized a mass boycott to show their displeasure, arguing that the rake cap was too high.
User “Mixgrill” started the boycott, and it picked up steam, with many significant GGPoker players saying they wouldn’t play until the poker room negotiates the decrease of its rake caps. The table count decreased to one during the boycott, but the poker room didn’t change its stance for weeks.
GGPoker, as one of the leading poker rooms, has a large number of customers, many of whom were unaffected by this change. The majority of players are micro- to mid-stakes players, and the cash games these players participate in weren’t affected by the increase in rake caps. As such, while the boycott has seen a significant presence on social media, it hasn’t impacted GGPoker as much.
GGPoker’s Reaction
Even though GGPoker could have ignored the boycott or stuck with the increase, the brand is known as one of the poker rooms that listens to its players. GGPoker has always tried to do its best to ensure its customers have an excellent experience on the platform, and this time is no different.
GGPoker reached an agreement with high-stakes players and has rolled back the recently increased rake by 90%. As such, the tables are back to 4.2 BBs.
GGPoker Remains a Leading Brand
While many players were upset with the increase this time, the negotiation and decrease in rake cap shows that GGPoker remains one of the leading poker brands willing to listen to players’ complaints. Unlike many other poker rooms, it took the players’ opinions into account and took steps to improve its offering, which is almost unheard of in the online poker industry.
