software

PokerStars is proud to offer a wide variety of multi-table poker tournaments in all of the games we offer. And by
popular request, we are happy to offer play money pot-limit and no-limit poker on our free poker tables. These are
in addition to our standard structured-limit play money games.

Like a traditional Las Vegas poker room, if a table that you want to play at is currently full you can request to be put
on the waiting list. Only when you're playing online, getting on the waiting list for a poker table is as easy as clicking
a button. Once a seat becomes available at the poker table, you will automatically be asked if you want to sit down
and join that game.

At PokerStars, no matter which table you decide to play at, you will always be playing poker against real online
poker players. Your fellow players may live down the street or halfway around the world, but they are guaranteed to
be playing on their own behalf. That's because, unlike some other online poker rooms, at PokerStars you will never
play against any bots, shills (paid players), computer opponents or against the 'house' in any way.

You can review more of our policies and rules on our poker room rules page.

Room Limits
PokerStars is proud to offer a large selection real money poker games, from micro-limits of $0.02/$0.04 up to high
stakes games of $100/$200. PokerStars also offers no-limit tables, with games of $0.01/$0.02 blinds and $1.00
buy-ins up to $10/20 blinds, $400 buy-in games. If you are interested in playing for play money, check out our free
poker page.

Minimum Table Buy-In
The minimum buy-in our poker room for limit tables is ten times the small bet (the bet on the first two betting rounds).
For example, on a $10/$20 table, the minimum buy-in would be $100. For no-limit poker games, the buy-in is twenty
times the small bet.

All-In
When a player puts the last of their poker chips into a pot, that player is said to be all-in. An all-in player is not
eligible to win any money past their final bet. If the bettor's all-in is greater than one or more of the other players still
active after the bettor has made the bet, then the excess part of the bet is either returned to the bettor, or if it can
be matched by one or more of the still active players, it will in turn form one or more side-pots, and at that point any
excess still remaining is then returned to the bettor. However, the all-in player will be eligible for the main pot, and
therefore cannot be forced to fold from the hand.

Sometimes a player has enough chips to continue betting or calling during a hand, but has been disconnected and
is unable to respond. In this case, the player is also deemed to be "all-in" for the amount of chips he or she has bet
on that particular hand. If this happens repeatedly, it probably means that the person has a poor Internet
connection. While rare, if this happens to you while playing at PokerStars, we recommend that you leave the poker
table for a period of time until your Internet connection improves. After that, you may rejoin the poker room and
resume play as normal.

No All-In Tables
These tables are identified by the words "no all-in" in parentheses after a table name. These poker tables do not
provide the all-in protection described in the section above. If you disconnect from a no all-in table, you are given
extra time to reconnect. However, if you are unable to respond after the extra time given, your hand will be folded. If
you have a poor or unreliable Internet connection, we recommend that you don't play at the no all-in poker tables.

Fast (a.k.a. High Speed) Tables
These tables are identified by the word "fast" (formerly "high speed") in parentheses after a table name. These
special tables are designed for those players who want to keep the game moving at a faster pace than a standard
table. These are the differences with a "fast" poker table:

You receive only 15 seconds to act in a Limit poker game, instead of 25.
You receive only 20 seconds to act in a no limit and pot limit poker game, instead of 35.
You only have 1 second to show or muck, instead of 3 seconds.
The pot is pushed to the winner faster.
The showdown is over faster, in 2 seconds instead of 4.
In addition, "auto-posting" of blinds is required at a "fast" poker table. When you sit down, you're automatically in
"Wait for Big Blind" mode, and will post at your first normally scheduled big blind. If you wish to begin play
immediately, uncheck "Wait for Big Blind" and on the next available hand your big blind will be posted and you will be
dealt in.

If during the course of play you want to take a break when the blinds reach you, then click on "Sit out next blind".
You will continue to be dealt in until the blinds reach you, at which time you will be placed in "Sitting Out" mode.

Game Issues
In the rare event that our poker room server crashes, all transactions will be posted to your online PokerStars
account at the completion of each hand. When a hand cannot be completed for any reason, all of the players'
accounts will be restored to the way they were at the beginning of the hand. All bets are considered off and a new
hand will be dealt. If a poker tournament is interrupted by a server crash, the poker tournament will resume play
from the beginning of the current hand.

Poker Room Rake
PokerStars receives compensation for hosting poker games by taking a rake, or a small portion (5% to a maximum
of $3) of the pot. For detailed information about the rake see our poker rake page.

We hope to have answered any questions you may have had about our poker room here at PokerStars. Download
our poker software now to start playing in our free poker tables or our real money poker tables. You can also
learn more about our Las Vegas style 'comps' by visiting our poker promotions page. We have done our best to
make PokerStars the best internet poker room to play at on the Internet and hope to see you there.