A safer place to play

Here at bwin poker, we’re committed to providing players of all levels with a full range of rewards, educational options to improve their game and most importantly, a level playing field. We’ve listened to player feedback and have made changes to ensure we’re the best and safest place to play.

Permitted third party software

Currently, the only third-party tools that are permitted to be used on bwin whilst the gaming client is open are:

• PartyCaption
• StackAndTile
• PlaceMint
• Table Tamer
• StarsHelper
• Mosaic 2
• Intuitive Tables
• Universal Replayer
• Jurojin Poker

Last Updated: 19.11.2020

Use of any other tool not mentioned on this list is prohibited whilst the client is running and may lead to restrictions being placed on your account.

If a user is found to be in breach of our terms and conditions, bwin reserves the right to permanently close the account and confiscate funds.

Prohibited third-party tools

For the avoidance of doubt, there are some tools that, if a player is found to be using these in any capacity in conjunction with the bwin client, will result in a breach of our terms and conditions and may result in an immediate closure of the account and seizure of funds. The use of any tool that does the following is not permitted at any time:

• Any tool that is designed to circumvent our restrictions on downloadable hand histories
• Any tool that plays without human intervention (a ‘bot’)
• Any tool that makes decision for, or advises decisions to, a player – therefore reducing the human element of the game (‘assistance software’)
• Any tool that automates the process of joining a specific table or game based on a defined set of criteria such as player statistics or notes (a "seating script")

Virtual machines and screen sharing / remote access software

The use of both virtual machines and/or any software that specialises in screen-sharing and remote-access is prohibited.

This list includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Oracle VM VirtualBox
• VMware
• TeamViewer
• Microsoft remote desktop
• AnyDesk
• LogMeIn

If a player is found to be using these programs in any capacity (in conjunction with the poker client), it will result in a breach of our terms and conditions. This may result in restrictions put on the account and, in extreme cases, account closure and seizure of funds.

Prohibited third-party tools while the bwin client is running

We understand that there are a number of tools that are designed to help you improve as a poker player.

Whilst the majority of players will legitimately use these tools for studying and personal improvement outside of the game, unfortunately, many of these tools provide assistance that, should they be used in-game, provide the user with an unfair advantage over the remainder of the playing field.

As such, there are a number of tools that we understand our players wish to use (and we are happy for them to do so), however, these tools are strictly prohibited from being used whilst the bwin client is also running. This list includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• PioSOLVER
• PokerSnowie
• Jesolver
• Flopzilla
• ICMIZER
• Vision GTO Trainer
• InstaGTO
• Holdem Indicator
• Omaha Indicator
• Stud Indicator
• Tournament Indicator
• HirokuScript

Should you have any questions about the use of any specific tool, please contact us.

Requesting permission for a non-listed third-party tool

If you wish to use third-party tool or application that is not listed in the permitted sections above, please contact us with your request. Please also include the website address of the tool that you wish to use.

If, after reviewing the requested tool, we choose to grant permission for it to be used on our network, we will reply to you directly and also add it to the permitted list above.

Please note that we will not grant permission to tools that provide features listed below:

• Hand/Range Charts that change or update depending on previous actions
• Timing Randomisers
• Seat Scripts
• Bots/Assistance Software

Strategic Material

"Strategic Material" is any form of external material that can be referenced whilst playing which provides guidance, instructions or recommendations. A player would not be able to replicate this level of gameplay without the material in front of them.

What material is permitted under this "Strategic Material" policy?

"MyGame" or "MyGame Whiz" is the only permitted strategic material that can be used whilst playing on our network.

What material is prohibited whilst playing on our network under this "Strategic Material" policy?

Strategic material, in any form whatsoever, that cannot be found directly in "MyGame" or "MyGame Whiz" is prohibited. This includes any form of chart not available in "MyGame" and "MyGame Whiz".

If you are found to be in breach of this policy, restrictions may be placed upon your account. In some extreme cases, it may result in account closure and the seizure of funds.

Queueing

As of 1st January 2020, "queueing" is prohibited. If you are found to be employing such tactics, restrictions may be placed on your account.

What is queueing?

Queueing is when a player, or a group of players, intentionally try to alter or avoid specific opponents in games where registration is "blind". Namely, where you shouldn't be able to choose your opponents, for example, Spins.

Why is queueing now against the terms and conditions?

Our "blind registration" policy (all player aliases are hidden until an STT has begun) ensures a level playing field. This is vital to maintaining a healthy poker ecosystem. Players who intentionally manipulate our registration process compromise the integrity of the game.

Fast Forward Buy-In Obligations

What does this mean?

"Ratholing" or "Going South" are common terms that refer to the behaviour where a player removes a portion of their chips to reduce their stake in a game. This is in effect what a player is doing if they stand-up from the Fast Forward pool and immediately sit back down with a buy-in less than what they previously had on the table.

Why is this against the terms and conditions?

"Ratholing" has long been considered an example of poor poker etiquette. If a player leaves the table only to immediately re-join with a lesser stake, opponents no longer have a chance to win those funds back. We believe restricting this behaviour promotes a healthy poker ecosystem for all players.

What am I allowed to do?

A player is not allowed to stand-up from the Fast Forward pool and immediately re-join with a stake if this is less than the amount they previously had in the pool. To re-join with a lesser stake, at least 40 minutes must have passed for this to be deemed a new playing session, as it is for our ring game offering. If a player leaves the Fast Forward pool and re-joins within 40 minutes they are obligated for the amount they left with or the maximum allowed buy-in for the pool, whichever is smaller.

Clarifications:

• If an entry loses its entire stack, that player may re-buy for any stake.
• Registering a new pool entry with a lesser stake than a current entry and not continuing to play both pool entries is also considered a violation of this rule.
• This rule applies independently to each Fast Forward pool. (i.e. A player may play 40 minutes at $0.50 / $1.00 Fast Forward and then immediately sit with a lesser total stake at $1.00 / $2.00).

Accounts found to be systematically abusing this feature will be warned and persistent behaviour may result in further sanctions being placed against the account.

Real Name Tables

"Real Name" tables help provide a community feel while reducing anonymity.

A real account holder should never give a third party access to their account, as stated in our General Terms and Conditions (Section 4. TRUE IDENTITY AND ONE ACCOUNT).

If we establish reasonable proof of this happening, we reserve the right to take action on the account in question.

Downloadable Hand Histories

Download your hand histories through MyGame!

This function allows you to import hand histories directly into tools such as Holdem Manager 3 (HM3), Holdem Manager 2 (HM2) or PokerTracker 4 (PT4). You'll then be able to analyse your gameplay data, not opponents'.

All downloadable hand histories are anonymised - you will appear as "Hero", while the aliases of your opponents are hidden. These preventive measures help eliminate the unfair practice of "alias matching".

HM3, HM2 and PT4 are all permitted to be running while the poker client is open. However, these tools will not work in real time as they are reliant on the hand history download from MyGame.

Reporting collusion / cheating and bots

Our dedicated poker fraud team thoroughly investigates each reported case. If a high burden of proof is established, accounts in breach of our rules will be frozen. Funds will then be seized and redistributed to players who were affected by the account that was deemed to be in breach of our rules.

Our investigation team has grown into a significant resource. We proactively identify accounts that break our rules, including players who use bots and those who engage in collusion. Our team collectively possess a range of skills and disciplines, which allows us to react to all manner of reports quickly and efficiently. We have former online poker pros amongst our team, who are familiar with the current poker landscape.

We operate a high burden of proof to ensure that erroneous or malicious reports do not result in wrongful account closures. We take our role very seriously, and as such, reports that are clearly malicious will not be investigated.