Frequently Asked Questions

Please read our Online Poker Site Terms of Service.

Depending on the source of your troubles, you may be able to find help by reviewing our Software FAQ. If the information here does not help you to resolve your problem, please contact Support and one of our Technical Specialists will provide further assistance.

No. Each player is only allowed one Stars Account. It is not permitted to close your account and open another one. Once you create an account, your Stars ID cannot be changed, so please choose carefully.

You can reset your password manually by going to the main software screen of the desktop client, clicking on ‘Login’ and then on ‘Forgot Password’. On mobile you can simply tap ‘Forgot Password or Stars ID?’ on the login screen. Enter your information and a new temporary password will be emailed to your registered email address. If you do so, and receive an error message, please contact Support with your full name and address, as well as your Stars ID, and we will help you get back in the game. Whenever possible, you should always email us using the email address which has been registered and validated on your Stars Account. This allows us to access your account information and give you the most accurate response.

Password protection is your responsibility. Never reveal your account information to anyone. We will never ask you to send your password to us, and the only place you will need to use it is when logging in to the software. We recommend that you change your password regularly. We also offer an optional RSA Security Token which you can link to your Stars Account to provide a strong extra layer of security.  You can also enable the Stars PIN for even more security. Click on the ‘Account’ icon in the vertical menu on the right side of the desktop lobby to engage these options.

This may be a result of your email provider mislabeling emails from us as spam. If so, the problem is easily corrected by adding us to the safe senders list in your email software, or marking an email from us as ‘not spam’.

Yes, you can. We offer more than 25 software language preferences.  Click the link below to access your language options.

Change language

You can choose another language using the desktop client, via the ‘Settings’ menu on the right side of the main lobby. Please note that some languages are currently only in Beta mode, so you may still see some messages in English. To choose a language using the mobile app, access ‘Settings & Tools’ via the ‘More’ menu. If available in your region, you can also login to your account through our website. From the ‘Account’ menu, you can change your account settings.

Follow this link to set your email language preferences, or access the ‘Settings’ menu via the desktop client (in the mobile app, access ‘Settings & Tools’ via the ‘More’ menu).

No. The languages you select for using the software, for email, and for poker hand histories, are totally independent. You can access these options by following the link below.

Change your hand history language preference

You can also login to your account through our website. From the ‘Account’ menu, you can change your account settings.

To change your hand history language preference using the desktop client, click on either the hand history links at the top left of a poker table, or click on the chip rack, then click ‘Instant Hand History’ - you can also enter the keyboard hotkey ‘Ctrl-I’. A new window - called Instant Hand History - will open. Click ‘Options’ then select your hand history language from the dropdown menu. Alternatively, you can open the ‘Tools’ menu on the right side of the main lobby, select ‘History & Stats’ > ‘Get Hand History’, and choose your preferred language from the dropdown menu that appears. To change your hand history language preference using the mobile app, access ‘Settings & Tools’ via the ‘More’ menu, then select ‘Hand History’. You will be offered a range of options, including your choice of languages.

Yes.  Download our Mac game client.

It occasionally occurs that due to reasons beyond our players' control, they are unable to act on their poker hand in time. A player in a cash (non-tournament) game is normally allotted 25 seconds to act on their hand if it is a fixed limit poker game, and 35 seconds in a pot limit or no limit poker game. A warning message is displayed in the chat box when there are 15 seconds left to act. If there was a disconnection and a player returned before the timeout, he or she receives at least 10 seconds to act. Less time to act is allocated at tables designated as ‘fast.’

If a player fails to act within the allotted time while being connected, the hand is folded by the system.

Additional time to act may be allocated in some games, depending on the situation.  The amount of extra time may vary depending on the game, but the concept is the same throughout – when faced with a decision in a larger pot, more time is given to return due to a disconnection.

Note that tournaments do not allocate extra time due to disconnections, in most situations. For details on how disconnections are handled in tournaments, please see our Poker Tournament Rules page, in particular Rule 18 (Disconnects and Sitting Out).

All transactions, including pots won and lost, are posted to your Stars Account at the completion of each hand. In the unlikely event of a server crash which prevents completion of a hand, the hands in progress at every table (tournaments and cash games) will be restored by rolling back these hands as if they had not happened. Each player's chip count will be reset to the amount at the beginning of the hand.

If a poker game is full, you can put your name on the Waiting List for that game. When a seat in the game becomes available, the first person on the Waiting List will have the first right of refusal for that seat.

The other option you have is to take a seat at an empty table of that limit and game. Often, empty tables fill up quickly once a player takes a seat.

The minimum buy-in our poker room for Fixed 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 and Pot Limit poker games, we offer different buy-in amounts for different tables. Standard tables have a maximum buy-in of 100 big blinds and a minimum buy in of 20, 30, or 40 big blinds. Tables labelled ‘Short’ and ‘CAP’ allow buy-ins of between 20 and 50 big blinds. ‘Deep’ tables offer a buy-in range of 100-250 big blinds.

All games are played table stakes. Only funds that you have brought to the table before a hand begins can be wagered in that hand.

The buy-in obligation feature enforces a higher minimum buy-in at ring game and Zoom tables under very rare circumstances, and will only ever impact a small percentage of players who frequently:

1. Buy in for less than the maximum allowed buy-in
2. Play some hands
3. Leave the table with a larger stack than they originally brought to the table
4. Sit down at a similar table with a smaller stack size than they had when they left their prior table

Players who repeat this behavior at similar table types more than eight times in a 20-hour period will be required to buy in for a higher minimum (generally the stack size they had previously left a table with) when sitting at certain tables. They will not be impacted in any other way.

This is no way restricts players from buying in for the minimum buy-in on as many tables as they wish when they have no active obligations. The obligations will also never require you to buy in for more than the default maximum buy-in for the table you are joining.

Zoom obligations work in much the same fashion as obligations at our normal ring games, except the limit is four obligations in 20 hours rather than eight. However, when your minimum buy-in is modified by an obligation for a Zoom pool, you will only be allowed to buy in to one entry at a time, so as to not restrict your buy-ins more than necessary. As long as you buy-in one entry at a time, you will be able to buy-in as many times as you normally would.

While most players will never be directly affected by buy-in obligations, this feature aims to decrease table breaking and seating ‘meta games’, as well as to discourage players from moving too many times. This allows players to focus on playing poker, rather than on continuously finding new tables to play.

In our poker games, you never play against the house, only against other players. We receive compensation by taking a ‘rake’, a small amount from each cash game pot. This rake from the pot never exceeds $5. At the lower limits, we take a smaller rake. Please see our Rake page for exact rake information.

No ‘per hand’ rake is taken in tournaments; there is only an initial fee to enter. Some tournaments do not charge a fee or a rake.

Therefore, our ‘commission’ is the net of the following:

1. An initial charge to withhold an amount of Rake from the pot in cash games
2. An initial charge to withhold part of the buy-in from the cash tournament prize pool. The amount will vary per tournament as is clearly indicated in the buy-in details for each tournament.
3. Amounts added by PokerStars to tournament prize pools representing a rebate of the initial charges as noted in (a) and (b) above.
4. Cash amounts credited to player accounts representing rebates on the initial amounts withheld from cash games and cash tournament as noted in (a) and (b) above. The type and amount of the rebates may be updated or varied from time to time and the rebates are subject to specific terms and conditions. From time to time we may also offer other type of rebates.

At any of our tables, the full amount of the pot, including all current bets, is always displayed numerically at the top of the table. Also, at the end of every betting round, all bets are collected in the middle of the table, and converted into higher denomination chips so you can easily see the pot's total value.

Players may use the time bank to request extra time. In cash games, your time bank on each table will be 30 seconds, but it will increase by 10 seconds for every 50 hands into which you are dealt at that table.

No, it doesn't. If you play your hand to the showdown and you hold the winning hand, it will always automatically be shown. This feature protects you from accidentally mucking a winner.

Click the link below to request a hand history.

Request Hand Histories

Alternatively, on the desktop client, click on the dealer tray and select ‘Email Hand History…. You can request up to your last 200 hands, your hand histories for a period of time, all the hands you played in a tournament, or any specific single hand. Note however that we do not archive play money or freeroll tournament hand histories, and as such, these hands are not available to be requested. You can also request a hand history from the ‘Tools’ menu in the main lobby. Look for ‘Get Hand History’, under the ‘History & Stats’ section.

We also offer an ‘Instant Hand History’ (IHH) feature at all tables on the desktop client, which will allow you (even at play money tables and in freerolls) to review your most recent hands. To launch this feature, simply click on the hand numbers at the upper left of the table. A window will open where you can see text versions of your hands. In the IHH, click the ‘Options’ button to set the Instant Hand History to save your hands to a file. You can also launch the IHH by clicking the Dealer Chip Tray or ‘Options’ button at the top of the table, and selecting ‘Instant Hand History.’

You will find a ‘Visualize’ button in the IHH which you can use to replay a hand visually in a new window. You can also ‘replay’ the most recent hand by clicking the red button next to the hand numbers on the table.

To request any hand history on mobile, access ‘Settings & Tools’ via the ‘More’ menu then select ‘Hand History’, under the ‘Requests’ section.

Follow this link to request your poker statistics.

Request statistics

If available in your region, you can also login to your account through our website. From the ‘Account’ menu, you can view your history. Alternatively, using the desktop client, click on the dealer tray or ‘Options’ at the table and select ‘Request statistics’. You can request statistics for a number of your most recent hands. You can also request statistics by opening the ‘Tools’ menu on the right side of the lobby, then clicking on ‘History & Stats’ > ‘Get Statistics’.

Please note that statistics are not available for play money hands, which are not stored in the database.

The Stars Rewards program gives you the opportunity to receive rebates on rake and additional winnings on your gaming activity. Stars Rewards is free to join and getting started is easy: look for the Stars Rewards widget in our software and click on the ‘Start’ button to opt in and start earning rewards.

Once opted-in you will earn reward points for your real money gaming activity, which will fill progress bars to win Chests filled with rewards personalised to you and the games you enjoy playing the most. Chests may also contain StarsCoin, which can be used to buy merchandise in the Rewards Store, or to enter certain tournaments and promotions. Visit the Stars Rewards page to learn more.

If you have received a bonus, for example when making use of our 100% first deposit bonus up to $600, it will be unlocked as you earn redemption points; bonus cash may be withdrawn once you have earned the required amount of redemption points. Unless stated otherwise, you will earn 5 redemption points for every $1 you pay in rake or tournament fees.

Please note that redemption points will not be earned at pot-limit or no-limit tables with blinds of $5/$10 or higher, 8-game tables with stakes of $20/$40 or higher, or other limit games with stakes of $20/$40 or higher.

This indicates that you have made a note about this player in the past, and it is stored for your viewing. There are even customizable color codes available for your notes!

Yes. We are happy for friends, relatives, and acquaintances to play at the same table as each other. However, when you do so, you are expected to play just as competitively against your friend as you would against any other player, and you must not share any information about the cards that you hold with them or make any playing agreements in secret (doing so is collusion, which is strictly prohibited).

If you have an agreement to share a bankroll, stake, or split profits with your friend, then in the interest of game integrity you must not play at the same cash game table or in the same Sit & Go tournament.

Players who live in the same household, whatever their relationship, must not play at the same cash game table or in the same Sit & Go tournament. In some cases, this restriction will be imposed automatically by the game software.

The betting structure for a particular game sets the limits for how much you are allowed to bet each time it’s your turn to act, and in the case of the CAP games, how much you can bet in total on each hand.

In poker games with a no limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise by any amount up to and including their full stack (the total number of chips they possess at any given time) in any betting round, whenever it is their turn to act. In poker games with a pot limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise by any amount up to and including the size of the total pot at that time. In poker games with a fixed limit betting structure, each player can choose to call, bet or raise, but only by a fixed amount. The fixed amount for any given betting round is set in advance, and can be found below.

In No Limit and Pot Limit games, the minimum bet will be equal to the big blind. However, our games treat the big blind as a raise of the small blind. That means that pre-flop, any raise in an unopened pot that is equal to or greater than the small blind reopens the action.

CAP games limit the amount each player can wager per hand. Once that limit is reached, the player is treated as all-in.

The betting cap is the same for every player, so all players who start the hand with stack sizes equal to or greater than the cap will end up all-in after wagering the same amount. Players who start the hand with a stack size smaller than the cap will be treated as all-in when they have wagered their entire stack.

All our games use a standard 52-card poker deck, which is shuffled before the start of each hand, and set.

In draw games, if the original 52 card deck is insufficient to allow a player to draw the number of cards requested, the remaining deck and all of the cards discarded by players previously (including those discarded by players on the current drawing round) are shuffled together to make a new deck.

Once a reshuffle has occurred, the server will prevent a player from receiving back any specific card he has previously discarded.

In general players are expected to be seated with the purpose of playing. There is a limit of two seating attempts per table without playing during any six hour period. At tables with more than two seats:

- It is acceptable to be seated but occasionally deny action in certain circumstances, such as being seated to help start a new ring game but not wanting to play heads-up.

- It is not acceptable to remain sitting out at a table (especially an active one) waiting for one of only a few preferred opponents to arrive or sit in.

- In general, seated players are expected to accept action much more often than they refuse it.

Additionally, when playing mixed games like HORSE, HOSE, 8-Game, etc., players are expected to participate in all of the games in the rotation. Players should not take extraordinary measures to avoid playing specific games that are included in the rotation. While it is acceptable to take necessary breaks more often while less preferred games are being dealt, or to join the game when a more preferred game is being dealt, it is not acceptable to systematically avoid playing a particular game or games. Repeated violations may result in the temporary or permanent loss of playing privileges.

Failure to abide by these rules after warnings may result in the temporary or permanent suspension of playing privileges.

All poker games, including those played on the Home Games platform, must be played for the true, advertised stakes of the game. Using play money or low stakes to represent other stakes is against the rules.

You can choose to use the live chat or voice chat function where it is available. We do not actively monitor chat, and you play at tables with chat enabled at your own risk. Certain forms and topics of chat are not allowed. Players engaging in offensive chat will be subject to a chat warning or a suspension of their chat privileges, or any other penalty permitted by law and/or our Terms of Service. Use of the table Chat feature should be done at the player's discretion, and is subject to compliance with our chat rules and User Agreement.

Profanity/Abuse: We do not permit profane, vulgar, racist or abusive/insulting chat in our chat windows. We do have a feature by which certain profane or otherwise unacceptable words are asterisked out; a filtered word is one that has been deemed unacceptable on our site. Players attempting to bypass the filter may also be subject to a warning or suspension of chat privileges.

Begging/Solicitation: We do not permit players to repeatedly ask for chips, whether Play Money or real money. No solicitation is permitted in any poker game at any time. There are facilities in place to prevent many instances of solicitation.

Play Money Chip Sales: Players are not permitted to engage in any discussion regarding the sale of Play Money chips within our chat facilities. Any such discussion, including the offer to buy or sell play money in chat, is grounds for warning or revocation.

Flooding: The sending of multiple and frequent messages to the chat window in order to drown out legitimate chat is forbidden.

Non-English chat: We are aware that our players are from around the world, and that for many of them English is not their first language. However, at this time our policy on most tables is that English is the only language allowed to be used in chat. Trivial exceptions (e.g. ‘Salut!’, ‘gracias’) are acceptable. On a small number of tables and in a small number of regional tournaments, chat may be allowed in a particular language and in English. These tables and tournaments will be clearly labeled. If you are not comfortable with non-English chat, please do not join these tables or tournaments.

Commercial Use: It is strictly prohibited for a User to use Chat for any commercial use whatsoever, including making any statements which promote any service or product of any party except ours.

Malicious Behavior: It is strictly prohibited for a User to use Chat for any malicious or offensive behavior, including but not limited to collusion, fraud, spam, and/or harassment. Users shall not make statements about us that are untrue or would reasonably be considered to be derogatory or critical. Users should be generally aware of the feelings of other customers and our staff and Chat Moderators, and should act in a respectful manner.

Additionally, you may not make any chat comments which may affect the play of any hand or tournament, even if you are an observer. There are two exceptions to this rule:

1. In cash game hands which are heads up (everyone else has folded, or the hand started with two players) the two players involved may chat about the hand as they wish.
2. In tournaments which are heads up (everyone else has been knocked out of the tournament, or the tournament started with two players), the two players involved may chat about the hand as they wish.

We do not actively monitor chat at the tables, though we can review chat logs after the fact. Warnings or suspensions of chat privileges for a time period may be issued as a result of chat policy violations. 

To report chat issues from the table, you must be seated at that table. Depending on the table theme you are using, you will either need to click ‘Table’ in the upper left corner, the ‘Options’ button, or dealer tray at top of the table, before clicking the ‘Report Chat’ button. Then you can type in a message (include copy of the Stars ID / chat you wish to report, plus brief description, Then click the ‘Report Chat’ button.

To report chat from the desktop lobby, open the ‘Help’ menu on the right-hand side and select ‘Contact Support’, then click the button labelled ‘Open Contact Support Form’. On mobile, access ‘Settings & Tools’ via the ‘More’ menu, then tap ‘Contact Support’. Please make sure that you complete all the field requirements for the issue you are reporting including:

Language (i.e. English, French, etc)

• Category: Chat
• Sub-category: Report chat abuser / General chat question / Complaints
• Subject line (i.e. offensive comments)
• Type your message (include copy of Player ID / chat you wish to report)
• Then click the green ‘Send’ button to submit your report.

We encourage players to help us be our eyes and ears. The cooperation of our players is a critical part of making our tables a fun experience for all. Please do not engage in retaliatory chat; as this will likely result in both users’ chat being suspended.

You can block an individual player's messages from coming to you by right-clicking on the player's icon and selecting ‘Block Chat’.

Chat rules are generally not enforced in Home Games.

Image options are found in the ‘Account’ menu of the desktop lobby. Obscene or inappropriate images are not permitted, nor are images that contain URLs. Images are therefore subject to review and once submitted may not appear on your account for several days.

On mobile, you can upload an image but it is not possible to choose an image from our gallery. Follow this link to upload an image from your device.

From the ‘Settings’ menu of the desktop lobby, select ‘Table Appearance’ > ‘Table Display’ and unselect ‘Show Player Images’. This will turn off images the next time you join or watch a poker game. You can turn images back on at any time by following the instructions above and ensuring a check mark is placed beside ‘Show Player Images’ in that menu.

On the desktop client, you can also block an individual player's image from showing to you by right-clicking on the player's icon and selecting ‘Block Image’.

Yes, you may change your image by selecting ‘Change Image’ from the Account menu on the desktop client. However, you can only change your custom image a limited number of times, so we recommend that you consider your choice carefully if you choose to submit a new custom image.

We make the security of our games a top priority, and use state-of-the-art technology to protect the integrity of our games.

Collusion and chip-dumping are strictly prohibited, and any players who are involved in any kind of bankroll sharing agreement may not play at the same cash game table or in the same Sit & Go tournament. Unfair play, such as collusion, multiple account abuse, and use of prohibited programs may result in penalties at our discretion. These penalties may include warnings, restrictions on playing with certain other players, seizure of funds, and the closing of your Stars Account.

We maintain a list of prohibited software programs and services on our Third Party Tools and Services FAQ page. You may not use any of the programs or services on the “prohibited” list while the client is running. The list is not exhaustive, and we reserve the right to add to or modify the list at any time. We will take steps to detect and prevent all forms of cheating, which may include examination of your account, hand histories, and programs running concurrently with our software.

In the event that we deem that a User has engaged or attempted to engage in unfair play, including without limitation, engaging in any of the activities set forth above or any other game manipulation, we shall be entitled to take such action as we see fit, as described in our Terms of Service. Please visit our Security page for more. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us.

We do not use any house players or robots. We do not hire any individuals to play on our site.

No. Any employee or contractor who has access to inside information (player records, hidden card hand histories, etc.) may not play on our site. This is to prevent any possible abuse of that inside information. In fact, the immediate relatives of such people also may not play on our site either.

Those people (and all members of Team PokerStars Pro) are contracted by us to be ambassadors at the live poker tournaments they play throughout the world. They are also playing poker online, as many players asked us to provide them an opportunity to play poker against celebrity players. These players have absolutely no access to any more information than any other player. They are clearly identified, and you can decide whether you want to play at the same table as these players or not.

There is no requirement for these players to play any set number of hours, and their compensation does not depend on how much or how little they play on our site. Finally, when playing cash games and tournaments, members of Team PokerStars Pro play with their own money, with the exception of certain promotional events. We have no vested interest in whether they win or lose in those events.

You may view upcoming poker tournaments by selecting ‘Tournaments’ in the main lobby. You will see all poker tournaments in progress (‘Running’ or ‘Late Reg.’), recently completed poker tournaments (‘Completed’), and poker tournaments which begin soon (‘Registering’ or ‘Announced’). For more information on any tourney, simply click on it.

If a poker tournament is in the ‘Registering’ or ‘Late Reg’ state, highlight that tournament in the desktop client by clicking on it, then click on the ‘Tourney Lobby’ button. Once the Tournament Lobby screen opens, click on ‘Register’. You will need to log-in if you have not already done so for this session. Some tournaments may allow you to register directly from the main lobby once you have highlighted the event. To register using the mobile app, simply select the tournament then tap the ‘Register’ button.

Yes, you are welcome to play in multiple cash games and tournaments simultaneously. For some players, this is one of the greatest features of online poker. In the interest of fairness to all players, we ask that if you do play multiple tables, you act promptly when it is your turn in either poker game. We currently have a limit of 24 cash game tables at once on the desktop client, and you can also play an unlimited number of tournaments. Using the mobile app, it’s possible to play on up to four tables simultaneously on iPhone, iPod Touch and Android devices, and on up to five tables at once using an iPad.

Click the link below to request your tournament information. You may select a number of recent tournaments in which you participated, or any specific poker tournament, by event number.

Get tournament information

All tournament players are given a ‘Time Bank’ at the beginning of the tournament. If a player needs a longer than normal time to decide on an action, the player can withdraw from the Time Bank, which depletes as the player uses it in the poker game. To use the Time Bank you should click on the ‘TIME’ button which appears after you receive the first time warning in the chat window. Please note that once you expend your Time Bank, it cannot be replenished, either automatically or by our staff, so please use your Time Bank accordingly.

When a poker tournament needs to be cancelled because of a server crash or some other reason, players will be compensated according to the poker tournament cancellation policy on our Tournament Rules page.

It depends on the type of event.

• If the target event is ‘ticket based,’ then you can unregister from that event and use the Ticket to play in another, similar event. You can see your tickets by clicking on ‘Tools’ in the vertical menu on the right side of the lobby, and then ‘My Games & Tickets’ and ‘Tournament Tickets’. All tickets have an expiry date, and have zero value once the expiry date has passed. All tickets have an expiry date, and have zero value once the expiry date has passed.  
  
  Please note that some promotional events only have one target event, so if you qualify and cannot play, you will receive no compensation for missing the event.  To be fair to others, we ask that you do not play in qualifying tournaments if you do not believe you will be able to play in the target event.
• If you qualified for a real money poker buy-in event, you can unregister and receive special currency, T-Money (Tournament Money), which are credits you can use to buy into other similar events. For more information about T-Money, and where they may be used, please see the Tournament Rules page.
• If you qualify for a live tournament, in many cases you must play the tournament you qualify for.  Please be sure to read the rules before you attempt to qualify.

Absolutely! Install your free poker software and start playing poker right away. Our simple and easy poker download will have you playing in just minutes!

You will be given at least 30,000 chips to start with, and can top up your balance with 12,500 chips for free, every four hours. This option is available when confirming your buy-in as you take your seat in play chip ring games, when registering to a play chip tournament, within the Cashier, or on the home screen of the mobile app. Just look for the ‘Refill Play Money Chips’ or ‘Free Chips’ options.

The play money poker tables can be identified by the tables beginning with the word 'Fun'. All play money tables are displayed by clicking the 'Play Money' filter area. If you are using tab controls instead of filters on the desktop client and do not see any play money tables listed, it's possible that you have blocked them from showing. To check this, look under the 'Settings' menu. On mobile, you can easily switch between Real Money and Play Money using the buttons at the top of the lobby screen.

Yes you can - providing Play Money purchases are available from your region! If you want to increase your Play Money balance to take part in high-stakes Play Money tournaments or cash games, you can purchase Play Money chips via the link below.

Buy Play Money Chips

Play Money chips are designed for entertainment, as well as to help beginners and intermediate players get familiar with poker rules, tournaments and cash games. As the name implies, Play Money chips have no monetary value, and cannot be withdrawn, sold or converted into real money.

Chips can only be purchased through the 'Buy Play Money Chips' option. Selling or buying Play Money chips from other players or sites is prohibited. Please refer to our Online Poker Site Terms of Service for more details.

Sorry, no. We have a very strict no-return policy on all Play Money chips purchased.

We are pleased to offer a variety of payment methods, including credit cards, e-wallets and bank transfers. You will be able to see the payment methods available for your country once you have selected your Play Money chip bundle, and have proceeded to the checkout.

For assistance in purchasing Play Money chips from the desktop version or from a mobile application downloaded from our website, please contact Support. For Mobile Apps downloaded from the Apple store or Google Play store please contact your service provider directly.

Due to a change in Russian payments legislation additional information may be required before purchases can be made with these payment methods.

For Yandex.Money:  if not already provided, the following information is now required:  full name, number and date of issue of internal Russian passport and mobile phone number.  Further information can be found on the Yandex.Money website.

For Qiwi Wallet:  if not already provided, the following information is now required:  full name, date of birth, number of internal Russian passport.

Purchases of Play Money chips will appear on your statement (where applicable) as ‘Stars PM’. In-App mobile purchases will appear as ‘Mediaplay Ltd’ for Android and as ‘Stars Mobile Ltd’ for iOS.

To receive your Play Money purchase history, please contact Support with the subject line ‘Play Money Purchase History’.

Your purchase has been successful if your payment method has been debited, Play Money chips have been credited to your Stars Account and you have received confirmation of successful purchase by email.

Check that you received a confirmation email. If you have received the email, please send proof of payment and transaction information to Support for further assistance.

Of course! You are under no obligation to play for real money, but if you want to, we have a wide variety of games and tournaments available.  The first step is to deposit some funds into your Stars Account.

The methods available for depositing real money into your account vary depending on your location.  For information on how to make a deposit, please visit our Playing With Real Money page. Please note that due to legal restrictions, real money play is not allowed from some locations.

Many banks are adopting a policy against playing poker on the internet, considering it too high risk. You may want to contact your bank regarding their policy on the matter.

We have many other secure deposit methods. Please visit our Playing with real money page for additional information. To ask for assistance in depositing, please contact Support.  Please note that this service may not be available for all countries or languages.

We will never ask you to send credit card details by email. Customers should never send their credit card number or three-digit card security code via email.

Yes, you can. To transfer real poker money, open the desktop Cashier and then ‘Transfer To Player’. Transfers are subject to Security department approval, and may be subject to delay.  In some cases, other information or confirmation may be required. Players from some locations may not be able to transfer funds or receive transferred funds due to local laws.

We are proud that, under special banking arrangements, an amount covering the total of all players' account balances is held in segregated accounts, not used for any operational expenses. These segregated accounts are managed by one of Europe's leading financial services groups. These arrangements ensure that we can at all times fulfil its obligations towards its players, and provides further reassurance that players' funds are always secure with us.

We are proud of everything we've done to make your playing experience as safe and enjoyable as possible. That means assembling the best team possible in every department, whether it's software and development, customer service, or integrity assurance. This commitment has made us the leading site in the world, with the largest selection of poker cash games and tournaments.

A Star Code is used as a way for you to opt in for promotions and receive bonuses, tournament tickets, special rewards and more by entering a code in the desktop software.

A Star Code is offered to selected players for exclusive promotions. If you are eligible for a Star Code offer from us we will get in touch via email, SMS or pop-up message, within the software.

If you have not 'opted in' to receive marketing messages then you may not receive communications containing a Star Code.

You need to be logged into your Stars Account.

Desktop users: Click ‘Tools’ > ‘Star Code’ and a box will appear, where you can enter your code.

Mobile Android™ users: Access the extended menu on your Android™ device, choose ‘Settings & Tools’ > ‘Account’ > ‘Enter Star Code’, and enter the relevant code.

Please note it is not currently possible to enter a Star Code on an iOS mobile device.

You will receive a pop-up message within a few minutes, confirming that your Star Code entry has worked.

Some Star Code examples can be used in combination. If you are eligible for multiple offers, you will get different Star Codes, which will be explained in the accompanying communication from us.

Please be patient and do not enter the code again. When the system is particularly busy it may take slightly longer to process your Star Code entry. If more than 30 minutes have passed and you have not received any confirmation, or if you have any other problems using a Star Code, please contact Support, who will be happy to assist.

Note that you can check your Bonus history and tournament tickets in the ‘My Stars’ menu.

Normally a Star Code must be used in a specific timeframe. We will inform you about the validity period of a Star Code when we communicate it to you.