Online Poker Site GGPoker Slammed For Removing Player Results

The online poker site GGPoker has been criticized for the decision to stop sharing player results, which it believes will increase its players' security and gaming experience.

The tracking site, SharkScope, shared the news yesterday, September 5. They said: "GG Poker has disabled result tracking! Unfortunately, without warning GGPoker has decided to prevent us from tracking their tournament results for the apparent reasons of optimizing player experience and increasing security. 

"This has disabled features enjoyed by tens of thousands of GG players each month and has made player security significantly worse. Over our 20-year lifespan, SharkScope has been used countless times to detect cheating and collusive behaviors on numerous networks and acts as a significant deterrent for unfair behavior. All the other 80+ poker sites have determined at length that our services are significantly positive to the poker ecosystem, enhancing player experience and allowing players to make more informed decisions through transparent assessment of their results.

"We believe there may still be a chance to change their minds so if you value our service on GG we strongly suggest you contact their support to explain how valuable you find our services and how important they are to you when selecting what poker site you play on."

Decision Leads to Controversy

Poker players use SharkScope to check recent results and statistics from online poker tournaments at a plethora of poker sites, with more than 80 websites at their disposal allowing SharkScope to track the results of their tournaments. Players have expressed disappointment in the news, lauding it as "very disappointing".

Other leading poker sites, such as PokerStars, allow players to hide their results from other players but the results would still be available on the SharkScope platform. GGPoker, on the other, only allows you to see players who have finished in the money in tournaments on their database, PokerCraft.

"Very disappointing @GGPoker. SharkScope is used by recreational and serious players alike," said Jason. Another user added, "Gutted GG is not allowing SharkScope tracking. I really hope they reconsider this position."

Potential Co-ordinated Play

Fears are now growing of mass collusion in poker tournaments on the site, with Gilles Simon that a flurry of newly registered players had joined tournaments and employed a tanking strategy to get in the money. Simon, who finished second place in the WSOP Online only days ago, urges GGPoker to reconsider their decision.

He wrote; "This is what happens when @GGPoker removes the option for SharkScope to track their tourneys. All new accounts, all max tanking until they're in the money - looks like an insane success ratio, too. And this update was supposed to be for security? I really hope they revert ASAP."

Tanking in poker is a strategy used in online poker when players are near the cash bubble. It involves taking as much time as possible to play each of their hands, which can cause frustration to legitimate players. Simon's theory signals he believes it was a coordinated strategy among these accounts, where one or more people are creating new profiles and deploying this tactic to cash out in the tournament with profit.