You can read our Terms of Service here.
No. In protection of the game’s integrity, and players’ account security; you are only permitted one Stars Account. Instead, please follow the instructions below.
We have a feature to help players who have forgotten their password. If you’re using the Mobile app, simply tap the ‘Forgot Password or Username’ prompt at login and follow the on-screen instructions. When using the desktop client:
If you need further assistance, please contact Support. Please include the following details and include old/alternate addresses - the more information the better!
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 our software. We recommend that you change your password regularly.
No. In protection of the game’s integrity, and players’ account security; you are only permitted one account. Instead, please follow the instructions below.
This is very common and it is no problem at all. On the mobile software, simply tap the ‘Forgot Password or Username’ prompt at login and follow the on-screen instructions. On desktop, you can log in using your registered email address, after which you will be able to see your Username in the main lobby.
Remember, if you get stuck at any point, please feel free to contact Support - we are happy to help! To help us assist you first time around, please include the following, as well as any old/alternate email addresses related to your Stars Account:
First, turn off all of your computer and network equipment, then restart it and try to log-in again
If this fails, check the date on your computer’s calendar to ensure the current date and year is set properly.
Next, if you have a firewall or similar software (i.e. proxy or websense filter/parental control) installed, check it is configured correctly to allow our software to access the Internet.
If the above fails, please provide us with the exact error message you are receiving and let us know what firewall or security software is installed on your computer.
It would also be helpful if you send us the program log files from your computer, as these will help our Technical Specialists to determine the nature of your connection problems. Please contact Support if you need any assistance locating or sending the log files.
If you are disconnected, and therefore unable to act on your hand while having chips invested in the pot in a ring game, you may be given extra time to reconnect. The exact amount of extra time given depends on the type of game and the size of the pot at the time of your disconnection. However, if you do not reconnect during this time, your hand will be folded, regardless of your investment in the pot or the strength of your hand.
A player is allotted 15 seconds to act in fixed limit games and 18 seconds to act in Pot Limit and No Limit poker games. A warning message is displayed in the chat box when there are seven seconds left to act in a Fixed Limit game and eight seconds left to act in a Pot Limit or No Limit game. If there was a disconnect and a player returned before the timeout, he or she receives at least 10 seconds to act.
If a player failed to act within the allotted time while being connected, the hand is folded by the system.
As an important security feature, all Stars Accounts need to be associated with a validated email address. Should you ever need to recover your username and/or your password it is important we know beyond doubt that it is the actual account owner who is attempting to access the account.
Likewise, should you need information or support specific to your account; we need to know we are communicating with you, not someone pretending to be you. You need to validate your email address, as this is where all important communication from us will be sent.
To ensure that your email address was typed in correctly, and that we have a safe way of communicating with you, a validation code is sent to your email both when you initially register your account, as well as every time you change the email address on your account.
After registering your account or changing your email address, an email was sent to you, with an email validation code. You will need to find and open this email, in your email inbox.
If you did not receive this code, please contact Support.
After you have found the validation code in your email inbox, open the desktop client and select
'Account -> ‘Email'. You will then be able to validate your email address using the code provided.
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, or simply within the Cashier. Just look for the ‘Refill Play Money Chips’ option
As you may know, the total number of play money Sit & Go tournaments that may be running at any one time is limited. In the past some very fast players had been signing up for many events, as fast as they would appear on the system, and were entering far more events than they could realistically play.
As there are a limited number of seats, this practice was making it difficult for some players to get into the tournament of their choice during peak periods. We have put in place a limit of three Sit & Go tournaments and with these limits in place, we believe it will be easier for all players to find and enter the games they want.
Similarly, there is also a limit of a maximum of five ring game tables at the same time.
That said, there is no maximum limit on how many Multi-Table Tournaments you may participate in at any given time.
Our goal is to create the most realistic online poker room experience possible, and this commitment extends to our Play Money offerings. In our Ring Games, a small portion of the pot is taken from every hand that goes past the first betting round. In our tournaments, the fee consists of a small percentage of the buy-in and is paid upon registration.
This indicates that you have made a note about this player in the past, and it is stored for your viewing.
No, it doesn't. If you play your hand to the showdown and you hold the winning hand, it will be always automatically shown. This feature protects you from accidentally mucking a winning hand.
At any table, the full amount of the pot, including all current bets, is always displayed numerically above the dealer's tray or on 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.
If a 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.
We have just the feature you are looking for! If you ever have difficulty finding the lobby of a Tournament you are registered for, or playing in, to locate it, go to the Lobby screen of the desktop client and select: ‘Tools’ > ‘My Games’ > ‘Registered in Tournaments’ (or just press the Ctrl and R buttons at the same time). All tournaments you are registered in will then be displayed. Just select one and you will be taken to the Tournament Lobby.
Sitting Out in tournaments is permitted at any time - for good reasons. Any player participating in a tournament is permitted to fold every hand if they choose, and Sitting Out is no different from folding every hand.
We have a dedicated Tournaments FAQ page. Click here to find out more.
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 ring games, you can purchase Play Money chips as follows:
Desktop: From the main menu, click on the ‘Buy Chips’ button or on ‘Tools’ > ‘Buy Play Money Chips’. You may also click on the ‘Buy Play Chips’ button when at the table.
Mobile: Tap on the ‘Buy Play Money Chips’ button.
Play Money chips are designed for entertainment, as well as to help beginners and intermediate players get familiar with poker rules, tournaments and ring games. As the name implies, Play Money chips have no monetary value, and cannot be cashed out, 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 PokerStars 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.
Purchases of Play Money chips will appear on your statement (where applicable) as 'PokerStars PM'. In-App mobile purchases will appear as 'Mediaplay Ltd' for Android and as 'Rational Social Projects 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 from us.
Certain forms and topics of chat are not allowed. Players engaging in offensive chat will be subject to a chat warning or a revocation of their chat privileges. Chat that is not permitted includes (but is not limited to):
Profanity: We do not permit profane, vulgar, racist or abusive/insulting chat in our chat windows. We do have a feature by which certain profane words are asterisked out. A filtered word is one that has been deemed unacceptable on our poker site. Players attempting to bypass the filter may also be subject to a warning or revocation.
Begging/Solicitation: We do not permit players to beg or panhandle 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 is that English is the only language allowed to be used in chat.
We do not tolerate abusive or obscene language at the tables. Please report any offensive chat to Support. We encourage players to help us be our eyes and ears. Although we monitor the tables as much as possible, the cooperation of our players is a critical part of making online poker a fun experience for all. Please do not engage in retaliatory chat; this will only likely result in both user's chat being revoked.
We are aware that our players are from around the world, and that for many of them English is not the first language. However, at this time our policy only allows for English to be spoken at the tables.
As players are free to choose any table, we do have a rule which forbids anyone from following another player between tables with intention to harass them.
If someone is stalking you, you can report it by contacting Support with as much information as you can give about the issue.
If you cannot see the chat of other players, you may have accidentally modified some of the chat visibility options in your account:
If the chat of only one player is blocked, to unblock it right-click their image icon and remove the check mark next to the 'Block Chat' option.
If you cannot see any chat – including your own – you have turned off chat. To turn it back on, click the chip tray or 'Options' button on the table (this will cause an 'Options' window to pop-up) and place a check mark in the 'Show player messages' box.
If the chat of observers is blocked, to unblock it, click the chip tray on the table and place a check mark in the 'Show observer messages' box.
If dealer chat is blocked, click the chip tray on the table and update the 'Dealer Messages' option from 'Silent' to 'Normal' or 'Everything.'
In order to resolve this, you will need further information from Support. Please contact Support with a description of the problem.
A Star Code is used as a way for you to opt in for promotions and receive tournament tickets and more by entering a code in our software.
A Star Code is offered to selected players for exclusive promotions. If you are eligible for a Star Code offer 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. In the desktop client, click ‘Tools’ > ‘Star Code’ and a box will appear, where you can enter your code. Mobile users can access ‘Settings & Tools’ via the ‘More’ menu, then tap on ‘Account’ > ‘Enter Star Code’.
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.
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.
Have a question we haven't covered? Our customer service team is standing by, 24 hours a day. Contact Support with any queries.
* In case of disputes, management’s decision will be final.