Auto Sit-Out
Hi,
PokerStars has an exceptionally annoying feature where they automatically activates a player's time bank if that player has any money in the pot (i.e. sitting in the blinds or any table with antes). I have no idea why this feature was ever implemented; most players, including myself, value the time bank much more than some random blind or ante. Furthermore, if we're not available to respond to the hand in time for the activation, we likely won't be available in the next 15 seconds to respond. We'll just be wasting the time bank for no reason, since the blinds/ante will be lost anyways. PokerStars staff may have assumed that automatic activation may save a player money if he or she is sitting at their computer and was simply blithely unaware of being in a hand.
I've contacted them requesting that players have the option to disable this automatic feature. In my opinion, a player should retain the right regarding how and when to activate their time bank. A more logical implementation of this feature would have been to never activate the time bank automatically by default, and give the player the option to automatically activate when they have money in the pot. However, I understand PokerStars receives thousands of suggestions and it is likely mine has fallen by the wayside.
I was hoping Table Ninja could help resolve this issue. Your staff implemented my last suggestion of checking the auto-add on and auto-double rebuy boxes rather quickly. I was very pleased with this change, and continue to hold high faith in HEM support staff for not only reading my suggestions but implementing them in a timely fashion.
I will outline my current scenario, which every multi-tabling SNG player faces. I use SNG sensei to automatically load SNG tournaments. When the 5-minute hourly break arrives, I need to warm up food, refill my water bottle, etc. However, the 5-minute break is staggered for tournaments since it depends on when the last hand finishes. As a result, I have to usually stay a bit longer to find all my hands still in play when the break begins and fold them manually. In addition, new tournaments load during this 5 minute period and if I'm sitting in the blinds I will get timed down. Given that I load around 2-3 tournaments during this time and there is a a 2/9 chance of this happening per table, it is very likely at least one table will time down while I am not at my computer. That time bank of 0 at one table may not seem like a big deal, but it compounds on itself. Not having that time bank usually reduces time banks at other tables when a string of difficult hands come. When I have multiple waves of difficult hands, it usually results in several time outs, misclicks and reduced decision-making. Of course, I have reduced the number of tables to try and compensate for this annoyance, but I shouldn't have to. PokerStars has basically forced me to reduce tables to make up for their illogical feature.
The current 'sit out next hand' check-box in Table Ninja is a great feature. However, it fails to check this option when new tables load. It also fails to fold hands already in play. What I am suggesting is simple. Just like the feature which automatically checks the 'auto-add on' and 'auto-double rebuy' options, it would be great if there was a feature which checked the 'fold to any bet' and 'sit out next hand' options at tables (including new ones). I don't know enough about programming to grasp the difficulty of implementing such a feature, but I imagine it should be fairly straight forward or at least not be beyond the reach of your team.
Please let me know if this is a possible implementation, and if so, when it can be implemented. You can either reach me by email or reply directly to this thread.
Warm regards,
David
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