Merge Network

[ktx49]

There is alot of shady stuff happening on the biggest site left in the USA, Merge, and I am receiving zero help from people who seem all to willing to look the other way, as long as they:

a. have a place to play real money poker

b. can cash out any winnings

I'm not wanting to post too many specifics just yet, but I wanted to introduce myself here first since this site is basically devoted to outting and stopping this kind of thing in the poker community....I want to know if you guys have any suggestions or anyone else has brought to you complaints about merge.

anyways what a great site, I wish more people cared about the game the way you do.

[Dan Druff]

There is alot of shady stuff happening on the biggest site left in the USA, Merge, and I am receiving zero help from people who seem all to willing to look the other way, as long as they:

a. have a place to play real money poker

b. can cash out any winnings

I'm not wanting to post too many specifics just yet, but I wanted to introduce myself here first since this site is basically devoted to outting and stopping this kind of thing in the poker community....I want to know if you guys have any suggestions or anyone else has brought to you complaints about merge.

anyways what a great site, I wish more people cared about the game the way you do.

I would be very interested to hear your specifics.

I play on Merge all the time, and I would really like to know of any problems you've experienced.

Are you sure that the problems are from Merge itself, or perhaps just from a shady skin?

For example, Lock Poker is a TERRIBLE skin, but others on Merge are much better, in my experience.

So go ahead... let's hear what you have to say.

[ktx49]

ok if you want to talk about the business side of things, and get into skins etc....merge is a very shady site when dealing with affiliates etc....if you want to learn more about just this check out the forums @ http://www.pokeraffiliatelistings.com and do some research.

in regards to LOCK, again i suggest you check out the forums on PAL.... apparently lock/BCP/etc = Merge

if you want to talk about game security/integrity, where do i begin?

first of all, there is ZERO internal security....other than a few basic ways of automatically flagging accounts for their own fraud prevention purposes, there is NOTHING being done to make the games secure. nothing. ...if nobody reports it, then nothing is done about it.

there is a huge issue with collusion and feeders on merge.......mostly in MTTs. nothing new here, I just think people have forgetten how damaging this type of cheating can be in the smaller fields found on networks like merge.

[ktx49]

oh and there is something strange going on with the recent story uncovered on 2+2 about accounts being backed with tournament tickets only...via felstars(yup)....never using cash not even to add on or rebuy.....have you at least heard of this issue?

[chinamaniac]

I have a story to type up after my game

[ktx49]

and after reading your sticky:

These are the types of things I would like to see here:

- Poker sites closing accounts unjustly and/or without proper proof of wrongdoing

for this forum i guess i could include this in this thread....there are at least two confirmed reports of people who have had their accounts closed by merge after they contacted the KGC and filed a complaint regarding deposit or withdrawal issues...and merge basically admitted as much....telling the player they have the right to refuse their business and close their accounts without notifice or justifcation. and no, for the record, I was not one of these people.

these are the kind of things that point to a site run by the wrong type of people, and in the wrong manner.

[Dan Druff]

I have a story to type up after my game

I'm interested to hear this.

[Dan Druff]

ok if you want to talk about the business side of things, and get into skins etc....merge is a very shady site when dealing with affiliates etc....if you want to learn more about just this check out the forums @ http://www.pokeraffiliatelistings.com and do some research.

in regards to LOCK, again i suggest you check out the forums on PAL.... apparently lock/BCP/etc = Merge

if you want to talk about game security/integrity, where do i begin?

first of all, there is ZERO internal security....other than a few basic ways of automatically flagging accounts for their own fraud prevention purposes, there is NOTHING being done to make the games secure. nothing. ...if nobody reports it, then nothing is done about it.

there is a huge issue with collusion and feeders on merge.......mostly in MTTs. nothing new here, I just think people have forgetten how damaging this type of cheating can be in the smaller fields found on networks like merge.

That pokeraffiliatelistings forum is a jumbled mess. Can you direct me to the specific threads you're talking about?

I believe you about the security problems. Anyone who thinks that the Merge Network employs a crack security team is kidding themself. It's probably just 1 or 2 dudes who are overwhelmed with complaints (some legit, many bogus), and they probably respond to this by just dismissing them all unless there's smoking gun proof.

I also believe you about the collusion. While I haven't seen much of this at my games, I know that collusion is more common at NL than limit, so that's probably why. Also, my games are a smaller pool of players, so it's hard for two total unknowns to show up and collude without the smart regulars figuring it out.

What do you mean Lock/BCP/etc = Merge? I mean, yeah, they're on the network, but Lock and Blackchip Poker are two very different companies, and neither are affiliated at all with Merge ownership, to my knowledge. I got some information awhile back that the Merge network owned Carbon, but someone told me recently that they split off into two different companies.

From what I've seen, Merge's approach to doing business has been, "We set this thing up. Now play and leave us the fuck alone." They don't seem particularly interested in rule enforcement, and the player poaching war between skins is starting to resemble the Wild West. (I will say, however, that I have recent information that they're finally clamping down on poaching -- or at least they're threatening this.)

They also don't seem particularly interested in getting involved when their skins do shady things, which is why Lock Poker remains on the network.

I don't know about the Feltstars thing you're referring to. Can you link that, too?

Bottom line with Merge, as far as I'm concerned:

1) Choose your skin carefully. Stay away from any with a bad or questionable reputation. Make sure the skin you're using doesn't have cashout issues.

2) Don't keep too much money on there. I wouldn't be surprised if they got busted at any point and crashed to the ground Full Tilt style. I also question whether they really have the player money on deposit.

3) If you're an affiliate, accept the fact that, like the players, you can get fucked over at any time.

4) Understand its limitations and realize that, as flawed as it is, it's still the only realistic option for US players at the moment. Everything else is terrible for so many different reasons.