by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Apr 17, 2012 | Updated on Apr 17, 2012The world’s biggest poker site is stepping up their complaints against one of the most popular online hand tracking services. PokerStars has sent a cease and desist letter to PokerTableRatings.com (PTR), threatening further legal action unless the company stops providing customers with hand histories from the poker room.“We have told them that they must immediately cease infringing our intellectual property rights and breaching the terms and conditions of our software,” said Lee Jones, spokesperson for PokerStars’ Home Games program.PokerStars has some very clear prohibitions in their terms and conditions when it comes to using external programs for aiding play. While players are not prohibited from using tracking software, they must rely only on hands that they have personally taken part in during game play. Accessing and/or compiling information on players in other ways is considered an “Unfair Advantage” in the terms and conditions.That’s where PokerStars finds a problem with the services provided by PTR. On the site, individuals can buy millions of hand histories from specific games, stakes, and sites, including a huge selection of hands from PokerStars itself. According to PTR, they collect over 18 million hand histories each day, allowing them to have an up to date record of hands for players in any game from microstakes no limit hold’em to high stakes pot limit Omaha.The rules in place at PokerStars are designed to limit the advantage serious and professional players can gain over their casual counterparts. While PokerStars has never threatened to ban tracking software and personal data collection to the extend that sites like Bodog have, they have generally opposed an “anything goes” framework, too.Of course, PTR and the many players who use their services have differing opinions on the issue. Many cite the fact that PTR is available to all players as making the site inherently fair to all. In addition, cases of cheating have been discovered thanks to the publically collected hand histories on PTR.In any case, this isn’t likely to be the last we hear about this conflict. PokerStars has said that they are willing to follow up with legal action should PTR not immediately comply with the cease and desist order.
