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Real players, not robots
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Can I know for a fact that at Play89™ I am playing real people, flesh and blood?
Please note our chat feature - its main purpose is to let players communicate. No robot can react the way a real person does. You may also set up with a friend and play against him or her at any given time. In case you are unable to find each other, please click Settings and make sure you tick off the Show Only Players Close To My Rating box. We cannot and do not force anyone to play against a specific player.
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Saving your Play89™ pool games
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How can I watch my saved games at Play89™?
This applies for pool games for real money only. Click on Game History - a new pool table will open and along with it, a window with a list of your saved games. In case the folder, in which the saved games are supposed to be, is empty, please close that window and when another empty window opens, you will have the option to enable the Automatically Save All Games option.
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Altering sum involved, limits and other terms prior to the beginning of the pool game
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Can I be sure that no changes to the game terms are being made without my consent?
Whenever you initiate a game and someone joins you, both of you must agree upon all terms before the game can begin. Should anyone change a term, the other player will see those changes in red. Also, a delay of a couple of seconds will pass before the change is applied. This is done in order to prevent misunderstandings.
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Fun money issues
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I just ran out of fun money. How do I get more?
This assumption is one of the most common mistakes our players make. Your fun balance can never drop to 0, because as soon as it hits the $5 line, it gets automatically replenished back to $100. Therefore, if you look to the right bottom corner of the game lobby, you will see Now Playing For Real Money - you switched modes by mistake, that is all! Just click the Switch To Fun Money button, which is located right below, and resume playing.
I got disconnected in the middle of a fun money pool game when I was about to win. Why have I lost anyway?
In our fun money mode, a player, who disconnects or causes a timeout, loses the game even if he or she was leading and likely to win.
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Real money issues
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My last real money pool game got disconnected/timed out because of the opponent. Why did he or she get more money than I did?
Upon unnatural disruption of a real money game, Play89™'s automatic system analyzes the pool table state and splits the money that was frozen from both players' accounts prior to the beginning of that game. This is done according to the pool table state and the winning/losing chances of each player, respectively.
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Changing game terms
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How do I know if my potential opponent changed the game terms while negotiating?
Please note that in the negotiation window, before entering the game board screen, you must notice the terms for each game/match (especially the initial bet and game limits).
For your convenience, each time your opponent changes the terms, these changes will appear in red.
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Player's rating
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What is a player's rating?
Your level is ranked according to 5 categories: Novice, beginner, advanced, professional and master. You begin with a status of a beginner, having 5500 points on your ratings account. However, you have the opportunity to move up the ladder and become a master. Overall, a higher rank indicates a higher skill level.
*Single games are rated as 3pt matches. The purpose of this is to have money games and matches rated similarly.
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Rating Categories
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How do we calculate your rating?
It is very simple. You start off with 5500 points in your ratings account. Once you win, you gain rating points. However, after a defeat, a certain number of points will be deducted from your rating account. The number of points you win each game depends solely on your rating and the rating of your opponent. If you rank high while your opponent ranks low, and you win, you will only score a small amount of points. If you rank low while your opponent ranks high, and you win, a large amount of points are added to your account. The same is true if you lose.
So, basically, the speed by which you move up the ratings ladder depends on 2 things: your win/loss record; and your ratings relative to the ratings of your opponents. Once you have accumulated certain amount of points in your rating account and you pass certain thresholds you are promoted to different ranks. If you want to move up fast you have to win a lot, and play against better players than you. However you can also move up the ladder by playing with players of the same or lower level than yours but the ratings will improve more gradually.
Our rating categories are as follows:
| Player's Rating | Category | 1000-4000
| Novice | 4001-5500
| Beginner | 5501-6500
| Advanced | 6501-8000
| Professional | 8001-10000
| Master |
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Fun money
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My fun money balance has reached 0. What can I do to replenish it?
If it seems like your fun money balance has hit the 0 point all of a sudden, this is a simple mistake: you merely switched to real money by accident. Just click the Switch To Fun Money button, which is located in the right bottom corner of the Play89™ game lobby, below the Now Playing For Real Money button - and voilla! Your fun money balance (and rating) has been successfully restored*.
I was playing for fun money and I ran out of time, while I was ahead. How come I lost my sum involved?
Whenever playing for fun money, the player, who disconnects or runs out of time, suffers a technical loss of the game/match, regardless of the game board state.
*Note: you never run out of fun money. As soon as it reaches the lower limit of $5 or less, it will get automatically replenished back to $100.
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Real money
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I was playing for real money and my game/match got disconnected. How come my opponent received more than me?
Whenever a single game/match is not completed (player disconnects/times out for any reason), our auto resolve system analyzes the game state and splits the money accordingly.
Our game auto resolve system is based on the 8 ball software, a leader in pool analysis.
The player, who caused the disconnection, suffers a penalty upon splitting the sum involved. Also, if a player disconnects often, his or her account will be automatically put on hold and they will not be able to play until further notice. Has this happened to you, please contact us right away at support@Play89.com
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Abuse
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How do you prevent players from abusing others by stalling or disconnecting on purpose?
Whenever a player disconnects/times out (real money mode), he or she automatically pays a penalty by win/lose percentages.
Moreover, Play89™ system recognizes and blocks players who frequently disconnect/cause a timeout.
This means that a player, who disconnects often, will be risking his or her account being automatically banned from the site by our system.
How do you control players that cheat, curse and/or cause general dismay to others?
Play89™ does everything in its power to prevent any kind of abusive behavior. Most of the time, we do locate and punish players, who are using foul tactics in order to gain unlawful advantage or for any other purpose.
However, every day, an increasing number of new players is joining the site, and along with them, some "rotten apples" as well. Therefore, our work to prevent and eradicate this behavior is an ongoing, 24/7/365 struggle (you should note that most of this behavior is to be found on our "fun" mode, for obvious reasons).
In spite of all that, we can assure you that Play89™ is better handled than any other site on the net today and far more experienced. Moreover, Play89™ has the largest community of players from all over the world, to this date - thus, turning to Play89™ is the best option for any pool player, who wishes to play online.
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Pool Tournaments
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What do I get for wining a satellite tournament at Play89™?
In a satellite tournament, you win a free entrance to another tournament. Satellite tournaments also sometime carry a cash prize but not always.
How do I enroll to my free tournaments?
First click the proper tab above the main table in the "Game Lobby".
It would be either Swing or Sit & Go Tournament. You will see the "Enroll free!" pink button - allowing you to enroll for free to one of the tournaments.
Why did I not succeed in entering a <1600 tournament- what does it mean?
This is a rating limited tournament, which only allows players with a rating below 1600 points to participate.
For example: only if you have a rating level of 1599 or less, you will be able to enroll to such a tournament.
Please, also note the following: if you see a player, whose rating is 1600 or above, yet he or she somehow managed to get into the rating limited event, this means that he or she had a rating of less than 1600 at the time of enrollment.
What are stars? How do I gain them and what can I use them for?
Stars are used as the buy-ins for our stars freeroll tournaments.
You receive a star for each dollar you play for, regardless of whether you win or lose.
Stars are accumulated when playing pool for real money games only (meaning: there are no stars in fun money play mode).
Your accumulated stars are displayed at the right side of the screen, just below your rating.
I was in the middle of a tournament, got disconnected and could not reconnect. Does this mean I forfeit?
When disconnecting, you have 5 minutes to reconnect. Also, you cannot disconnect 3 times during a match. If this happens, you are automatically disqualified from the tournament regardless of the game board status.
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