Play Money

Flint Bones

Here’s a kind of silly question but it has been nagging at me for a little while. I have been known to participate in Play Money games on Pokerstars. Even though it isn’t really real poker, I like to see a lot of hands and I use it to teach others how to play. But this isn’t about the validity of playing for Play Money. There have been several times that I have been asked by Observers to buy by Play Money for Real Money. They want a couple hundred thousand for $2 or $3. I don’t quite get it. I have a strong feeling there is a scam in there somewhere. I just don’t know what it is yet. When I ask why they need to buy it vs. win it, they never answer.

Anyone ideas on this would be appreciated.

BBC Z

No scam, just people that desperately want to impress their friends with high amounts of play chips..

Flint Bones

That's really pathetic. An easy way to impress them is to just win the chips. It's not that hard to win a lot of play chips.

ScottyZ

There are a few reasons I can think of.

1. Higher play money limits may offer a better arena for practicing real poker. When a table minimum (or tournament) buy-in is much higher than the initial allotment of free play chips, the level of play may be generally stronger than the usual play money games. I don't personally think that this is a great way to practice poker, but I'd conceed that high limit play money games are probably slightly more realistic than lower limit ones.

2. Some people believe that there is some chance that play money will be worth something in the future. That is, there is some possibility of an online site deciding to run some kind of promotion (or perhaps ongoing policy) that would involve converting play money to something like FPP. I personally don't think this will happen, but some people might.

3. There is a microscopic chance that someone might screw up the transfer and send a boatload of real money to the play money purchaser. More likely than this, a possible way to run this as a scam would be to give the play money seller instructions on how to do a real money transfer, rather than a play money transfer. Are people this gullible/careless online? Maybe. Lots of people give out their banking information just because someone tells them to do so in some random email.

ScottyZ

Flint Bones

I like the third option the best. My job is in Information Security and that seems possible. I was just looking for anyone with a history in this.

I think maybe I will sell my chips sometime. See what happens.

CrazyJoe113

i'm pretty sure it's reason #1 Scotty, I don't have a PokerStars account yet, and don't play play money, but a guy I work with does, and he told me about this last week, he has over a million play chips and people offer to buy off of him for that reason.

Tilter

I've seen people sell 1 million in play money chips on PS for about $30-50. So i doubt people are mis-sending 1 million. People so want to buy these, I have no idea why, they just do. So if i were you, I would geit their e-mail and make the deal, cause dam, who would rather play for Play money when they can play for Real money free!!