Using a VPN with online services is becoming increasingly more valuable, but it’s also becoming more and more difficult as websites try to stop geo-location spoofers. Today we are going to discuss how to use a VPN to spoof your location with Pokerstars the safe way.
Why Use a VPN with a Website to Change Location for Pokerstars?
The reason is that online services are geo-restricting, and geo-blocking content worldwide. Say you live in one country, chances are that you are locked to services made or used outside said country. There are a ton of services like this. With Netflix, you are locked into the content library associated with your country, and if you want to access a site like Hulu–you’re out of luck unless you live within the US. Fortunately, there are VPNs that can help you unblock the Netflix proxy error as well.
But it’s not just streaming sites that restrict use based on location, other websites like poker and gambling sites do this as well. Even sport betting sites like DraftKingz have certain rules that players must be within certain states. Considering the rules and terms of services of websites and how they deal with companies to make money–it makes sense in a business sort of way, but with how small the world is getting with the power of internet, a lot of these laws can feel arbitrary to you–the end consumer. Let’s say you’re on vacation, and you’re a resident of Canada and you want to play a poker match with Pokerstars. Shouldn’t you be able to use a VPN to get access? It’s certainly not against the law to do so, but Pokerstars doesn’t want you to do this.
In order to make a website think you are eligible for content or the ability to use it, you must spoof your location with a VPN. Today, we are specifically addressing how to unblock and use a VPN with PokerStars so you can play poker and win money–and not get caught using a VPN.
How do VPNs get Caught with Pokerstars?
Websites like Pokerstars, or other aggressive websites that monitor VPN users, find and isolate shared IP addresses. When a user connects to a website and is using an IP address that hundreds or even thousands of other people are using, it sends up a flag.
Sure, the website has no idea which user is trying to access the site due to the anonymity of a shared IP, but all of those users still can’t access the site and if an account is flagged by using a VPN, then problems can ensue since a website can see that an unknown IP logged into an account. In summation, if you use any VPN out there, and just connect to a regular old Canadian account for Pokerstars, your account can be flagged fairly easily.
Best Method to Use VPN with Pokerstars?
So if a regular shared VPN IP doesn’t work that well, and could get flagged on your account, and could jeopardize your earnings, how can you use a VPN in the first place? Well, that’s where dedicated and residential IPs come into play.
A residential IP is a purchased IP that looks like it’s from a residential address–and that is because, they kinda are. Residential IPs are IPs leased from providers like Verizon or Comcast. Essentially, a service or online company has NO way of telling that you are a VPN user since it looks like any other residential user. A dedicated IP is pretty similar, but not in the same vein. Dedicated IPs are standard IPv4 IP addresses within data centers that aren’t flagged as VPN addresses. With these IPs, you alone use them which means they aren’t shared, and aren’t flagged.
So how can you get a residential or dedicated IP address to use with Pokerstars? Well, my top rated VPN provider happens to sell them. Coincidence? Well, maybe not. TorGuard VPN is the best VPN when it comes to unblocking content on the web, so it’s no surprise that they work well with Pokerstars. Check out the TorGuard Review for a full explanation of how they rate #1 on our ratings here.
Simply go to TorGuard’s website, and purchase a residential or dedicated IP based in Canada on checkout. It’s that simple. Then when you download their app, you can input that IP address in the servers tab, and connect to it. If you’re still confused, I’ve shown this method off before with with videos on how to unblock Netflix (but in these examples I just use a purchased US IP).
Cases of Caught Using a VPN with Pokerstars?
Unfortunately, there have been some good cases of users being caught using VPNs with Pokerstars. In fact, some of these cases are semi-famous. Golden Vayo is a well known poker player who won the 2017 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) event with Pokerstars. He won $692,460 dollars, and to this day–he still hasn’t seen any of it! The reason being is that two months after the event Pokerstars accused him of suspicious activity–i.e, that he wasn’t in physically within Canada during the tourny, which is within the rules.
Pokerstars accused him of not being in Canada during the event, and that he was using a VPN to spoof his location since he currently resides in California (despite having Canadian citizenship). Mostly, this is a scheme by Pokerstars to avoid paying up their winnings to Vayo. Vayo’s lawyers in fact are accusing the company of a campaign agaisnt American players and that the investigation proving he was not into Canada was in fact a sham.
Pokerstars has not revealed how they find out a user is using a VPN–and perhaps they can’t, but it is very likely how I detailed it. Pokerstars can see when a user is using a shared anonymous IP, which flags their account, and then the account comes under question. Of course, this draws a ton of questions. Can VPNs not be used with Pokerstars, even if you are within the designated area physically? How can you prove it? And why would you need to? This entire problem is mostly a problem with large winnings, and regular shared IPs could be OK for small winnings or smaller accounts–but if Vayo had been using a dedicated IP within Canada, Pokerstars would not have flagged his account or found it suspicious.
The bottom line is that companies and online services don’t want users using VPNs and spoofing techniques to get around restrictions. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t–if you do it the right way. However, I think using the internet around the world and finding ways to bypass corrupt companies, and pushing forward internet freedom– is something that should be encouraged.
