FAQ
What is pAIPS?
Here is the explanation from Chris Cosenza one of the founders of Ante Up Magazine and co-host of the Ante Up Poker Podcast:
"When we first started our show many years ago, we decided to host a poker series online for our fans, and we called it the Ante Up Intercontinental Poker Series or AIPS. When the morons in America shut down our beloved PokerStars, AIPS went away. But a lot of our fans missed the monthly get-togethers so they started an AIPS series with play money. ... hence pAIPS."
How do I sign up?
Just follow the instructions on the pAIPS Poker home page. If at all possible, please don't wait until the night of an event to join our Home Game group. There is a manual process involved in that I must log in and confirm your membership and some event nights I'm not available to do this. You are more likely to be confirmed in time to play the event if I have a few days advanced notice to log in and accept the request.
Why is it played on dates ending in six?
Explained below by John Somsky, a former Ante Up Magazine ambassador and the guy who generally keeps pAIPS running:
"AIPS, which was the real money series that pAIPS is a descendant of, used to be played on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The problem was some people could never make it on that particular day because they had a standing commitment. So Chris [Cosenza] and Scott [Long] decided to try to hold an event on the 6th of every month. This would naturally rotate to a different day of the week and yet hopefully still be memorable.
When pAIPS was kicked off in 2011, it continued the established AIPS schedule. We've been playing on the sixes ever since."
How can I get reminded of the games?
The pAIPS event schedule is maintained in a Google calendar. To import these dates to your own personal calendar you can copy and paste the following link into any product that supports the ICalendar (or iCal) protocol:
Once this is complete, you may set your notifications based on these events according to whatever specific calendar product you are using.
Another option is to create a Google calendar of your own to remind you of the events. Once you have created your Google calendar, you can select the drop-down arrow to the right of the "Other calendars" element then select "Add by URL" and paste in the full ics link given above. After you have linked to the pAIPS calendar, you may set up custom notifications to be delivered to you by email or text message. To do this, select the drop-down arrow to the right of the pAIPS calendar element, then select "Edit notifications".
Also, if you use Twitter, you could follow @PokerGeekMN who will usually send a pAIPS reminder tweet on the day of an event.
Can I play on my mobile device?
The definitive answer to this question is...maybe. There is a PokerStars app for both iOS and Android, and results are varied on both platforms with those who have been able to get the Home Game tournaments to load and those who have not. This much is certain; since there is no way to navigate to the Home Game tournament sign up area through the mobile app, you must register for the events from a desktop client.
Once you are registered for an event, and the event has started, logging off the desktop client and opening the mobile client app should automatically open up your pAIPS Home Game tournament table and allow you to play from the device.
As proof that it does work for some people, here is a screen shot of one of the Home Game tournaments running on my Android device:
John Somsky had this to share regarding playing pAIPS on an iPhone:
"I have successfully played on my iPhone. It launched the home game even though I hadn't signed into the PC for a few days. My Google Nexus tablet (android) wouldn't launch the home game table however. This isn't an answer to the questions, just more information."
For what it's worth, the official position from PokerStars on this matter is that the mobile app does not support Home Games (although we have seen cases to the contrary):
"Thank you for contacting PokerStars. PokerStars' Mobile Poker application has several differences when compared to the computer software. One of these is the Home Games feature you mentioned. We are afraid that this feature is currently not available."
There is one other possibility if the mobile app solution does not work for you. You could try running a "remote desktop" app on your mobile device that would allow you to connect to your own PC where the regular PokerStars client would be running. You could then use your mobile device to interact with your PC as if you were sitting right in front of it. This is not as elegant of a solution as the native mobile PokerStars app, as interacting with desktop controls through a mobile device is sometimes challenging and your PC must stay powered on and ready to accept connections.
Why are there so many non-Hold 'Em games?
AIPS has always had a diversity of games and pAIPS has continued the tradition. No-Limit Hold 'Em is always played on the 6th. Non-Hold 'Em / Non-Omaha games are always on the 16th. And some variety of Hold 'Em or Omaha is always on the 26th. This way we can give people a chance to experience new games, and yet offer lots of Hold 'Em and Omaha which are the most popular games today.
How are the Player of the Year standings calculated?
PokerStars automatically calculates the points. See here for how points are calculated in home games. We then use each player's top ten scores to determine your Player of the Year points. This was done in an attempt to help people climb the leader board even if they can't make every event.