[PokerStars] Software Improvement Thread

Which video card does stars use by default when you play? I have Intel xe graphics and Nvidia rtx 3050. I recall a while back it used your regular graphics card so like the Intel xe graphics right? Then when aurora came, I recall a while back when I checked task manager, stars uses the Nvidia rtx 3050.But when I check task manager now when playing, it seems to only use the Intel xe?

I have a ton of lag and freezing and glitch issues on stars but mainly when having a ton of tables open. How would I change the graphics card to the 3050 to use when playing as oppose to the default intel xe graphics? Can you do that?

A while back with Aurora, I recall people said you had to change the settings to high for aurora and a few other things. Can someone tell me what settings you are suppose to have on for stars to prevent these issues? I know a while back I changed the table theme to carbon lite as people said it wouldn't lag as much. But it still lags a lot now?

What about table display, animation and graphics?

Check Mark For

Show Player Images
Card Sorting
Display Chat Bubbles
Final Table Display (Tournaments)
Rabbit Hunt

No Check Mark For

Show More Games Button
4 Color Deck
Color Coded Actions
Highlight Active Player
Show Stack Values in BB For Tourneys

Card Animation - Off
Bounty Animation - Off
Zoom Animation - Enabled
Background Animation - Disabled
Throwables - Disabled
Prestige - Disabled
Bubble Display - No Animation
In the Money Display - No Animation
Chip Shuffle - Enabled (Default)

Graphics Quality - High
Framerate- High
User Hardware Acceleration - Detect Automatically (default)

Press Win+R then open this directory %localappdata%

Search for Pokerstars folder and there are two files you need to backup: "user.ini" and "notes.username.xml"

Can't help you with the other stuff. Try Graphics quality on LOW, there isn't much visual difference, at least I didn't notice any

The files show up like this

Audit Folder
bg Folder
HandHistory Folder
ImgCaches Folder
SentryCache Folder
TournSummary Folder

update3 DAT file
updache3 DAt file
coco2d Config setting
notes.starsusername Microsoft Edge HTML Document
notes.starsusername.xml.bak BAK File
pokerstars.log.0
pokerstars.log1.1
pokerstarsupdate.log.0
pokerstarsupdate.log.1
pokerstarsupdateE.log.0
pokerstarsupdateE.log.1
stub.log.0
user Configurations settings (ini)

So save the 2 files I bolded? Does the other files look correct?

I just opened stars from the start menu as oppose to clicking on the stars icon on the desktop. It was downloading files so does that count as an update? I know back then when I opened stars from start menu, it takes time to load as it's downloading files. So when you open stars from the desktop icon, it only does updates when absolutely necessary right?

Now after logging in and then closing it... it does the same thing. Stars software never closes instantly. It always lags a bit and on the top left corner next to Pokerstars Lobby, it always shows (Not Responding) for a few seconds before it closes. This has happened for a long time. Does this happen to anyone else? How do you fix this issue?

Does anyone know what settings should I change from what I posted few posts above with the graphics and settings? Should I turn graphics to low? What about the animations? I am not sure if I did any changes to it a while back.

What about the fold and call button box disappearing? This happens at a few tables only when I have lot of tables opened.

The main issue is when many tables open, the lag is so bad where mouse clicking or using hotkeys to fold/call/raise either doesn't work or takes so many clicks to work. By so many clicks I mean at least 10. There is a huge lag when this happens and sometimes it would freeze to where I have to force close the software and exit and log back in. I had noticed that even when I close starscaption and stop my HEM3 hud, this doesn't help. The lag and freezing is still present.

Is it possible I have to switch the graphics card from Intel XE to Nvidia 3050 or something? I recall when it went to aurora a while back, task manager seemed to show stars was using Nvidia 3050. But now it's the intel xe graphics? Which graphics card is it using for you when you are playing on stars? How do I make the Nvidia 3050 the graphics card to work for stars instead? Would that help?

This (notes.starsusername.xml.bak BAK File) is a backup of the original notes. It's fine too, but if you copy this back you'll have to remove the ".bak" from it's name. The one above it is the original file.

The other files are correct. You can save the whole folder if you want, it's very small in size anyway

Is there a reason why there is no file that shows notes.starsusername.xml only then? It has that name with the .bak file and you say it's the backup of the original notes. So there should be 2 files like that?

So this notes.starsusername.xml.bak file is notes you saved for other players?

The user Configurations settings (ini) is all your configuration settings for hotkeys, layouts, favorites and all those things? Is that correct?

I want to know if anyone here has those lagging and freezing issues and what should be the proper settings be for graphics? Should it be changed to low? And what other things?

And how do you get the Nvidia rtx 3050 to be the graphics card when playing on stars? Or it always will use the Intel XE Graphics? I recall when it went to Aurora... it was using the other graphics card and not the default one. But now it's back to it?

Does anyone know if uninstalling and reinstalling stars will fix these issues?

Back then I recalled I had that cashier problem where it didn't load and I had to log out and log in again. I haven't had that issue in a while and many others say they had that issue. So who here has the Pokerstars Lobby (Not Responding) showing every single time they close the stars software where it shows that and freezes for a bit before it closes?

Does anyone know if it's possible to use the nvidia 3050 graphics card to run the stars client? Back then I recall it was mentioned you had to go to settings and enter something in the user settings where it would make the stars client use your Nvidia graphics card and not the default Intel one?

Is there a way to do this now or it's not possible anymore?

There was a glitch where I had for a while but it no longer shows up anymore is when the cashier doesn't open and other people had similar issues. Then you close and log out and log in again and only then does it work. But I have issues now with some table fold and call display box disappearing from the table. It would then come back later on. Does anyone here have these issues? It seems ridiculous that even with an i7-12700h processor and 32gb ram there should be any of these issues?

Has anyone here done this below and if so, did it help? I notice there is the folder pokerstarsbrcache and xcw. I also notice there is another folder called pokerstarsbrowsercache. So does deleting the first 2 help? What about the last one?

Desktop: Lobby issues - Clearing the application and lobby cache
If you're having issues with our lobby, seeing a red error page, graphical issues, or loading issues, we recommend clearing the application and lobby cache from our software.


To do this, follow the instructions below, depending on your operating system:

Windows
Close our software. You won't be able to delete the required files while our software is open.
Open the 'Run' command window ('Windows key + R').
Type in:
%temp%
Delete these folders:
'XCW' is the application cache.
'PokerStarsBrCache' is the lobby cache.
Finally, to complete the process, restart your computer.

@ PaulyJames200x

Try write-protecting the ImgCache folder:

PokerStars stores some of its data in a specific folder on your computer (the installation folder), which you must first open.

Start the PokerStars software. You do NOT need to log in... At the bottom right of the PokerStars lobby, you'll see the Help button; click it once. Then select "Open Folder" from the menu on the left. The file manager should now open with the appropriate folder.

Alternatively, on Windows:
Win+R and enter:
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local

In this new window, you'll see several folders and files. One of the folders is called ImgCache, and that's what we're talking about!

You must now CLOSE the PokerStars software! for the following changes to take effect.

We still need the window with the folders!

Now double-click on this ImgCache folder; we want to see what's in there... It looks like a jumbled mess in there, but it shouldn't bother us. We now want to delete all the files in this ImgCache folder! We only want to leave the empty ImgCache folder. Let's select all the files in this folder (Ctrl+A is a quick way to do this!). Now right-click and select Delete from the context menu. You might do it a little differently, but the main thing is that this ImgCache folder is empty afterward.

Now we need to make it read-only so that PokerStars doesn't simply recreate these files the next time it starts. To do this, go back up one folder to where we started.

There we now see the ImgCache folder, which we just emptied. Right-click on this folder and select Properties from the context menu.

This opens the small ImgCache Properties window. At the top, select the Security tab. Here we select the user (not System or Administrator) and click Edit. Whoops, another small window appears called Permissions for ImgCache. At the top, we select the user again, and at the bottom, in the Write line, we check the Deny box. Now click Apply and OK.

Now do exactly the same thing again, this time in the ImgCache Properties window and on the Security tab, we select Administrator... Edit... Administrator again... In the Write line, check the Deny box... Apply, OK.

Once ready you can restart Stars. This stops some of the extensive Aurora Graphics functions. It also resets the view of cash tables so you can again see each single table.

I hope this helps in your case. Please report!

kind regards Chris

Okay that's a very long detailed response on this.

When did you do this?

Can anyone here confirm this would work? Not sure making changes like that to the settings would cause more issues?

hey Pauly,

While I can't guarantee that it will fix your problem, I can guarantee that it won't cause further problems. Reading your original post, it sounds like fewer graphical gimmicks would probably help, and that's exactly what you get this way. I've been using this for a long time. It's also very easy to revert back by simply removing the write protection; nothing will remain the next time you restart PokerStars. If I had any concerns about it, I wouldn't recommend it.

regards Chris

I btw have been Mod in a german Home Games Club with a few thousand players for many years.

Unfortunately home games are no longer allowed in germany so that club died.

Just for this club I made a manual for this in german the time Stars started with Aurora-Graphics:
https://webck.de/stars/

This manual also has some screenshots showing what to do. But as I said, its german.

hope it helps!

Hey. I recently just updated both my Intel Iris Xe graphics and Nvidia 3050. I still have that issue of closing stars software... Pokerstars Lobby (Not Responding) freezing for a bit before the software closes. It never closes smoothly ever.

Yes fewer graphic gimmicks should help. I turned almost every animation off in the settings. I still seem to have these issues. One issue that I keep having is in some tables, the fold/call button box would disappear from the table. So you can't even click on anything. If you don't have a hotkey, you can't even fold or call. Only the raise box shows up. Have you ever heard of that?

Do you think I should just uninstall stars and reinstall it and maybe that might work first before attempting to do what you suggest? What you suggested, I never read anything like that before.

Back then I recalled people had suggested you go to a settings folder and you entered either 1 or 4 so that your laptop would use the Nvidia graphics card as oppose to the Intel one. Do you know if there is a way to do that now or is that not possible anymore?

When I check task manager, it shows GPU 1 is what is used for stars which is Intel Iris Xe Graphics. GPU 0 is the Nvidia 3050. Is there a way to get stars software to use the Nvidia 3050 instead?

I believe there is a table limit in Germany right? So you couldn't open more tables just to even try right? I want to know if there are people that can do say 18+ tables these days on stars without freezing or lagging or any of that. Back then I remember some players would 24 table or even 30 table. But when aurora got introduced, some users mentioned how they could no longer 18 table anymore without software issues.

To assign a specific GPU to a program in Windows 11 (e.g. for high performance):

Open Settings.
Go to System > Display.
Scroll down and click Graphics.
Under Custom options for apps, click Browse and select the executable (.exe) of the program.
Once the app appears in the list, click it and select Options.
In the pop-up, choose High performance to force the dedicated GPU, then click Save.
Add the PokerStars.exe and the PokerStarsUpdate.exe this way.
----
Regarding the table limits: YES you are right. Unfortunately they set a 4 table limit for all german players. You could think of playing at another site at the same time for more tables... That also is no longer possible in germany as all licensed sites (like stars or GG) are forced to get a "logged in status" from a government system called Oasis. Logged in on 1 site... you can not login on a 2nd. (Its disgusting.)
---
Blocking Stars from using the ImgCache is a thing I use since years without any problems.
But I understand the lack of trust, especially with the profile image I use... ;-)
-----
when speaking of multi tabling... in earlier years I live saw rs03rs03 playing 100 tables (one hundred tables) low stakes sng, but while loosing money. I also saw the german Thomas "boku87" Boekhoff playing more than 70 tables mid stakes sng and tournaments... and he won money while doing that. Sadly long ago :(

When I went to assign a specific GPU to a program on windows 11 for high performance, is it the program files and pokerstars.exe? I then made it high performance.

Now on task manager, it seems to show stars GPU as GPU 0 now which is the Nvidia 3050. However, it keeps on changing from GPU 0 - 3D and GPU - Copy 1. What is GPU - Copy 1?
My other programs like chrome and task manager show GPU 1 - 3D. My GPU 0 is the Nvidia 3050 and my GPU 1 is the Intel Iris Xe.

Okay so that table limit is bad then since you can't multitable other sites at the same time. I would have though it was only one site.

Well the thing you mention, I never heard of before. And I thought that might cause other issues.

Yes I recall that player you mentioned that played 100 tables a while back. What was the reason for that? The thing was back then, I recall people could 24 table without software issues. So I was curious if people could do that now without lag issues.

Onboard graphics like your Intel Iris Xe is nowhere near as powerful as your super graphics card. So if it says 3050, that's correct. Without seeing your system, it's difficult to say more. Maybe you should finally try the suggested solution.

Okay so the Nvidia 3050 is much more powerful than the Intel Iris Xe.

Should I just uninstall and reinstall stars then? That might fix the Pokerstars Lobby (Not Responding) issue? The thing is I had lot of stars updates where it shows an update is available and I done it.

It has to be some files or cache? I'm wondering how do people even play a lot of tables on stars with these software issues.

Wtf is this Stars ****?! I have to be a software engineer nowadays to get to play on PokerStars? RIP Stars

When someone asks for help with a software issue in a forum, gets a precise and well-thought-out answer – and then completely ignores it, only to keep asking the exact same questions on repeat... What could possibly be the reason?

A complex interplay of cognitive deep relaxation, heroic resistance to advice, and the firm belief that repetition will eventually lead to enlightenment? Stupidity? Ignorance? Overconfidence? Maybe.

Or perhaps it's simply a secret mission to turn the internet into a live-action remake of Groundhog Day.

Can’t find xcv file

Two weeks now. Maybe next week

My problem was F-Secure. Had to turn it off. Now Stars update works

I had a similar, annoying problem with Bitdefender...

The problem was that even if you disable Bitdefender, certain firewall rules remain active. And these are blocking stars from reaching their updates server.

So even if you think about deactivating such a firewall, it is not enough, at least with Bitdefender!

Of course, you wouldn't expect such a firewall to be the cause of problems, even AFTER you've already disabled it.

I had exchanged emails with Bitdefender about this topic.

I told them that I naturally assumed their firewall wouldn't block anything once I disabled the program.

Ultimately, that's why I uninstalled Bitdefender.

Sorry I heard to late about your problem for providing help.