Anyone playing on the GGPoker Network will have heard the term PVI. Unfortunately, you won’t find any explanation there, so many players will not be familiar with what it is. It’s good to be properly informed of how things are calculated in terms of the deals/promotions we offer. You should also know that the PVI affects also how fast/slow you earn points for the Fish Buffet Cashback Program. So here’s YPD’s in-depth explanation of PVI.

It is important to know that everyone who plays on the GGNetwork, regardless of the particular poker skin, receives a PVI, or Player Value Index. Theoretically, this can vary between 0 and 2. For a recreational online poker player who enjoys the occasional session now and again, and who isn’t yet a winning player, the PVI should tend towards 2, while for winning players it should be below 1. Our experience shows us it is never higher than and usually always much less.

It is interesting that the PVI does not feature in all variants on the GGNetwork. No PVI is currently used for mtt tournaments, Flip&Go tournaments, or Battle Royale SNG (as of 15.01.2022). It is possible that this will change for these and other variants in the future.

How is PVI used?

PVI is used on standard Texas Hold’em cash game tables and Short-deck Hold’em as well as on Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) and Rush & Cash tables (Fast-Fold Poker). By the way also for the All-In or Fold Games(AoF)! However, only the GG network itself knows specifically how things are calculated, and there is no precise information.

We know that a player’s PVI can change after every session, and that Hold’em and Omaha games are divided into 4 Blind groups (VIP/High/Medium/Low), with every player receiving their own PVI for each Blind group. When a session ends, the PVI of the Blind group to which the session belongs is updated. That means the PVI can change every day, and even every session!

Nobody knows how much rake the network values for a player — not even the poker room itself. So it would be entirely possible for a player to be seen to generate $1k rake when it’s actually $1.3k due to the PVI or, in a negative case, only $500, for example.

Factors that are likely to affect a player’s PVI are:

• Playing behavior/number of tables
• Betting behavior
• Deposits and withdrawals
• Who money comes from (regular or casual players)

Similar models also exist in other networks – such as iPoker – but with a different name.

The PVI of a player also affects how quickly they collect points for the Fish Buffet. If a player’s PVI is very low this will slow down the process.

Experience with the PVI

We have analyzed hundreds of our players over a few months and have obtained the following results(see below). The first 3-6 weeks usually not much happens and the PVI usually stays in the range of 1 until it suddenly drops. For players who do not have a good run at the beginning, it is also not uncommon for the PVI to stay at 1 for longer. The PVI also increases slightly with winning players when they are stuck in a larger downswing.

Cash Game (NLH, PLO): The PVI fluctuates between 0.3 and 0.7 here. The average PVI for a good winning player is 0.5. The real crushers only have 0.35, which is rather rare but possible.

Rush&Cash: For whatever reason, it is actually standard here that all good winning players have a PVI of 0.35-0.4. Very few make it to 0.5.

Spin&Gold SNGs(Spins): The average PVI for a good regular player is 0,5. It fluctuates between 0,5-0,7.

Is the PVI on the GG Poker Network fair?

It is not good that not all rake is counted for a consistently winning player because it affects the poker room, the player and also an affiliate. Consequently, we would prefer that there is no PVI.

On the other hand, the players’ pool on the GGNetwork is very soft. There are many weaker players and beginners – even at higher limits. There are also numerous monthly promotions worth several million dollars, and these must be financed somehow.

Nevertheless, the issue is not the PVI itself, rather the lack of transparency in how it is calculated. We don’t want to judge whether PVI is fair. There are certainly arguments against PVI, but on the other hand there are justifications. Furthermore, the lack of transparency is a general problem in our industry, and definitely not an isolated case.

Ultimately, there are only two options: you accept it as it is and enjoy the many advantages that the GG network undoubtedly brings with it, or you play with another provider.