Pokertableratings.com, also known as PTR, is a data mining operation that shares cash game results with the public.
Their existence has changed the way online pros game select in cash games. Whether you like or hate PTR, you are stuck using them if you want to play online cash games seriously.
Pokerstars has recently demanded that PTR stop data mining their site, and threatened legal action against PTR for doing so.
Surprisingly, instead of giving Pokerstars the middle finger, PTR is going to introduce an "opt-in" system in a few months, according to this report:
http://www.casinos-online.co.uk/news...poker-players/
If this is true, it would pretty much ruin PTR, as players would have to voluntarily opt-in to be listed (which means fish just about never would, as they wouldn't even know about it).
Of course, perhaps instead of Opt-In, they really mean Opt-Out, where people would have to ask PTR not to be included, but would otherwise be included by default. That wouldn't affect much, as the opt-outs would mainly be from pros who don't want their results being seen.
Either way, it would remove one of the best things about PTR: The ability to easily catch cheaters.
PTR's mining of nearly every cash game allows a quick and easy view of any suspicious account. Had it been around during the UB/AP superuser days, these scandals would have been detected much sooner.
Nowadays it's impossible to win a ton in a short time and fly under the radar, which is a good thing.
If players are allowed to Opt-Out, so will the cheaters.
This is a very bad thing for the security of online poker, and I hope that PTR reconsiders.