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Security & Ecology Policy
Security & Ecology Policy
Natural8 SECURITY AND ECOLOGY POLICY (“SEP”)
Table Of Contents
- OVERVIEW
- ACTIONS FOR BREACH OF NATURAL8 SEP
- USE OF BOTS
- USE OF REAL-TIME ASSISTANCE (RTA)
- CIRCUMVENTION
- ACCOUNT SHARING
- GHOSTING
- TRESPASSING
- ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF VIP GAMES
- COLLUSION
- PREDATORY BEHAVIOUR
- BUM HUNTING
- CHIP-DUMPING
- MULTI ACCOUNTING
- USE OF VPN/PROXY & REMOTE DESKTOP
- THIRD-PARTY TOOLS
- RATHOLING
- USER SOLICITATION
- OFFENSIVE USER PROFILE
PREAMBLE
BREACHES
PREAMBLE
1. OVERVIEW
1.1. The Security and Ecology Policy (the "SEP") as maintained and operated by the Natural8 Security Team (“The Security Team”) should be read by you, the End User (the “User”), prior to playing on Natural8 and the GGNetwork (“Network”). Your decision and acceptance to play on Natural8 is a confirmation of your acceptance of the terms of the SEP.
1.2.Natural8’s ethos is that a healthy and safe User ecology is paramount to providing enjoyable poker games. To this end, we have implemented several security measures to foster and maintain a healthy ecology and ensure that Natural8 Users are provided with a safe and secure environment. The items outlined below state what is being monitored, how it is being monitored, and any potential actions taken by Natural8.
1.3. We reserve the right to make immaterial changes to the SEP. If we make any material changes to SEP, we will give you as much prior notice of such changes as is reasonably practicable but, in any event, you will be notified of material changes before they come into effect. Material changes will be communicated to you via email with a summary of the material changes to these Conditions. You will also receive a pop-up message when you login, directing you to review the completely updated SEP. After reviewing the updated terms and conditions, you will be prompted to “Agree” to the updated SEP to continue to use our services. Your continued use of the services after being notified of the material changes, and after indicating your acceptance of the updated SEP, will be considered by us to be your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to the material changes, then you will not be able to continue to use the services.
2. ACTIONS FOR BREACH OF NATURAL8 SEP
2.1. The Security Team’s paramount objective is to provide a safe and healthy poker environment and will always aim to educate Users at the outset. In cases where a serious breach (and continued breaches) occurs, your account may be locked to allow for an investigation of the alleged breach. For the lock’s duration, access to your account, login, gameplay, withdrawal, deposits, or inter-wallet transfers may be restricted.
2.2. Actions that can be taken against Users for confirmed breaches, based on the accumulated information available to us, are as follows:
a) WARNING: A written notice;
b) REWARD REMOVAL: Removal/reduction of your promotional rewards;
c) SUSPENSION: Temporary suspension of your account;
d) ACCOUNT CLOSURE: Permanent closure of your account;
e) PERMANENT BAN: Permanent ban from Natural8;
f) CONFISCATION: Seizure of funds to compensate victims of any prohibited/fraudulent activities (loss of funds due to use of bots or other Third Party Tools, loss of funds due to collusion, loss of funds owing to bum hunting). Seizure of funds may not only include funds in your poker wallet but in your main wallet as well as any pending withdrawals.
2.3. Regarding the results of any investigations, The Security Team’s decisions are final. The Security Team reserves the right to determine whether or not a breach of the SEP has occurred. By agreeing to our SEP, you hereby accept The Security Team’s said right of decision and determination.
BREACHES
3. USE OF BOTS
3.1. A bot plays without human intervention or reduces the requirement of a human to make decisions. A human must decide what action to take and the exact size of any bet or raise. Any tool or service which reads the current game state and gives a User aid on decisions is strictly prohibited.
3.2. Natural8’s software package contains certain features designed to detect the use of automated programs that enable gameplay based on Artificial Intelligence.
3.3. Natural8’s software may perform any or all of the following scans to detect the use of illicit automated programs and ensure that a “cheat-free” environment is maintained:
a) Scan of all active software applications while our software is being used.
b) Scan of all active processes while our software is being used.
c) Scan of all activities for the potential use of Artificial Intelligence.
3.4. Should any of the aforementioned processes reveal a suspicious application or process; our software may scan the files associated with the questionable application or process and compile a composite mesh (a profile that characterises the files associated with the application or process) to be matched against profiles for known illicit automated programs.
3.5. Actions taken for breaches: PERMANENT BAN and/or CONFISCATION
4. USE OF REAL-TIME ASSISTANCE (RTA)
4.1. Any decision made at the poker table must be made solely by you. Humans must decide what action to take and the exact size of any bet or raise.
4.2. Use of any software and/or reference materials that provides advice and/or has an influence on your decision-making in real-time is strictly prohibited.
4.3. Prohibited software includes, but is not limited to, GTO solvers, range calculators, and ICM analyzers.
4.4. Prohibited reference materials are solutions from simulations, e.g., GTO charts, range calculation, ICM equity, decision trees, nash equilibrium, or push/fold charts.
4.5 The following reference material is allowed: a basic pre-flop chart that defines starting hands to play from each starting position. If reading materials contain stack size, relative positions, or any User-defined situations then they are not permitted.
4.6. Actions taken for breaches: PERMANENT BAN and/or CONFISCATION
5. CIRCUMVENTION
5.1. Natural8 prohibits Users from making fraudulent or unlawful use of their software.
5.2. Natural8 prohibits Users from breaking into, accessing, or attempting to break into the software and/or Network with malicious intent.
5.3. Natural8 prohibits Users from exploiting or attempting to exploit software bugs within the client for personal/mutual gain.
5.4. Natural8 has developed and employs sophisticated proprietary technology intended to seek out and identify offending Users.
5.5. Actions taken for breaches: PERMANENT BAN and/or CONFISCATION
6. ACCOUNT SHARING
6.1. Natural8 prohibits sharing accounts. Each account should solely be accessed by the User who registered it at all times.
6.2. Natural8 prohibits sharing a sufficient volume of hands/results with anyone in order to analyse or hunt other Users.
6.3. Natural8 prohibits sharing accounts as it affects the integrity of leaderboards and promotions.
6.4. Actions taken for breaches: REWARD REMOVAL and/or PERMANENT BAN, CONFISCATION
7. GHOSTING
7.1. Users are strictly prohibited from playing on behalf of someone else or allowing someone else to play on their account.
7.2. The use of software to share hole card information with other individuals in real-time is strictly prohibited. Further discussed in section 15. Use of VPN, Proxy & Remote Desktop
7.3. Actions taken for breaches: PERMANENT BAN and/or CONFISCATION
8. TRESPASSING
8.1. Natural8 strictly prohibits Users previously banned from any GGNetwork skin from returning on any account on any GGNetwork skin.
8.2. Actions taken for breaches: CONFISCATION
9. Enhanced Enforcement of VIP Cash Games and Tournaments
9.1. Users involved in any of the following financial relationships are strictly prohibited from playing at the same VIP cash game tables as their associates: staking, swaps, profit-sharing, or any bankroll sharing agreement.
9.2. Verified Nickname players and players that have been requested to provide personal documents for Real Name conversion are strictly prohibited from creating and/or playing on any new accounts, and creating and/or playing on any pre-existing accounts other than their Verified Nickname accounts, on any GGNetwork skin.
9.3. Users are strictly prohibited from making deals, including off-client deals, at the Final Table of select tournaments, including the Super MILLION$ High Roller.
9.4. Actions taken for breaches: 30-DAY SUSPENSION and/or PERMANENT BAN, CONFISCATION
10. COLLUSION
10.1. Collusion is the behavior in which two or more Users establish a partnership to gain an unfair advantage over other Users at the same cash game table or same tournament. The Security Team’s general rules regarding collusion are (but not limited to) as below:
a) Users’ hands must be played independently, in their own best interests.
b) Users must not have a partnership to gain an advantage over other Users.
c) Users must refrain from “Soft-Play” i.e. the act of intentionally playing hands in a non-aggressive manner against another user who is either a friend, backer, or another person of interest. The only exception to this rule is the “In The Money (ITM)” bubble and multi-handed situations past the money bubble in which one or more Users is all-in.
d) Users must not share hole-card information with another User under any circumstances.
10.2. The Security Team employs sophisticated industry-leading tools to detect suspicious actions deemed as collusion. Our tools monitor an assortment of data, such as hand history, betting patterns, and User gameplay. We also look at various other sources of information as part of our investigations.
10.3. Actions taken for minor breaches: WARNING or TEMPORARY BAN
10.4. Actions taken for repeat/major breaches: PERMANENT BAN and/or CONFISCATION
11. PREDATORY BEHAVIOUR
11.1. Predatory Behaviour is defined as User activities focused primarily on engaging in unethical advantages and tactics to exploit other Users in order to gain unfair profit.
11.2. Predatory Behaviour includes, but is not limited to; bum hunting, collusion, use of Artificial Intelligence, ratholing, grimming, hit-and-running, buttoning, and other unethical actions (mostly deemed unethical by general consensus of the poker community).
11.3. Natural8’s promise to its Users is to provide a safe, fun, and enjoyable poker environment. Predatory Behaviour is in direct conflict with our promise, and as such, The Security Team adopts a strict zero-tolerance policy to it.
11.4. Actions taken for initial breaches: WARNING or TEMPORARY BAN
11.5. Actions taken for repeat breaches: PERMANENT BAN and/or CONFISCATION
12. BUM HUNTING
12.1. Bum hunting is defined as the act of deliberately targeting one subset of (usually weaker) Users while avoiding giving action to another subset of (usually stronger) Users.
12.2. Bum hunting includes targeting a User by either intentionally sitting out at a table or observing Cash Game tables and only participating when the preferred User joins. Users are expected to be seated for the purpose of playing.
12.3. Bum hunting also includes the act of purposely targeting a User by following the targeted User’s activity. This can include being on standby in the lobby until a preferred User enters a game and then following them into the game and playing only until said User leaves.
12.4. While it is acceptable to be seated and occasionally deny action in certain circumstances, giving action to certain players while denying action to other players when you are starting tables is strictly prohibited.
12.5. Queueing, the act of intentionally seeking to avoid playing against specific players in blind registration games, such as Spin & Gold, is strictly prohibited.
12.6. Actions taken for initial breaches: WARNING or TEMPORARY BAN
12.7. Actions taken for repeat breaches: REWARD REMOVAL, PERMANENT BAN and/or CONFISCATION
13. CHIP-DUMPING
13.1. Chip-dumping is defined as the act of a User intentionally losing his/her chips to another User.
13.2. Actions taken for minor breaches: WARNING or TEMPORARY BAN
13.3. Actions taken for repeat/major breaches: PERMANENT BAN and/or CONFISCATION
14. MULTI ACCOUNTING
14.1. Natural8 prohibits Users from intentionally opening/using multiple accounts on the same GGNetwork skin.
14.2. Natural8 prohibits any User from intentionally opening an account if the User has been banned from GGNetwork.
14.3. Natural8 prohibits any User from intentionally opening an account if the User already has a Selective Mandatory Real Name (SMR) account on any GGNetwork skin.
14.4. Natural8 prohibits Users from playing from multiple accounts simultaneously and playing on the same table for Cash Games, Spin & Gold, or the same player pool for any other games offered.
14.5. Natural8 prohibits Users from playing from multiple accounts in the same tournament.
14.6. Natural8 prohibits Users from registering for the same tournament multiple times to take advantage of freerolls or promotions.
14.7. If a User accidentally creates a multi-account, we will close all newly created accounts and move funds to the original account.
14.8. Actions may still be taken against Users that successfully verify their Natural8 account(s).
14.9. Actions taken for breaches: ACCOUNT CLOSURE and/or PERMANENT BAN
15. USE OF VPN, PROXY & REMOTE DESKTOP
15.1. Natural8 prohibits the use of VPN/PROXY, remote desktops, or any alternative methods used to mask one’s actual location and/or identity in order to play from a prohibited region or engage in other breaches of our SEP
15.2. Should we determine that Users are accessing Natural8 from prohibited countries, we may restrict their use of VPN/Proxy, or suspend the account and request Proof of Presence (“POP”).
15.3. Natural8 also strictly prohibits the use of remote desktop and screen-sharing software while accessing the Natural8 client, as they can be used to facilitate breaches of our SEP, including playing from prohibited countries, ghosting, multi-accounting, RTA, and botting.
15.4 Actions taken for minor breaches: WARNING or TEMPORARY BAN
15.5 Actions taken for repeat/major breaches: PERMANENT BAN and/or CONFISCATION
16. THIRD-PARTY TOOLS
16.1. Natural8 does not permit the use of certain third-party tools.
16.2. A third-party tool is prohibited if it,
a) data mines,
(i) hands or private results (observing games without playing in order to build up a database of hand histories for future reference), and
(ii) the mass sharing of hands, private results, or playing statistics for the purpose of analysis of opponents
b) is a Heads-Up Display (HUD) i.e. a program that displays Users’ past tendencies and betting patterns,
c) assists in automatic seating or game-selection efficiency, and/or
d) is deemed by The Security Team to provide an unfair advantage over other Users.
16.3. A third-party tool is permitted if it,
a) assists only in the tiling/aligning of tables,
b) assists in the creation of macros and hotkeys for gameplay efficiency that does not reduce the requirement of a User having to make a decision. The User must decide what action to take and the exact relative size of any bet or raise, with the macro or hotkey merely executing this decision. For example, a hotkey that bets half the pot is permitted. A hotkey that bets a randomised amount between half and three-quarters of the pot is prohibited, and/or
c) is judged by The Security Team to have characteristics of prohibited third-party tools but is deemed inoperable in conjunction with the Natural8 client.
16.4. Actions taken for minor breaches: WARNING or TEMPORARY BAN
16.5. Actions taken for major/repeat breaches: PERMANENT BAN
17. RATHOLING
17.1. Ratholing includes, without limitation, incidents where a User plays short-stacked and upon hitting a certain chip threshold, the offending User intentionally leaves the table and immediately sits with a lesser stack at a new table of the same limit.
17.2. Actions taken for breaches: WARNING or TEMPORARY BAN
18. USER SOLICITATION
18.1. Natural8 considers any attempts to solicit personal information as a threat to our Users, and strictly prohibits such behaviour. Should Natural8 determine that solicitation of personal information has occurred, we reserve the right to immediately suspend the offending accounts for further investigation, permanently ban the offending accounts, and in severe cases, take legal actions against these accounts.
18.2. Actions taken for initial breach: WARNING or TEMPORARY CHAT BAN
18.3. Actions taken for repeat breaches: PERMANENT CHAT BAN or PERMANENT BAN
19. OFFENSIVE USER PROFILE
19.1. Users should not have User profiles, i.e. nicknames and avatars, that are offensive to other Users. A common-sense policy should be used to determine what is deemed to be offensive. Examples are User profiles with political, racial, or sexual implications, those that contain insults or expletives, and celebrity impersonations.
19.2. Natural8 reserves the right, without prior notice, to replace any avatars it deems to be offensive.
19.3. Natural8 reserves the right, without prior notice, to reset any Nicknames it deems necessary.
19.4. Users that continuously update offensive user profiles can lose access to these functions.
19.5. Actions taken for breaches: WARNING or TEMPORARY BAN