Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't my login work?

Passwords are case-sensitive. Check that Caps Lock is not on. Check also that you have validated your account.

I typed my login details correctly, but it still doesn't work.

We keep you logged in by use of a session cookie. You probably haven't got cookies enabled in your browser. Enable them.

I registered for an account but I never received a validation email.

We know that, thanks to rogue spammers from other sites in the past, a couple of ISPs are refusing to receive email from our host. We have workarounds in place for those that we know about. If you don't receive a validation email from us within 48 hours, please email us at pokerdiary@thehendonmob.com and we will sort it out.

Why do you need my email address?

Only to ensure that the account is genuine. Otherwise we risk our database filling up with bogus accounts.

Will I get Spam?

No. The Mob never passes on email addresses to third parties. The Mob will also always honour requests to unsubscribe from its own mailings, and provides a link in each one to do so. Note also that the Mob mailing list is database-driven and maintained in such a way that if you've requested 'no Mob mailings' at any time in the past, then creating a Poker Diary account with the same email address will not get you added back onto the mailing list.

How much does the Poker Diary cost?

It's free.

Will anyone else see my data?

Absolutely never. Not even your email address (see above).

Our session cookie contains only an encrypted key to indicate that you are logged in. It contains no personal data and we never use it for tracking. It is also deleted when you log out, making the Diary safe to use from public terminals.

Could someone hack my account, read all my session info and work out how much money I've got?

Passwords are encrypted by industry standard algorithms. When you lose your password, we send you a new one rather than sending you the old one because we ourselves cannot decrypt the old one.

However, if you pick an obvious password (e.g. username 'hendon', password 'mob'), your information is open to abuse. As on any other web site, pick a password which you will remember but which others won't guess.

Is my data secure?

The server is hosted in a secure data centre. Our server software and firewalls are updated regularly and our systems are as secure as it is possible. Your own data is as secure as any of our own and treated with the same sensitivity. Anyone wanting to get details of your play would find it much easier and more informative to datamine the sites you are playing on than trying to hack into our systems.

Ok then - could someone on the inside decrypt the database, read my session info and use it to their advantage in poker games against me?

Theoretically. It would, however, not only be a ridiculously time-consuming process, but would also have to assume that the data was complete, accurate, up to date, and actually referred to the user it claimed to do. The insider would then have to pursue the user across poker sites and/or casinos in order to target him in the games / situations he was doing least well in, according to the available data - which doesn't contain important non-statistical info on sessions (e.g. environment, speed of game, names of opponents, tells, amount of alcohol consumed, etc. etc.)

Frankly, the conventional method (playing or kibitzing an opponent and studying his play for strengths and weaknesses) would be far more cost- and time-effective, and far more reliable.

The Poker Diary doesn't work properly in my browser.

We've tested the Poker Diary against a wide range of popular browsers including Internet Explorer 5.5 and 6.0, Mozilla and Opera. If you're using an unusual browser, it may not display correctly.

(NB : If you're using Internet Explorer 5.0 and are having problems, we suggest you upgrade the browser.)

I'm using one of those browsers though, and it still doesn't work correctly.

If you're unable to expand the menu, or see the calendar pop-ups, you may have Javascript turned off. Go into your browser menu and turn it on.

I can't open the menu.

Turn Javascript on. If it still doesn't work, you may be using an incompatible browser. Try again using Internet Explorer, Mozilla or Opera.

I can't see any charts at all.

You may have image display turned off. Go into your browser menu and turn it back on.

Why can I only download my sessions as CSV and not XLS?

Because we want to make things as cheap as possible for our end users. CSV is an open standard. XLS isn't; if we want to write a program which generates files in XLS format, we have to pay a royalty. Similarly, if the copyright owner wishes to change the standard, we have to update to the new standard - and probably pay them again for the license. Such charges would inevitably end up being passed on to the end user in some way. We don't want that, and we bet you don't either.

Why can I only download my charts as PNG and not GIF?

You may have noticed an improvement in the Diary. We are now able to offer your charts as GIF files. Enjoy. (If you're still getting PNG files, of course, let us know!)

I played a game with an unusual stake structure (e.g. 1-1-4-8 Stud). How can I enter that into the Poker Diary?

We thought someone might ask this. There are an infinite number of stake structures and it would make the 'Add Session' form very confusing to try and support them all. We suggest you enter it as a Cash Game with a buy-in, specify the buy-in to the table and explain the structure in the Notes.

Why do my charts look weird?

Charts with a small number of samples may look a bit strange. Try selecting a wider range in 'Select Sessions'. Alternatively, play more poker. :)

My 'Profit/Loss over time by location' graph is a load of spaghetti.

You probably have 'All Sessions' selected and a lot of locations. This graph doesn't read very well if more than 9 locations are plotted on it. Try selecting sessions a different way. You may wish to plot two charts in this instance - for example, one for online sessions and one for offline.

I'm a statistician. Why don't the charts do curves of best fit?

It's a complex calculation and would put quite a strain on the web server, which is generating graphs on request through scripting only (there are no daemons or stats executables running on the server to handle it). For more esoteric extrapolations than we are able to provide, we suggest downloading the sessions to CSV and plugging them into offline stats packages.

How can I change my colour scheme?

Go to My Details and Edit. You will see a drop down menu to select your new colour scheme. Hit Save and your new colour scheme will take effect immediately.

Why can't I change the colour scheme of the guest account?

There are likely to be several people using the guest account at the same time. If one of them changes the colour scheme, it changes for all of them. This would be rather disconcerting.

I put a session on the guest account, and now it's gone.

The guest account is a public account for testing, playing and experimenting. Someone else has logged in and deleted your session. Open your own account, and your sessions will be safe.

I took a bankroll of 3 times Standard Deviation like you said, but I still lost it all. Can I have my money back?

No. The 3-times-standard-deviation recommendation is only 99.7% accurate. You will still lose your money one time in every 300. Please note also that not only have we no control over the cards you get, we have no control over how you play them either.

I've read all the way down to here but I still have an unanswered question.

Email us at pokerdiary@thehendonmob.com. We hope we will be able to help.

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