PokerStars limits multi tabling at cash games to 6 tables

The world’s most know online poker provider, PokerStars, is testing a new policy, especially affecting high volume players. They are going to limit multi-tabling at cash games to 6 tables.

The test is already taking place

This major policy change was implemented for testing on July 17, but it’s for now limited only in the segregated Italian market.

The goal of this new policy is to reduce the time players take to act. PokerStars claims that this will create “an atmosphere where the game is fun, fast and enjoyable for all.”

“I understand that this announcement will not be seen as good news by these players and that facing such a radical change will be difficult,” commented Severin Rasset, Director of Innovation and Operations for The Stars Group and PokerStars.

According to the world’s biggest gaming operator, the speed at which players act, is one of the most frequent complaints players have.

Worldwide rollout to affect only 0,3% of players

Although PokerStars’ own data reveals that player that multi-table on average take the same or even less time than players playing one table at the time, a worldwide rollout of the limitation could happen before the end of this year.

Rasset explains, “when there is an important decision to make at a table, all other tables must wait. And, of course, the more tables being played the more frequently this situation can happen.”

There is no exact date on when the policy will be applied the rest of the markets. PokerStars plans to use the data gathered in Italy, to make the final decision.

PokerStars blind lobby feature

High-Volume play will be further discouraged by the implementation of the so-called blind lobby feature, which will remove the option to choose the tables from the lobby.

This means that once a player picks the stake and game he would like to play; the software will automatically seat him at the table.

This move will prevent the use of prohibited third-party software tools such as seating scripts.

The Quick Seat feature was already tested in Spain, France, and Portugal. The next step is to apply it on the Italian market as well.

After that, PokerStars expects its blind lobby system to be introduced to its .COM player pool by the end of the year, if all goes as expected.

Did the changes in the recent years hurt the poker dream?

The changes that are impacting high-volume play were a source of debate ever since 2016 when PokerStars capped its rewards program at approximately 30% of rake.

The last years’ addition of Stars Rewards further reduced the value that players putting in a lot of volumes. Under the new loyalty scheme, rewards are tailored to every individual player.

What do you think about those changes? Let us know down in the comments!