PokerStars Launches SNG Omaha Tournaments

It was only a matter of time before PokerStars launched their next ‘new big thing’ to the poker world, and yesterday was that day – a Spin & Go version of the popular Omaha variant hitting the site just in time for the SCOOP festival.

“Omaha is a highly enjoyable poker variant and was quite high up on our players’ request list to deliver it as a Spin & Go,” was how Severin Rasset, PokerStars Director of Poker Operations and Innovation described it, although it’s not yet clear how popular this tougher variant of the game will be amongst the recreational players the rather random Spin&Go games are aimed at.

“We’re really pleased to be able to do this and hope that it will be as popular in this format as it is in our cash games,” continued Rasset, adding, “The icing on the cake for players is that these Spin & Go’s will be an exclusive qualifier into our SCOOP Event 5: Pot Limit Omaha …so there really is no better time to get involved and give it a try.”

The fast-paced Hyper-Turbo poker format has been an increasing focus of the world’s leading site over the last couple of years as they distance themselves from the skill-based element of the game in favour of ‘lottery-style’ games to complement their online casino and sportsbetting approach.

A hastily-convened Reddit.com thread on the announcement pointed out several of the drawbacks for those hoping to hit the big time in the Spin&Go version of PLO, ‘Clarityy’ posting that:

"People love PLO. PLO is great ‘cause people are terrible at it. The variance is really really, high though. So to have it in a hyper-turbo format I doubt the format is even beatable."

Another user, the amazingly named ‘noanusbutts’, concurred, writing:

"Just when you thought Spins couldn't get any more coinflippy."

Team PokerStars pro Lex Veldhuis obviously begs to differ, stating in the press release that:

“Omaha is just perfect for Spin & Go. There will be a lot of action because you can play so many hands, but it’s also really hard to knock people out in PLO. This will make for some very intense situations when the multipliers get high. I can’t wait to try them.”

However, fans of the ordinary PLO tournaments will have to wait and see if PokerStars introduction of and focus on Spin&Go versions will have the same effect as they have had on No Limit hold’em, which has seen fewer games and fewer tournaments aimed at the lower stakes taking place.