PokerStars Under Heavy Fire Over New Multi-Tabling Limit

PokerStars has once again made a controversial change that makes life worse for their most loyal customers. Last week they announced that they would be reducing the number of regular cash game tables allowed at any one time. As has become usual, this has been ushered in under the guise of protecting the poker ecosystem, but it looks like the vast majority don’t believe it.

One Piece at a Time

The previous rule was that up to 24 reg tables could be played simultaneously, and 4 Zoom tables. Now it is down to only four of either. The reasoning given was that mass-multitablers take too long to make their decisions which results in a less enjoyable gaming experience for the recreational players.

In fact, last year on their Italian server the policy trial was tested with a limit of six tables but in the end Severin Rasset, a Stars Group executive, explained that four suited their goals better. Although, as ever, we never really know what their play is intended to achieve.

So, now it comes down to all the conspiracies, most of which seem reasonable to be honest. Are they trying to push the serious grinders from their network? Maybe they would prefer them to switch to the Zoom pool as the recs purely out for enjoyment lean more towards reg tables. 

It’s also possible that this is the first phase and soon Zoom tables will be limited. This of course then becomes all about the regs taking money out of the ecosystem which hurts PokerStars’ bottom line. Phil Galfond, a man in the community who most respect, wrote an in-depth review of his thoughts on the matter detailing what the end result might be.