iPoker to Roll Out Cash Game Changes on June 16
Key Takeaways
  • Starting June 16, iPoker will incorporate major changes to its cash game structures in an effort to improve liquidity.
  • Among the most significant changes are the complete removal of high-stakes cash games and anonymous tables.
  • The changes will only affect iPoker.com, not iPoker.FR, iPoker.ES or iPoker.IT.
Data used in this article provided by GameIntel.

Starting June 16, iPoker will incorporate major changes to its cash game structures in an effort to improve liquidity.

Among the most significant changes are the complete removal of high-stakes cash games and anonymous tables.

Going forward, the poker site will offer a maximum buy-in of $1,000 to NLHE cash games while also eliminating Shallow and Deep Ante tables for heads-up and full-ring games.

The changes will only affect iPoker.com, not iPoker.FR, iPoker.ES or iPoker.IT.

According to the iPoker, fewer empty tables will appear. The result should be active ring game tables filling up more quickly as players will be able to find the games they are looking for more quickly.

“We expect players to move up/down/sideways from niche games to main games,” an iPoker representative told pokerfuse. “This result in a bigger number of active tables and more enjoyable poker experience.”

Tier 2 iPoker rooms will incorporate the same cash game changes along with the removal of all GBP tables except 6-max normal tables. These games will have a buy-in ranging from 40 to 100 big blinds.

iPoker made a similar move when it removed a number of table types late last year. At the same time it also reduced the range of stakes available “to protect less skilled players that tend to lose their money.”

Other alterations to cash games next week will include the removal of all Speed Omaha games as well as the scrapping of full-ring, high-stakes, Deep Ante and Shallow tables for Pot Limit Omaha and its Hi-Lo version.

Limit Hold’em, Limit Omaha Hi/Lo and all Stud Games will remain the same.

Although iPoker is currently ranked #3 out of 80 online poker networks worldwide, its cash game seat traffic is at an all-time low. Average cash game seats as of June 12 is 1,769 according to PokerScout data as provided to pokerfuse PRO.

That’s down from 2,286 a year ago—a year-on-year decline of 517 seats, or 22.6 percent. Average cash game seat traffic for the network peaked near 4,500 in on April 12, 2012.