- Winamax has reduced the frequency of 2x multiplier by nearly 10%, replaced 4x and 6x multipliers by 3x and 5x and increased the probability of 10x by almost three times.
- PokerStars has implemented similar changes but now players hit 3x times the buy-in more than 2x at buy-ins higher than $15.
- The changes appear inspired by the lower variance Hexapro format introduced by Unibet.
In a span of just a few weeks, two online operators have made permanent changes to their lottery-style Sit & Go’s payouts in a bid to lower the variance of these games.
First to announce the changes was European online poker operator Winamax, the original inventor of now-ubiquitous three-handed lottery Sit & Go under the name Expresso.
Soon after, online poker giant PokerStars implemented similar changes to the payouts of its ultra-popular Spin & Go games.
Expresso Changes
Winamax has made three big changes to the payouts of its smash-hit Expressos. Firstly, the 4x and 6x prize pool multipliers have been replaced with two new multipliers—3x and 5x. Prior, the 4x and 6x multipliers accounted for a combined 25% of the random outcomes.