- A trial of the new system, dubbed “Buy-In Obligations,” was scheduled for real money test last Monday, but was briefly delayed due to technical problems.
- The system is currently in operation at $1/2 no limit only across all sites that share the dot-com liquidity pool.
- Players are reporting that “short-stackers” are definitely sitting deeper, have stopped playing or have moved stakes.
The new system implemented by PokerStars aimed to curb the practice of rat-holing is having a noticeable affect at NL200 where the system is currently trialing, players have reported.
The new system, dubbed “Buy-In Obligations,” was scheduled for real money test last Monday, but was briefly delayed due to technical problems. It was reinstated the following day.
The system is currently in operation at $1/2 no limit only across all sites that share the dot-com liquidity pool. Once deemed successful, the system will expand to all games and stakes, including Zoom tables.
Short-stackers are “sitting deeper on average,” players have reported. Others may have moved either up or down in stakes to where where the new system is not in force, so the full affect will not be clear prior to a full roll-out.
The system works by tracking a player’s stacks across tables. Players are forced to to return with the same stack size that they left the previous table with, even if joining a new table. The system tracks stack sizes across all stakes with the same stack depth.
The goal of the new system is to curb ratholing, the act of leaving one table then returning to a similar table with less chips.
Currently a player can return with a shorter stack eight times until the new system kicks in—a number that could be tweaked during the test phase to make it more or less effective.
