The Microgaming Network is set to embrace more anonymity at the tables in a sweeping network-wide change to cash games scheduled for next month.
All NL heads up games will be anonymous-only and anonymous tables at full ring NL and 6-max limit will be rolled out at all stakes, according to a report on poker training and affiliate site PokerStrategy.com. A limited offering will also be spread at “beginners” tables.
On anonymous tables, players are not identified by their immutable screen name but by an anonymous handle. Anonymous tables reduce the effectiveness of data tracking and HUDs, and nullifies the illicit practice of data mining. Microgaming first introduced such tables back in October 2010, with its introduction at HU NL and limited offering in cash NL ring games.
Microgaming is not the only site to offer anonymity at the tables. PartyPoker added the feature in November 2010, although limited to HU games only. It has been a long champion of allowing users to make regular screen name changes, similarly reducing the advantage gained from collecting historical data on an opponent. The Cake Poker network also permits regular screen name changes. Traditionally it has also barred HUDs, although recently it relaxed its stance.
The move is the first major network-wide change since the formation of Microgaming’s “Network Management Board”, that brings together the key brands on Microgaming to discuss network-wide issues, and to “contribute towards the success of each other and to the network as a whole.” The network proclaimed it was “off to a great start” after the group convened for the first time at the beginning of this month.
