PokerStars to remove regular heads-up cash tables this week

PokerStars is not stopping with the controversial moves: it just came out today that the poker room decided to completely remove regular cash heads-up tables as we know them, and replace them with zoom tables.

The change will go live this week, on Friday 12th of February. This change comes kinda expected, as Amaya already removed heads-up tables from FullTilt last year.

Heads-up regulars have received the following e-mails:
" We are writing to inform you that as of Friday 12th February No Limit Hold'em, Fixed Limit Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha Heads-Up regular tables will be removed and will be replaced with Zoom pools.

Heads-Up Zoom is already in place at most stakes and will be added at $50/$100. We will also be adding Zoom No Limit Hold'em Cap games at stakes up to $25/$50.

This change is part of our commitment to reducing predatory behaviour and improving the recreational player experience."
This change completely removes bumhunt (hunting for weak players only), but also the most important aspect of heads-up game - the ability to adjust and exploit one opponent and his tendencies. The games will look pretty much the same as regular zoom games - after every hands, you will switch the opponent and the table, right to the next one from the player pool.

What do you think about that change?

Kills the strategy behind poker too. You can only play your hand in a vacuum against randoms. They're destroying poker imo.

Sounds really really dumb

why doesn't PokerStars just remove itself

,,,what are they doing?!

quite extreme, i'd give it a chance first, imagine the player pools per limit won't be too big.

WTF

so my action on stars has been pretty much restricted to tournaments only

just ban winners. feels like that's what they ultimately want lol

Heads up is really bad right now though. Way too much pure bumhunting, regs will never face each other on most stakes. It just sucks and while I would rather have it removed I don't think this option is destroying anything positive we have now

About 7 years too late

On February 10 2016 00:38 VanDerMeyde wrote: About 7 years too late

This is the most retarded thing ever ever seen. I bet you think all 6max players aren't bumhunters. You play 6max reg tables, you bumhunt. You look for the softest tables possible. It's obviously not possible to get a table at 100nl with 5 fish and 1 reg anymore, so you look for tables with 1 or 2 fish. This is the same mentality as "bumhunting" HU. Looking for the softest game possible. If you constantly just tried to play people better then you, you'd eventually go busto due to rake. This change is just making sure all the fish lose even faster vs all the crushers like Doug Polk etc...

^butthurt hu player itt

On February 10 2016 05:59 Trav94 wrote: Show nested quote + On February 10 2016 00:38 VanDerMeyde wrote: About 7 years too late This is the most retarded thing ever ever seen. I bet you think all 6max players aren't bumhunters. You play 6max reg tables, you bumhunt. You look for the softest tables possible. It's obviously not possible to get a table at 100nl with 5 fish and 1 reg anymore, so you look for tables with 1 or 2 fish. This is the same mentality as "bumhunting" HU. Looking for the softest game possible. If you constantly just tried to play people better then you, you'd eventually go busto due to rake. This change is just making sure all the fish lose even faster vs all the crushers like Doug Polk etc...

feel like this change is really just a grave poker players dug for themselves with terrible vs fish etiquette. this was the inevitability of everyone looking out for number 1 in the short term.

doubt it would have been realistic for this to go any other way these past years but i cant sympathize at all with anyone who feels surprised/jilted

next up: all tables become anon and 3rd party programs are not allowed

On February 10 2016 08:58 cariadon wrote: next up: all tables become anon and 3rd party programs are not allowed

and all of the 10 people that scream the loudest about bumhunting are finally satisfied

then they quit poker after 2 years of "downswing" ;o

pretty simple.. 20 players waiting alone for one fish generates 0 rake for the site. One fish joins one of the 20 regs, who filet the fish very quickly before the site can churn out rake.

make it zoom and those 20 regs in a pool with 1 fish will all churn out rake playing hands vs each other to get a chance to play the occasional hand with the fish. More rake for the site as a result of the catalyst getting the game going.

"This change is part of our commitment to reducing predatory behaviour and improving the recreational player experience."

LOL at this. Fish have some chance of finishing ahead when playing regs at normal tables , while at zoom fish will just get demolished and lose a lot faster.

It was either this or not allowing players to open new tables while there are ones not full
What Romm3l said sums it up pretty well