Short-stackers at online poker rooms of the Microgaming Poker Network will soon see changes made as the network plans on experimenting with game play. The ability to buy in with a short stack will be removed in regards to particular games beginning on the 1st of December.
The news of the changes became known after a blog post was made by Microgaming Head of Poker Alex Scott. The changes will be experimental but will see the sites on MPN not allowing players to short-stack in Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo. Players will only have the option to buy-in at 100 big blinds. Players who make a lesser deposit will not be able to join the PLO8 games since the minimum buy-in has changed to €50 instead of €15 like it is currently. Players who would normally have placed a lesser amount in their account and bought in, will no longer have the option to do so.
Scott stated in the blog that if the experiment is successful, the changes would then be rolled out to all of the Hold’em, No Limit Omaha and Pot Limit games on the Microgaming Poker Network. If the experiment proves to be a bad idea, the network would be changing back to the way it was, with short-stackers having the option to buy-in to the online poker games in that section of the network.
This will definitely be an interesting experiment. The plan by Microgaming seems to be to test a lesser popular variant of poker. This will not hurt the revenues and be able to tell if the idea is a go or if they should stick with what they are currently offering players on their network.
Scott believes the idea will work. Based on the information provided in the blog entry, Scott stated that 85% of players on the Microgaming Poker Network already make the buy-in for the maximum amount allowed for the games. Most players would not even be affected if the changes were made. Basically, the network would be checking to see if the other 15 percent are willing to pay up to meet the maximum buy-in.
In the poker industry, it is believed that players who pay the maximum amount to compete, do not wish to play alongside short-stacked players. Regular players who pay the maximum amount can find it hard to play their deep-stack action when a player with a short stack is at the table.
It is also believed that short stack players on the Microgaming Poker Network may be upset if the decision is made for the change to roll out across the network. Players who are upset may choose to move to another network. However, Scott pointed out in the blog post that players who do buy-in for the full amount are more successful based on poker studies than those who buy-in for lesser blinds.
The Microgaming Poker Network remains a successful network in the poker industry and seems to make well-rounded decisions. The network currently sites in 11th place overall in ring game traffic with an average of 750 players hitting the sites for a seven day rolling average.
It will be interesting to see if these numbers remain after the changes are implemented come December 1st. Will the network see players paying up to continue to enjoy game play or will players cut down on game time or find a new site to explore. Only time will tell if the experiment by the Microgaming Poker Network will be a success or if the network will have to go back to the old way of buy-in regulations.