PokerStars testing removal of game selection

Seat Me plans to abolish seat selection and protect vulnerable players from potential predators.

PokerStars have announced that they will soon be testing their latest innovation, designed to improve their seating process and create an all round better player experience.

The proposed new feature, Seat Me, aims to clamp down on players’ ability to scan the lobbies and seats will be assigned at random. In doing so, the site plans to keep the site fairer for recreational players and instead get them straight into the action once a game and stake have been chosen.

The fallout for railbirds is that live observation of ring game tables will no longer be possible and instead observers will only be able to access rolling highlights of key hands, with Team PokerStars Pros' play leading the feeds.

What Seat Me might mean for you

The poker room will soon begin testing Seat Me in Spain where, if successful, it will likely be introduced in other markets.

It is hoped that Seat Me will:

• Greatly reduce the ability to bumhunt.
• Prevent seating scripts and level the playing field by undermining any players using third party software to seek out less experienced players.
• Mimic the live poker experience of random table and seat selection.
• Introduce potential time penalties to reduce game disruption caused by players constantly switching tables, stealing blinds or refusing to play certain opponents.
• Destroy datamining by continuing the initiative they started last year in which it became impossible for observers to harvest hands strictly for this purpose.
• Ensure players are matched randomly to avoid being targeted by particular opponents.

Other plans put forward by the site include improving payout structures, particularly in Spin & Go’s where they plan to reduce the frequency of the highest multipliers and apply them instead to medium range spins and decreasing the 2x frequency.

MTT payout distribution will also be revised with a small cut from the final table money being redistributed amongst those who cash for the minimum amount. The site also plans to reduce player waiting times before a game begins.