Speculation on Possible Partypoker Mystery Bounty Tournament

Mystery bounty (MB) is a poker format that’s exploded in popularity since it was first introduced in 2021. Players love this format, and poker rooms have increasingly started to offer dedicated MB tournaments. Most of the significant poker brands, like GGPoker and 888poker, offer MB events. However, partypoker was a notable exception, though that looks to be changing soon.

The concept for this format first made the rounds in 2020 when WSOP announced it as a bracelet event. However, as the pandemic caused the tournament to be cancelled, it was never realised. Instead, Wynn introduced this format in 2021, and it grew from there.

Mystery bounties are similar to a progressive knockout tournament. However, instead of the bounties being known beforehand, this format keeps them a mystery. As such, players can receive bounties of varying amounts when they eliminate another player from the game.

Several of the biggest poker names have already adopted this format in their events. GGPoker, 888poker, PokerStars, the iPoker Network, and Winamax are offering dedicated MB tournaments. 

Several other networks and rooms, like Chico Poker, PokerBros, WPN, and WSOP, also provide events for this category. Unibet is one of the biggest exceptions, as the poker brand stated in 2023 that they have “no immediate plans” to introduce this format. 

Their refusal is due to concerns about player experience, which clash with their player-orientated approach. So far, the brand has held to its word and offers no dedicated mystery bounty event to players.

One of the last notable poker brands to hold out on offering mystery bounty events is partypoker. The brand has previously offered some MB events within other live tournaments. One example is the MB tournament part of the MILLIONS Malta Festival. However, it hasn’t yet translated this to most of its live events or created a dedicated tournament for this format.

Poker Industry PRO, a poker news website, reveals that it’s seen image assets from partypoker, indicating this will soon change. These image assets suggest that the brand is busy internally testing the MB format. 

It looks to follow a Wild West theme, similar to GGPoker’s Bounty Hunters Tournament. So far, the image assets showed a well-designed game with a polished theme, graphics, animations, and sounds. 

It seems that the room will reveal the mysterious bounty using paper. This is a unique method, different from the popular chests or envelopes other rooms use. It’s the best decision to fit with the theme, and we’re certainly excited to see the final product.

This new possible product shows that Entain, the company that owns partypoker, still wants to develop the brand. Apparently, offering an MB event has been one of the brand’s goals for a while now. 

Jaime Staples, one of its ambassadors, hinted at the format being in the development pipeline. If partypoker offers it, BetMGM is also likely to add it, as the brand uses partypoker’s software. We expect the poker room to release this tournament format soon, so keep an eye out for it.