For a long time, bumhunting has been causing sleepless nights to the managements of online poker rooms and networks. This means that winning regulars sit in to the HU tables but avoid playing each other, waiting for the fish. This basically cripples heads-up play, as there are few active tables and recreational players who do turn up are quickly discouraged.
Several attempts have been made to counter this tendency; market leader room PokerStars, for example, has introduced the King of the Hill concept, which is to prevent regulars from picking recreational opponents only. The room limits the number of available tables in the lobby, therefore regulars are forced to play each other as well, having nowhere else to sit in.
Microgaming, home to skins like Stan James and Betsson, has opted for a different solution: according to their press release, the network discontinues all conventional heads-up tables and replaces them with the Heads Up 8-Man Blaze system.
Blaze Poker is the fast poker solution of Microgaming, which means heads-up cash game play will only be available in a fast-fold style from now on. As is told by the name “Heads Up 8-Man Blaze”, games will run in player pools of eight. As a result, regulars aiming to play against recreational users will have to join a pool, having to play each other as well. Players are allowed to join the same pool only once.
Microgaming has introduced Blaze Poker a year ago and it is the first operator to offer fast games at heads-up tables as well. In the Blaze Poker heads-up matches, players are instantly dealt into a new hand against another opponent from the pool, as soon as their last hand is finished.
In comparison with previous fast-fold heads-up games, the Heads Up 8-Man Blaze features the pool of eight players as its most significant novelty. This size is large enough to prevent bumhunting but still leaves the importance of game choice intact.
“This release is the latest in a long line of recreational player-friendly developments for the MPN. I truly believe that we have developed an exceptional product for our operators to utilise, and I’m extremely excited about being, once again, first to market with such a player-focused software feature,” Microgaming’s Head of Network Games Lydia Melton said.
Several attempts have been made to counter this tendency; market leader room PokerStars, for example, has introduced the King of the Hill concept, which is to prevent regulars from picking recreational opponents only. The room limits the number of available tables in the lobby, therefore regulars are forced to play each other as well, having nowhere else to sit in.
Microgaming, home to skins like Stan James and Betsson, has opted for a different solution: according to their press release, the network discontinues all conventional heads-up tables and replaces them with the Heads Up 8-Man Blaze system.
Blaze Poker is the fast poker solution of Microgaming, which means heads-up cash game play will only be available in a fast-fold style from now on. As is told by the name “Heads Up 8-Man Blaze”, games will run in player pools of eight. As a result, regulars aiming to play against recreational users will have to join a pool, having to play each other as well. Players are allowed to join the same pool only once.
Microgaming has introduced Blaze Poker a year ago and it is the first operator to offer fast games at heads-up tables as well. In the Blaze Poker heads-up matches, players are instantly dealt into a new hand against another opponent from the pool, as soon as their last hand is finished.
In comparison with previous fast-fold heads-up games, the Heads Up 8-Man Blaze features the pool of eight players as its most significant novelty. This size is large enough to prevent bumhunting but still leaves the importance of game choice intact.
“This release is the latest in a long line of recreational player-friendly developments for the MPN. I truly believe that we have developed an exceptional product for our operators to utilise, and I’m extremely excited about being, once again, first to market with such a player-focused software feature,” Microgaming’s Head of Network Games Lydia Melton said.
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