PokerStars just a few days ago sent letters to the most active Cash games players, informing them that from August 20th, the maximum number of tables will be reduced to 4. Before this change, any player could play up to 24 Cash games tables simultaneously. A similar change was implemented by Phil Galfond in his room Run It Once Poker, reducing the maximum number of Cash tables to 6.
High-volume multi-tabling has long been a source of profit for some Cash games players, and players like “nanonoko” or Joey Ingram became famous in the poker world for their ability to play massive amounts of hands per day.
Before this change, PokerStars tested the new table limit in the Italian PokerStars field. According to management, this change met their expectations, so it was transferred to all fields belonging to this room. The reduction in the number of tables received feedback and criticism from poker players. Criticism of the PokerStars room for increasingly difficult conditions for regular players poured in on the Two Plus Two forum.
According to PokerStars management, this change should improve the game situation for both regular and recreational players. Recreational players' tables will be less occupied by volume-reg players, so the former will be able to play longer and more and lose less money per hour. For regular players, this change should bring a broader field of recreational players and better conditions at higher limits.
Phil Galfond holds a similar position to PokerStars management. According to him, the fewer tables a professional can play, the higher the ratio of recreational players, which should have a positive effect on BB/100 for each player:
“The main goal of limiting the number of tables is to improve the average game quality. Usually, those who play 8-24 tables are professional players, and those who play one table are recreational players. This means that the ratio of professionals to recreational players strongly tilts towards regular players.
The fewer tables a regular player can play, the fewer seats at the table will be occupied by this player, which will improve the win/loss ratio.”
However, Two Plus Two players playing on PokerStars.IT servers noticed that higher limit tables quickly disappeared as soon as this change was implemented. One of the participants in the Two Plus Two forum noted that the maximum number of tables reduces the total number of tables for recreational players, so recreational players may choose other poker or casino game formats. What real changes await the PokerStars room and Cash games we can only speculate and hope for the best.
Fortunately for Cash games players, this format is available in any poker room, so this change can be avoided. For Cash players, Poker School recommends the BestPoker room:
