PokerStars recently unveiled its Home Games section at its dot-net site. The new promotion allows users to set up their own home game network for play between friends. This option is currently available only on the free play segment of the PokerStars empire, but it is expected to become a part of the dot-com software by the end of the week. The new PokerStars Home Games will allow players to bypass the typical live home poker game and get players together via the internet.
PokerStars Home Games don’t cost users anything to use and present innovative ways for friendly competition to unfold. “Nothing like PokerStars Home Games has been offered before and it’s so easy to use,” Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu said in a video introduction for the new option. “You have so many options when you open up your Poker Club and you can customize it anyway you want, just like you would in a home game with friends.”
Players with a PokerStars account can get their own Home Games set up fairly easily. A player sets up their Home Game by picking a name and assigning an invitation code. After that, the player becomes the manager for the club and is charged with creating its lobby, table designs, stakes, and tournaments or private tables.
Once a club is created, the manager can then invite players to take part. This is done through e-mailing potential members the club’s name and the invitation code that was set up. When players respond requesting to join the club, the manager approves it and the Home Games are set to go. After the club is set up, a manager can assign other members “Administrator” status, which will allow them to set up games also.
PokerStars is offering a wealth of tools that will make Home Games exciting for those who are participating. First, such games as Hold’em, Omaha, HORSE, and Mixed Game formats will be supported by the Home Games system. Players can compete inside the club for points, with a Club Leaderboard maintained for all members to see. A complete history of the club’s tournaments will be maintained, as will individual game statistics.
Through information in the FAQs, there are a few limits that are set on the PokerStars Home Games. A player can create only one club and can only be a member of three clubs. Once a club is created, it can have a maximum of 50 players and anyone can play from the same IP address without issues. Because it is assumed that the members of the club are friends, there is no chat moderation or collusion monitoring. Issues such as these are, much like other clubs, to be resolved by its members.
While PokerStars Home Games are in their infancy, poker players seem to approve of the new innovation. On the PocketFives.com forums, poster “TrueMetalMan” noted, “I think this is so tight! Me and my buddies and I used to have them all the time, but then they just faded out due to where the game was, girlfriends, etc. So, this is super cool because we can get that started again.”
On the TwoPlusTwo forums, poster “horne_dawg” saw some positives: “This will bring back a social aspect to online poker. Now, you can set up a game with old friends that have since moved away. It will bring new players online and they may move to the regular tables if none of their friends are online to play. Then, all you sharks can take their money.”
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Lols… i cant belive it took someone this long to make something like this !
I agree,this is something that should of been done years ago….!
has been around for ages essentially. there are a lot of sites that have invitation only tournaments, which are basically the same.