PARTYPOKER REMOVES HIGH STAKES GAMES

In an unexpected move, PartyPoker in July 2012 suddenly announced its decision to remove all high stakes games from its global offering. The decision meant that no games are available above 5/10 no limit games and 30/60 in fixed games.

The move came without any prior notice to players, and took many high stakes regulars by surprise. While some protested, PartyPoker remained firm in its decision, and explained that the removal of high stakes games was made “in the interest of the players”:

“We have removed some of our super high stakes games, this decision has been taken to make improvements to our poker ecology and in our players’ best interest,” PartyPoker explained to Pokerfuse in July 2012.

“We believe this change will improve the action at our tables and is in the best interest of the poker room as whole.”

Leading up to the decision had been a troublesome time for PartyPoker, who had seen player action drop by almost 50% year-over-year. The decline followed an industry-wide drop in cash game players, set at a 16% overall decline across all sites.