In a blog post yesterday on MPN.eu (Microgaming Poker Network), MPN’s Head of Poker Alex Scott reviewed some of the major initiatives, both online and live, that the network has taken, including the migration of Republic of Georgia-based Adjarabet to Microgaming using the Babelfish API. The highlight of the memo, though, was the last topic covered, the upcoming launch of alias changes.
Alias changes, as it sounds, is the ability for players network-wide to create a new screen name. Once the update rolls out in July, MPN will permit players to change their screen name, the name other players see on the tables, once every 30 days or every 1,000 real money hands, whichever comes first. Everyone will also be granted one free change, no minimum time or hands required, right off the bat.
Scott explained the reason behind the network’s decision:
The intention behind this is simple – we want to stop parasitic players from ruthlessly pursuing weaker players. We also want regs to play each other once in a while, and we don’t want players to create a new account with a new poker room just because their alias is unlucky. So we’re making the alias change feature quite prominent and I hope that a lot of players will use it.
MPN is not the first network or poker site to implement something like this; it is yet another step in the industry trend towards catering to the recreational player. Some networks and sites have also delegated certain tables as anonymous, removing screen names altogether. Bodog, the largest U.S.-facing poker room, has made all of its tables anonymous, replacing aliases with random player numbers that change at every table. There was some skepticism at first that a dramatic move like that could hurt the poker room, but Bodog has been thriving, sitting comfortably in the top five of PokerScout’s cash game rankings (it doesn’t hurt, either, that it still accepts U.S. customers).
As Scott said, MPN wants to protect weaker players with this change, the same goal other rooms and networks have had with similar decisions. Historically, strong players have used player/hand tracking software such as PokerTracker to not only maintain records of the own play for analysis, but to also keep statistics on opponents. These stats can often be displayed right on the tables (viewable only to the player who is using the software), allowing users to have always have a good idea of an opponent’s tendencies.
More of a problem than hand tracking software (which I personally have no problem with), is seat scripting software which takes opponent tracking one step further. This software actually analyzes tables, searches for the weaker players, and automatically seats its user at tables with those targeted opponents. Giving players the ability to change their screen name periodically will also allow them to avoid being hunted via seating scripts, as those using the scripts will not have data on the apparent “new” player.
Scott also noted that MPN is working on defeating seating scripts and if they determine that they can “effectively police a ban on scripts,” they will.
