Table facelift
On Monday, partypoker unveiled its new-look poker tables. They aren’t a drastic change from the previous iteration, but there are clear improvements that the online poker room believes will make players quite happy.
The most obvious changes are the visuals. Again, it still looks like partypoker – it’s not unrecognizable or anything – but it looks much better. The player avatars are larger, the graphics are just a bit cleaner, and things feel a little more crisp and vibrant.
Next, players will notice four buttons/icons, curved vertically to the left of the user’s avatar. The top two are used for interacting with other players at the table, just fun things to encourage players to be social. The first one, the one with the rocket icon, allows players to choose a “throwable” to toss to/at an opponent. Each throwable costs diamonds, partypoker’s in-game virtual currency, but diamonds are easy to earn just by playing. And throwables are just a superfluous extra, so there’s no need to worry about it if you don’t have diamonds.
The next button is for emojis, fairly self-explanatory in 2021. The third button down let’s you turn on and off a hand strength indicator, which can be helpful to beginning players who are still learning how to read the board. The bottom button shows you how much time you have in your time bank.
Another major change is the ability to change table settings while you are sitting there playing. Oddly, partypoker’s software always required players to tab over the to lobby to adjust settings, something the site has all but admitted was poor design. Now you can open an options window right there to change various table setting like card backs, felt color, and bet buttons.
More info at the ready
Player avatars now also provide more information. The ring around the avatars flash different colors depending on if the player has folded, bet, is all-in, or is waiting to act. A player who is all-in also shows an all-in triangle on their avatar, just to make it clear that they have risked all their chips.
The ring around the avatars also reflects notes the user has made on their opponent. Players can be labeled and color coded, so if, say, you think an opponent is easy to roll over, you might color code them green and label them “weak.” When they are at your table from then on, their avatar will have a green ring around it to quickly remind you of your categorization. You can also hover over their avatar to see any notes you have taken on them.
During tournaments, there is a box in the upper left corner on the table window that gives some basic information like what place you are in, how many players are left, what the next spot pays, and how much it pays. Once the tournament is in the money, an “in the money” indicator appears, just so there is no confusion. The tournament info box can also be expanded to show further detail.
