Synchronized breaks may make their long-awaited debut on PokerStars on Tuesday as part of a soon-to-be-launched software update. Full Tilt Poker rolled out synchronized breaks in April, taking the online poker industry by storm. Now, multi-tablers are rejoicing with the news that PokerStars will likely follow suit.
As is the case on Full Tilt Poker, synchronized breaks will take place at 55 minutes past every hour, according to posts from PokerStars that appear on both PocketFives.com and TwoPlusTwo.com. No breaks will be skipped on PokerStars, so a tournament that starts at 50 past the hour will still break five minutes later. In the case of rebuy tournaments, the posts note, “If a tournament is a rebuy tournament, there will be an extra short break at the end of the rebuy period to allow for add-ons to be made.”
Likely starting with Tuesday’s PokerStars software update, only a handful of tournaments will feature synchronized breaks. They’ll be denoted by the phrase, “The tournament goes on break at 55 minutes past the hour” in the event’s information window. In addition, the “Breaks” area of the tournament information screen will also denote that the festivities will be paused at 55 minutes past every hour for a well-deserved respite. The response from members of both online poker forums was resoundingly positive.
Full Tilt’s synchronized breaks also start at five minutes until every hour. However, several tournaments do not see their action paused, including those that are available for late registration, standard tournaments in the first blind level, turbo tournaments in the first two blind levels, and sit and gos with fewer than 30 entrants. Rebuy tournaments feature 30 second to two minute breaks following the rebuy period in order to allow for players to add on.
PokerStars is also slated to launch Mixed Hold’em/Omaha, a game that is part of the site’s 2009 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) schedule. The new addition to the already bustling PokerStars cash game scene can be found by visiting the “Other Games” tab within the lobby, clicking on “Mixed Games,” and then locating “PLH/PLO.” Players will have a chance to fine-tune their skills in WCOOP Event #29, a $320 buy-in Half Pot Limit Hold’em, Half Pot Limit Omaha tournament with a $400,000 guaranteed prize pool up for grabs. The 2009 WCOOP schedule culminates in a $5,200 buy-in Main Event, which will take place over two days and guarantee at least $10 million. The 2009 WCOOP starts in just one month.
The length of time available for “extended registrations” may soon be shown in the tournament information window, where developers of PokerStars have “squashed a few rare bugs with the algorithm.” In other tournament updates, private events will soon be available for low-stakes players who normally compete at the $1.10 and $3.30 buy-ins. The site’s post notes, “The privilege to create private tournaments on PokerStars is available to most players who have earned 2,000 or more [Frequent Player Points] over the lifetime of their account.”
PokerStars players who win satellites will be automatically entered into the event they qualified for. If extended registration is still available, a player will enter the queue. If not, players will receive T$, W$, or a ticket to the event to play at a future date or use as they see fit. The site noted that it had corrected a “long-standing bug” to bring this feature to life.
PokerStars officials are also allegedly hard at work on developing a multi-currency client and will be opening beta testing later this month. The site is currently soliciting testers for the update. Prospective users must speak English and be willing to hit the virtual felts of the online poker site using the Euro currency. There was no indication as to what other currencies are being tested or are in development.
We’ll have full details for you as they unfold right here on Poker News Daily.
