Posted on August 12, 2019 by Roy Smith
In a continued effort to run a fair and safe poker room, Party Poker now requires players to use their real names on high stakes and heads up cash game tables.
The change takes effect on August 12, 2019 and is just one of dozens of new tweaks and updates that Party Poker has and will implement in coming weeks. The real name requirement follows a recent software revamp that banned the use of Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) and also called for all players to select new screen names.
The announcement about real name usage was made via a tweet by Dusk Till Dawn Casino owner and Party Poker partner Rob Yong. Also the founder of the Triton Super High Roller Series, Yong has taken a hands-on approach with regard to changes at Party Poker based on a #Fairplay initiative that’s heavy on transparency and honesty.
Optional Real Name Tables Also
Heads-up cash game tables at all stakes will require players to use their real names. For the high stakes cash games, it will be the 6-max tables from $10-$25.
While real names won’t be compulsory at ring game stakes of $5/$10 and lower, there will be optional real name tables at those levels. Party Poker players might want to get used to playing under their real names as it’s quite likely that tables on the entire site, including multi-table tournaments and Sit & Gos, may change to that format eventually.
May Lose Traffic
Yong stated in a short video that he’s well aware that some players who favor heads-up and high stakes will object to the real name requirement and will likely jump ship to another poker room as a result. He called heads-up action “predatory by nature” and “a negative drain on the site’s deposits” and said that Party Poker is prepared to lose some player traffic over the change.
The poker room remains committed to doing away with predatory behavior by certain players and focusing on making the site more player-friendly for the recreational crowd. That has angered some longtime Party Poker players who can no longer download hand histories of opponents and use third-party software tools to gain an edge.
FYI: Real Names at all HU Cash Games & $10-$25 6-Max games @partypoker will be in place from Mon 12th. Little video below. Countries flags will be added back into Real Name Tables, we will go super slow with this on mainstream products. KTF Rob 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/ICDeZ6LDh8
— Rob Yong (@rob_yong_) August 7, 2019
Party Poker bosses have repeatedly stated that the changes being made are for the overall good of the poker site in the long term. When regular players have too much of an advantage over less-skilled players, it tends to scare the casual players away.
Poker Pros Still Welcome
However, while catering to recreational players, Party Poker also implemented a new Diamond Club Elite tier in its loyalty program earlier this year for the real serious grinders. The DCE level pays 60% cashback, a typically unheard of amount of rakeback.
To earn that 60% cashback, players must rake $200,000 over the course of a year. Two players have made it thus far, one by multi-tabling SPINS games and the other by grinding cash action on the Fastforward tables.
Whether you’re a pro or a recreational player, Party Poker wants you to play in a safe environment. To that end, the poker room has also been identifying and banning the accounts of poker bots, confiscating funds and returning it to players who lost money to the artificially intelligent poker robots.
