888 Poker Axes Most Heads Up Games

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Monday, August 26th, 2013 | Written by Shane Larson

Players at 888 Poker were greeted with an interesting surprise as they logged on to the popular online poker site this weekend, as the room has apparently decided to completely do away with heads-up tables for no limit cash games.

The games have simply been removed from the lobby and 888 Poker support is confirming that their absence is both intentional and permanent.

Decision made without notice or consultation

The move was made without any forewarning to players; in fact, players are only being told of the decision as they contact support to enquire regarding the absence of heads up tables.

One such player posted the response he received from 888 support, which read in part: “At 888poker we strive to maintain a competitive and fun poker atmosphere for our players and as such we continuously review the variety of games we offer, and take the necessary steps to ensure that our players’ experience stays enriched.”

Unlike sites such as PokerStars, 888 does not have an active presence on TwoPlusTwo or other major poker communities. As such, the policy change was made without first polling players for their feedback or input. Even if 888 did have such a presence, it’s unclear that there would have been much discussion on the matter, as 888 appears to have a pretty clear sense of what they’re trying to accomplish with this policy shift.

The decision applies to all of the 888 Poker platforms, including their mobile poker apps for Android and the iPhone, their no download poker client and their standard poker software.

Some heads up options still available at 888

While no limit cash heads up tables have been removed, there are still a handful of options for playing heads up poker available at 888.

For example, limit cash games are still available in a heads up format. And the room is still providing players with the opportunity to participate in heads up SNG tournaments.

But it’s unclear if those remaining options will continue to be offered. 888 has yet to respond to requests for comment or to indicate publicly whether or not they plan to eventually extend their policy regarding heads up NLHE cash games to all formats.

We also don’t know if the removal of heads up games is the first step in a multi-phase plan to overhaul play conditions at 888 Poker or simply a one-off policy.

Move in keeping with 888’s strategy of catering to casual players

This is far from the first policy change made by 888 Poker in an attempt to create an environment hospitable to recreational players. The room has set itself apart on a number of fronts over the years in this regard.

For example, 888 Poker was one of the first online poker sites to dramatically limit the number of tables a single player could have open simultaneously. While competing sites pushed the number higher and higher – up to several dozen on some sites – 888 made the decision to cap total tables at six per player.

And while most sites are essentially impartial hosts of the games that run at their online poker room, 888 has shown a willingness to directly intervene in order to maintain the balance of recreational and professional players. The room has reportedly banned several players due to excessive wins at 888 Poker; while the players in question were obviously allowed to cash out their balances and keep their winnings, they were told they were no longer welcome at the poker site.

The philosophy has paid serious dividends for 888 Poker, who have seen traffic at their poker site grow at an impressive clip while many of its competitors struggle just to keep player numbers steady. Much of this growth is attributable to the room’s reputation as a soft poker site.

Picking and choosing what customers they wish to serve is certainly 888 Poker’s right as a private business, but it just as certainly raises the question of just how far the room would be willing to go in order to protect new and casual players from the highly-skilled sharks constantly patrolling the online poker waters in search of soft opponents.