PokerStars implements change to Active Waiting Lists

PokerStars implements change to Active Waiting Lists

In a continued effort to keep their tables full, including both regular grinders and also seeking to bring in "new blood" and new players, online poker room operators try to innovate and improve their systems aiming for a better game experience. Poker Stars has noticed the behavior of using the old waiting list system and "seat scripts" software to look for weaker players and flock to the tables as soon as one or two fish shows up. This caused the inexperienced players to quickly lose their money and many times become frustrated, even to the point of going off to the online casino or going back to house games and stopping playing in the poker room. To prevent this, many operators have taken measures such as banning the seat scripts and removing player names from the table. The active waiting list is PokerStars' attempt to deal with this issue. 

How PokerStars Active Waiting List works

Basically, the waiting list becomes a game and you are only offered to join the table you are waiting for if you are actively playing the at the waiting table game.

When you try to join a full game at a cash table, let's call it your target table, you now join a waiting table which is the same type and stake as your target table. When a seat at your target table becomes available, it will be offered only to players that are actively playing at the waiting table. Among those, a draw will be taken, with odds favoring the players who have been waiting for the longest, but not ensuring that the ones waiting for the longest are picked. You will not be offered to join your target table if you are not active at the waiting table unless you are sitting out and you are also the only player on the waiting list. And if you leave the waiting table, you leave the waiting list. You can, however, be waiting for different target tables at the same time or just simply playing at the waiting table, as they are free to join for all players and look like any other table in the lobby, and not waiting for any other games at all.

Don't have a PokerStars player account yet?

Click here for our full review article, including sign-up, deposit bonus, promotions, information about game types, stakes, traffic, and more. Also, check the Italian version of this poker site, PokerStars.it.