What Changes for Online poker in 2022?

Since the start of online poker sites over two decades ago, around the year 2001, the poker industry has been constantly developing and this year was no different. Many critical changes that took place have the potential to drastically affect the way we play online poker in 2022. Let's take a look at some of the most important of them and try to anticipate what the future might have in store for us this year.

GGPoker vs PokerStars: the fight for the position of the most popular online poker site

It's no news that GGPoker has been aiming at the number 1 spot for online poker sites in terms of popularity, previously occupied by PokerStars, and in 2022 they seem to have finally got it. However, this didn't happen without a fight. Both poker sites are still competing fiercely by improving their promotions (or creating new ones), promoting exciting tournaments and events, and closing partnerships with players and brand ambassadors.

For players, this can only be advantageous. Both brands are pushed by the other to improve their services and offer more benefits. Perhaps most importantly, they are both heavily investing in marketing, which brings in fresh blood in the form of new players that decide to give online poker for us.

Will GGPoker secure its lead, or perhaps PokerStars will reclaim the leadership? Or even, what other poker sites could come close to their popularity? Time will tell, but hopefully, the competition helps us all with bigger and better promotions, tournaments, and more fish crowding the tables.

Our offer includes several poker rooms on the GG Network: BetKings, Natural8, GGPokerOK, and SnailPoker as well as the Italian branch of PokerStars named PokerStars.it. They all share the same player pool and have superb traffic. The promotions are also numerous and worthwhile, so we advise you to check them out as well.

Crypto poker sites

More and more poker rooms have started accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method. Not only the ubiquitous Bitcoin, but also Ethereum, USDT, and sometimes even Dogecoin are accepted! Some poker sites included it as just another positive feature, while others make it their differential, offering games with bets directly in cryptocurrency. Many of them are also good for beginners because they attract a lot of recreational players.

They have stood the test last year: as a payment method, they were fast, anonymous, and worked just fine. Many players could save a lot in credit card fees and other expenses, as well as dodge many inconvenient regulations and bureaucracy by simply depositing and withdrawing in crypto.

If you're interested, then please that a look at this selection of the Best Crypto Poker Sites in 2022 that we have prepared for you or our overall Best Online Poker Sites in 2022 that also includes sites that are not bitcoin poker sites.

Online poker sites vs bots and RTAs

Cheating has been a problem for the online poker industry since the beginning. Recently, accusations even reached famous high-stakes players, which ignited discussions in poker forums all over the internet. There are many debates regarding how to deal with this situation, that at first seem impossible to solve.

GGPoker was one of the first to reimburse players who suffered losses, confiscating funds from cheaters who had their accounts banned and refunding 4,239 players. Soon, other poker sites and networks started doing the same, such as 888poker in December of last year. They announced that they had closed 85 accounts and refunded around 4 thousand players as well. Others who have started adopting more rigorous methods to fight bots and RTAs, mostly combining Artificial Intelligence with a security team made of expert poker players, include the Chico Poker Network and the Winning Poker Network. 

This struggle possesses two main challenges. First, as the anti-bot technology evolves, so does the bot and RTA technology, to become even more human-like and trick the detection systems. If a player uses two computers at the same time, one to play and the other to run the RTA software, it becomes near-undetectable. 

The second can be even more serious, which is the matter of transparency. If the poker site or network is too transparent in its methods, systems, and criteria to catch cheaters, then it becomes simple to avoid them. A lack of transparency, however, can lead to questioning the decisions and fear that innocent accounts might be closed just because of some lucky hands that were legitimately played.

Still, if this situation is left unchecked, it has the potential to severely hurt the online poker industry. In most "dystopian" scenarios, there would be little human play involved, because doing so would put you at a disadvantage of pitting your human brain against a poker computer. So, it would be machine vs machine. Fish making random plays would be a thing of the past.

Although absurd, something similar has occurred in other games, so the preoccupation is valid. No one likes losing money to a machine and a guy who wasn't even at the table. So we'll have to wait and see how this situation develops. 

In Conclusion

There are many of exciting news and possibilities for online poker in 2022. We can look forward this year to great games and technology to make the experience better (for example, processing depositing and withdrawals more quickly). While poker sites fight to assert their dominance as the number 1, customers can enjoy better promotions, an increase in traffic, and more fish coming to the tables.