PokerStars has yet again made a change to its tournament payouts which will allow more players to cash in to the majority of tournaments available online. The online poker giant announced that from September 11 onwards, 70 percent of tournaments on PokerStars will feature deeper payouts.
The company said that it made the decision in an effort to improve overall player experience.
Mike Jones Poker Operations Manager for PokerStars said that paying more places in a tournament offered players a direct benefit. He pointed out that PokerStars had been moving away from traditional payout structures in order to reward more players.
Traditionally poker tournaments have restricted payouts to 10 percent of the field, which means that only 1 in 10 players are able to cashout. PokerStars has over the years sought to change this as have other poker operators and tournament organizers. Both online and offline tournament in recent times are paying more players which helps improve the overall poker ecosystem.
PokerStars
Jones noted that PokerStars had gradually increased the payout from 10 percent to 16.6 percent over the years. The most recent change was in 2017 in which the payout rate was boosted to 18 percent for some tournaments. He said the reason for the increase in the payout percentage was because PokerStars wanted more players to have fun by winning more.
The latest modification being made to the payout structure will be rolled out tier-wise. The tournaments offering 12 percent payouts will go up to 14 percent while those offering 14 percent will move to 16 percent. Similarly those giving out 16 percent will move to 18 percent and tournaments at 18 percent will shift to 20 percent.
Jones said that around 30 percent of the current weekly schedule at the site will not be affected by the change. Tournaments which already have a payout of 20 percent like the Progressive Knockouts and high roller games are some of the tournaments that will not face any changes. The shift towards a deeper payout structure is likely to attract casual players who will be able to win more frequently.
In a statement Mike Jones said,
The changes will be subtle and most players will only notice when they realize that they're experiencing the thrill of cashing a little more often. It's been years of tinkering to get to this point, and we'll keep working to create the best overall playing experience
The new decision is in keeping with the online poker operators’ intention to cater to recreational players more than poker pros.
