888poker accidentally released a new game ahead of schedule, surprising players.
Players found ‘Flopomaniaa‘, a low stakes version of No-Limit Hold’em available in the real money cash game lobby but there had been no prior announcement from the company regarding the launch of the new game.
After the goof up was discovered, 888poker allowed the ongoing games to finish before shutting down it down and removing it from the lobby.
888poker subsequently explained it as a technical error on Twitter and stated that the game would be launched formally in the next few weeks. The company said that the game was in its final testing phase.
888poker recently experienced a technical incident, which resulted in the accidental release of our new game called “Flopomania”. 1/3
— 888poker (@888poker) August 3, 2017
It took us all by surprise as the game is in final testing. This highly anticipated game will be ready to launch in the upcoming weeks. 2/3
— 888poker (@888poker) August 3, 2017
We will make sure to take all measures needed to prevent any reoccurrence of such incidents in the future. 3/3
— 888poker (@888poker) August 3, 2017
Players are now waiting for its release with higher anticipation. The game format seems to be particularly focused at recreational players by eliminating pre-flop betting which makes the hands shorter in each game. In ‘Flopomania‘, players put in a pre-determined ante and are dealt two cards. However instead of a betting round, the game directly proceeds to the flop. The next round involves betting followed by a river and then a final round of betting.
The game that was accidentally launched last week offered two forms, one where players could sit with either a regular or deep stack and another with more shallow action following the pattern of the site’s existing Push or Fold games.
Industry experts believe that the game is part of 888poker’s continued campaign to appeal to recreational and casual players. Recreational poker players are often frustrated by the relatively slow speed of poker games and lose interest. The removal of a pre-flop reduces the skill component in a poker game as there is lesser betting involved.
The betting in a game reflects the skill of the players and with its removal in games like ‘Flopomania‘, the gap between amateur players and more serious poker players is reduced. An extreme format of this game is offered by PokerStars called ‘All-In Shootout‘ where there is no betting involved and the players go all-in pre-flop.
‘Flopomania‘ will also offer players more action and excitement. With low stakes involved, more players are likely to join in, boosting action on the board. More action also translates into more rake money for 888poker and large prize pools for players. Some of the other games released by 888poker for improving poker’s appeal among casual players includes Push or Fold, Fast-fold, Blast tables and PokerCam.
