Online poker sites such as PokerStars and Full Tilt have been in the news of late, with each making big improvements to their online poker software in an attempt to attract more casual gamers from the broader gaming market.
PokerStars has made some big improvements for 2010 to its player loyalty and rewards program, with an eye towards giving players quicker cash bonuses when they play on the site. In the past players would have to accumulate more points from playing hands before being eligible for cash bonuses, but now it’s easy for even recreational players that only have a few minutes to play each day to turn their loyalty points into real cash money.
Full Tilt has gone one step further and introduced a new game called Rush Poker that is squarely aimed at increasing the excitement for beginning and casual players. Rush Poker shares all the rules and gameplay of traditional poker, but with one key difference: players are given the option to fold immediately (even before the action is to them), at which point they’re whisked away to another table and instantly dealt a new hand. It looks like a small simple change on the surface but it really amps up the action and the pace and removes a lot of the boring elements of poker, as far as waiting to fold and then sitting there as the hand plays out.
