A new format of online poker was launched last month, taking Texas Hold’em to a completely different level and attempting to entice a new generation of recreational poker players to the action.
The concept of ‘Flopomania’ was developed by leading online poker network 888poker, which is now regarded as the second biggest poker network on the planet. The idea of Flopomania is to encourage amateur players to play more Texas Hold’em by removing any pre-flop action, taking players directly to the flop without having the chance to win the blinds on the strength of their initial two-card hand.
Instead, Flopomania begins each hand with all players paying an ante and witnessing the flop being dealt. The player sat to the left of the button acts first and the hand then plays out the same as a typical Texas Hold’em game apart from one other betting variation. Flopomania features a ‘push’ or ‘fold’ option where players can either fold their hand or make a bet amounting to ten times the ante, capping the amount of betting per hand and minimising heads-up action at the river, giving people more of a chance.
Source: HabWin via Twitter
The Flopomania games were by no means a complete surprise to the poker fraternity, after a technical hitch meant that Flopomania table games were made available to some 888poker players online back in July.
With Texas Hold’em and other traditional poker games such as Omaha plateauing online at present, there has certainly been a need to breathe new life into online poker and by the looks of it Flopomania could do just that; bringing new levels of excitement for recreational players who don’t ordinarily rely on information on their fellow players to make a bet.
In fact, while the Texas Hold’em pros could glean lots of information on the hands of their opponents just from the pre-flop betting, Flopomania reduces the game of poker to almost entirely the luck of the draw. Pre-flop hands such as pocket aces and kings which seem like monsters at the time can be reduced to low-value hands on the flop, with whoever benefits most from the flop being most likely to win the hand.
Early indications suggest that the unveiling of Flopomania poker games has vastly outperformed the previous launch of BLAST jackpot sit-and-go tournaments, with 50% more players taking to the Flopomania tables as they did when BLAST hit our screens. Here, you can read more about 888poker’s gaming options, including its mobile app, which is totally free to download and allows you to give the Flopomania action a try using your smartphone or tablet device.
Dominik Nitsche, 888poker ambassador, told its eMagazine: “The first day of Flopomania was a blast, no pun intended. The timing was perfect as players logged on to play online tournaments… and had the opportunity to check out a new game – one with a unique twist.”
Certainly, the concept of introducing a larger chunk of luck, variance and speed into the game of poker won’t go down too well with traditionalists; many of whom will no doubt steer clear of this new fad. Nevertheless, with hints of Pot Limit Omaha, it could certainly attract casual players who want to see more flops for their buy-in. It’s definitely a ‘watch this space’ moment for the entire online poker industry.