Home / Poker News October 2010 / Ladbrokes’ Anonymous Poker – a step forth or back?
Ladbrokes’ Anonymous Poker – a step forth or back?
Posted by: James Carter. - Tue, 2010-10-26 16:03
One of the biggest draws of online poker – except the ease of access – was the relative anonymity the internet offered for players who no longer felt intimidated on account of their cumbersome approach and lack of understanding of basic poker strategy. Now, you can strike out the “relative” part from that previous sentence. That’s right folks! Fully anonymous internet poker is here, dropping the monikers and avatars in favor of randomly generated meaningless tags. If you ever dreamt about playing poker without having to haul around the baggage you’ve created for yourself over the years, your time has come.
The place is Ladbrokes poker, more precisely Ladbrokes poker’s Anonymous tables which now run alongside their regular games. Anonymous Poker is basically
Texas Holdem, played by the same old rules with the only difference that no one will ever know who he/she is playing against.
The advantages presented by Anonymous Poker are obvious for seasoned pros, for those who do not want others to recognize them and thus to adjust to their playing style, as well as to beginners who can now try out whatever moves they want to without becoming subject to mockery.
Completely anonymous poker may have a flipside to it too though. It is basically an invitation for colluders and for multi-accounting wise-guys, looking to generate money at the online poker tables in “unconventional” ways.
Ladbrokes Poker has assured its players that the site’s teams charged with monitoring the action at the anonymous tables will still have access to players’ real information, the same way they do at the regular tables.
So far, the reception of the new tables has been at best a lukewarm one. Ladbrokes has moved to patent its Anonymous poker, though some other
online poker sites may start offering anonymous tables soon.
