Poker Rooms Experiment with Unique Game Formats

PokerStars and other major poker rooms are introducing non-standard poker games to keep players engaged. Discover the latest innovations like Tempest Holdem, Flip&Go, and more.

In November 2019, PokerStars announced Tempest Holdem and Deep Water Holdem, unusual variants of the classic 6-max cash game with mandatory straddle and ante. Tempest Holdem has a maximum buy-in of 20 big blinds, while Deep Water Holdem has a minimum buy-in of 100 big blinds. Deep Water Holdem was discontinued after two months.

GGпокерок introduced Flip&Go, a new format of multi-table tournaments where all players automatically go all-in until they reach the in-the-money (ITM) zone. Flip&Go tournaments have four buy-in options ranging from $0.05 to $20 with guarantees from $50 to $2,500.

Winamax offers FLOOOP, a unique poker format where players start the hand directly at the flop. GGпокерок's All-in or Fold Bingo is a cash game variation with short stacks and an integrated bingo game. PokerStars Grand Tour is a 4-max hyper-turbo tournament in PKO format with random bounty increases.