PartyPoker Unveils Software Changes

Last week, popular poker room PartyPoker delivered a major update to its software, offering players new features and even new table options.  PartyPoker is the fourth largest poker room on the Net according to PokerScout.com and currently does not accept players from the United States.  Players from outside the North American nation, however, often play at PartyPoker and enjoy the many promotions that the site offers and its below-average competition.  This new software update aims to upgrade the user experience, but not reinvent the wheel as an entirely new client.

The first change that all players will immediately notice is the upgraded PartyPoker lobby.  Now, all columns can be adjusted and preset of filters will appear every time you return to the lobby.  Previously, filters would not be remembered, requiring a player to enter them in every time the PartyPoker software was loaded.  The upgrade allows poker enthusiasts to immediately jump into games rather than going through the hassle of constantly clicking through the filter buttons to get to a game they want to sit in.  Players can also resize the column width.

Player information, traditionally hidden within one of the menu items, is now displayed on the upper right side of the lobby.  The option for breaking out this information into its own separate window is still available. At the tables, those users who have dual monitors will find that PartyPoker now supports multi-monitor features.  The software auto-detects multi-monitors in use and tiles the tables starting with "Monitor 1,” filling up "Monitor 2" as required.

Cash game players can now automatically buy in for either the minimum or maximum allowed at any No Limit game.  Limit players can automatically buy in for five times the minimum or just the minimum amount.  There is now an "auto post blind" button that is automatically checked after the first blind is posted.  Players can find these features within the “Preferences” area by visiting Table Options > Advanced Options.

Most ring game regulars will agree that short-stackers are the scum of the Earth and should be publicly shunned.  Unfortunately, before the upgrade, there were no 50 big blind minimum buy-in tables on PartyPoker.  Both Full Tilt Poker (Deep Tables) and PokerStars (50 BB Minimum Tables) offer this feature and now with this update, PartyPoker hosts 50 big blind tables of its own.

Tournament players weren't left out of the upgrade, as this area of the lobby has received a much-needed facelift.  All of the tournament status information is now displayed on the right side of the lobby when a specific event is highlighted.  Information such as the current blind levels, number of players remaining, and time remaining in the current blind level are all displayed.  The blind structure and payout are shown directly in the lobby without having to click around for it as previously required.  There is also now a search feature to track a player, where a user simply types in their screen name.  There's also a handy checkbox to track yourself in the standings area.  These upgrades and new layout make the case for PartyPoker's software to be among the most advanced and user-friendly for tournament players in the industry today.

After the update was released, there were numerous reports of instability in the software, but as the problem was taken care of, it was revealed that the issue pointed to a problem from ParyPoker's network provider and not the software update.  Since that time, the fix has been implemented and the user experience at PartyPoker has never been better.