PokerStars Launching New Software, PokerStars 7

PokerStars is by far the largest online poker site in the world.  To stay ahead of the times, the room plans to release PokerStars 7 in closed beta testing and then in open beta.  It includes everything in the previous version along with a few new options and a new interface.

Although the new interface looks like the existing version of PokerStars, the design is completely new.  When the software was first announced to the TwoPlusTwo community, there were a lot of people who were upset since they enjoyed the old look of PokerStars and said the new one looks too much like Full Tilt Poker.

I believe that PokerStars took the best of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker and applied it into a new, sleek client and I am anxiously awaiting the release. Read what's in the new Full Tilt Poker Software.

By the way, for those of you that abhor change, there will be an option to revert back to the old lobby that you have become accustomed to.

PokerStars Representative Lee Jones presented the new software at the inaugural PokerStars VIP Club Live Event and suggested that the main goal was to make it as newbie-friendly as possible while minimizing the number of mouse clicks it takes to log in and play.  My opinion is that anything that brings more new players to the table is good for the poker ecosystem.

On the top of the menu, there are four options: "Quick Start," "Main Lobby," "Home Games," and "News."  I welcome this simplified view and will enjoy having my PokerStars-related news within my PokerStars client.

The "Quick Start" option will list your favorite games, making it very easy to join the games you most often play.

The tabs under "Main Lobby" are "Ring Games," "Zoom," "Sit & Go," "Tournaments," and "Live Events."  Existing PokerStars players should enjoy the simplified view here by not having a ton of tabs for things they may not be interested in.

A new feature for cash games is grouping of tables by similar limits.  When searching for cash games, instead of wading through endless tables at limits you are not interested in, the site groups tables by limits.  You can see how many tables are running at those limits and there is a second window displaying what tables are available for you to join.

When you click on a table in the second window, you'll see a view of the table itself in a third window.  Also, there is a "Seat Me" option if you want to skip through this process.

The "Live Events" tab also looks simplified, making it very easy to directly enter qualifiers for live events.  The new software should simplify finding live tournaments in your area and easily trying to qualify for them.

There are many other simplified changes, including being able to see your cashier balance in the lobby and having one-click access to tools, settings, your profile, and the PokerStars school.

In the poker forums, people have made recommendations to PokerStars about what else can be improved in the new release.  For example, PocketFives Moderator RedIceRap e-mailed PokerStars the following:

"Today I read about the new Stars software that will be beta tested soon. I want to make a new request. When searching for a certain player, most players usually want to watch a certain tournament. It would be easier to have a 'follow' checkbox next to the tournaments in the player search. So, when that checkbox is clicked next to a certain tournament and the player in the player search is moved to another table, the old table closes and the new table opens."

As a backer of players and one who likes watching his friends play, I hope PokerStars listens to this request.

I am looking forward to the beta version of PokerStars 7 being released soon.  I love playing around with new software and am excited by the fresh look and feel of the client while still maintaining the feel of the existing PokerStars interface.

Visit PokerStars today.