PokerStars Play Facebook App Launched

The Facebook app PokerStars Play has recently been launched after being thoroughly tested in Beta for 18 months.  PokerStars Play is designed for the many poker players who enjoy social gaming and like to play poker for fun.  What is unique about PokerStars Play compared to other social poker platforms is that it mimics the PokerStars.net client.  Play money balances are also shared between the two platforms.
 
It appears that PokerStars Play will have most, if not all, of the games that PokerStars.net has, including Zoom Poker.  PokerStars claimed to eGamingReview when this product was in Beta in 2013 that it was the only fast-fold offering on Facebook.
 
PokerStars Play does have some features that the PokerStars.net client does not have.  With the understanding that social poker players like unlocking achievements, PokerStars Play has included dozens of achievements players can aspire to earn and brag about.
 
The growth of social gaming was one of the key points Amaya Gaming CEO David Baazlov addressed when the group acquired Rational Gaming, the parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker: "We anticipate social gaming will be an important growth opportunity for the company."
 
While one might not think of social poker as a big money-earner, there are plenty of opportunities on competing social gaming platforms to make in-game purchases.  To that end, Baazlov said: "While this social poker offering is not real money gaming, Rational has begun to modify this offering through the sale of chips to players with important upgrades."
 
A PokerStars rep commented to eGamingReview that this is just the beginning, as PokerStars Play will "continue to iterate, refine, and add features" to the Facebook app in the future.
 
New social features expected to be added to PokerStars Play include more achievements, leaderboards, and player followings.  We can speculate that Amaya Gaming will also want to add additional ways to monetize its player base on top of purchasing play money chips.
 
While PokerStars has embraced social poker, social gaming rival Zynga has been moving toward a real money model.  Zynga Poker entered the real money gaming marketplace in the United Kingdom in 2013.  The original launch utilized PartyPoker's poker software and did not allow users to play directly through Facebook.  In January 2014, Zynga became the first site to provide real money gaming via Facebook.
 
If you like social poker, check out PokerStars Play and let us know what you think.

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