PokerStars Introduces Bubble Rush Tournaments

Unless you are playing a hyper-turbo tournament, online poker tournaments typically take a bit of time to complete. A lot of that time takes place before the money bubble with players strategically building stacks. While many players may find this lengthy time before the bubble to be somewhat valuable, very often players can spend a few hours and come away with nothing.
 
For players looking for something different, PokerStars introduced an innovative tournament format dubbed Bubble Rush. As the name of the tournament sounds, the game is very fast, as there are three-minute blinds levels like hyper-turbo tournaments on the site.
 
However, once the money bubble approaches, the tournament reverts to regular speed with blind levels increases every 12 to 15 minutes. Depending on the tournament, another increase in time before blind levels go up takes place with 27 players left and/or the final table approaching.
 
Late registration for these tournaments is currently set at 35 minutes. In one tournament witnessed, the bubble broke in a little more than an hour. That meant players who choose to late register the last minute may only have to play for 30 minutes before making the money.
 
Otherwise, the tournament is the same as any other tournament. Your HUD and poker tracking database should automatically work in these games since there were no changes that should affect your third-party software.
 
Also of note is that websites that track online poker results such as Sharkscope are capturing these tournaments in their database. While Full Tilt is long gone, one might remember Flip Out tournaments, which were slightly similar, with the main difference being that all players were all-in until the money bubble broke instead of playing at a faster pace.
 
Time will tell whether these tournaments prove to be popular. During the first week, PokerStars is running a Bubble Rush Challenge where players can opt in and cash in any Bubble Rush event and earn a freeroll ticket to the $7,500 Guaranteed Bubble Rush Freeroll.
 
After the dust settles, if these tournaments prove to be popular, I wouldn't be surprised to see other networks offer similar events under different names.
 
Personally, I feel there is more skill in playing a regular speed tournament than the Bubble Rush tournaments. However, if I am stretched for time or want to register for one last tournament, I may choose to play these over a typical hyper-turbo since at least an hour in I know I am playing for some money and the tournament slows down to a point where there is more skill involved.

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