Bodog’s recent announcement that their new poker software will remove the players’ screen names to allow players to play completely anonymously on all of Bodog’s tables has shocked the online poker world. Bodog is attempting to promote their poker network to casual/recreational players and they feel the best way to do so is by blocking all data-mining poker services that provide professional poker players with an added edge. Almost all online poker professionals use data on how players play hands to help themselves make decisions in marginal situations. Casual players likely don’t even know about this option; let alone how to use the information to improve their chances of being a winning poker player online.
The general consensus is that professional players, also known as sharks, are bad for the overall poker economy because they make fish (casual players) lose at a faster rate and this may keep the casual players off the sites. Bodog’s theory is that by putting all players on an even playing field, the casual players will have a better shot at winning and their poker network will blossom because of this. The problem I see is that the casual players who don’t know any better won’t see the benefit of playing anonymously because they are unaware of the data-mining services that are available in the online poker world. Instead, the players that do use this data will leave the site and the player base will shrink resulting in less available games for the casual players, which could result in some of them leaving the site as well.
The only players who will benefit are the ones who know about the data-mining options, but choose not to use them, going instead with their own knowledge and understanding of the game. These winning players may decide to go to Bodog because they will have an increased edge due to the fact that the sharks that do use data will leave the network.
Another online poker room that offers anonymous tables is Unibet Poker. They have been offering anonymous tables for over a year, but these are sectioned off tables and anonymous tables are not a blanket rule for the entire poker room. Download Unibet Poker to try out their anonymous tables.
It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out for Bodog in the future and if this drastic change results in a larger Bodog poker network or results in a loss of a good portion of the Bodog players. If you are interested in learning more I suggest you visit Bodog and try out the new software by getting the online poker download on the homepage.
The Bodog software has always been very unique compared to other poker rooms in the industry, but with this change the software becomes by far the most different poker room software used online.