High stakes cash games on GGPoker will now be by invitation only, thanks to controversial changes being made by the operator. [Image: PokerGO.com]

High-stakes restrictions

GGPoker may be about to make another major controversial move by making all high stakes cash game tables invite-only.

GG will make all cash games with $25/$50 blinds and above closed to the public

According to a Russian blog post, high stakes players began receiving emails warning them of the upcoming changes over the last few days. With the new rules, GG will make all cash games with $25/$50 blinds and above closed to the public, with only invited players able to participate.

The change is slated to happen on November 8, when the high stakes tables will officially be cordoned off from the rest of the player pool.

Players blast changes

In general, the move has been seen by most players as a betrayal of the “poker dream” – the idea of a skillful player grinding their way from small stakes to nosebleed games.

That criticism is a common one levelled at GG, which has often been accused of turning poker into a casino game in which there are no winners.

may become a case of sucking up to the host and exchanging favors and kickbacks

Exactly how to get an invite to the games is not quite clear, with an email translated from Russian stating: “The opportunity to join the exclusive service is provided by hosts approved by the network administration,” which sounds like it may become a case of sucking up to the host and exchanging favors and kickbacks with which live poker players will be all too familiar.

The Russian users who were interviewed over the changes were universal in their criticism of the move. “My income will drop significantly. I will start streaming and playing tournaments. I will probably have to spend my retirement in a mental hospital,” said high-stakes pro Daniel Vasiliev.

Ethical concerns

While GGPoker hasn’t attempted to justify the changes yet, noted poker YouTuber Joe Ingram was a lone voice in defending the move, pointing out that such changes may be necessary to protect players against collusion, real-time assistance, and other forms of cheating which are becoming rife in online poker.

“GGpoker seems to be trying to balance the traditional model with a winner-limiting approach,” said Ingram, writing on the TwoPlusTwo forum. “Some sites are offering poker that seems more like a ‘chop house’ of AI agents rather than a genuine poker environment.”

several users brought up the possibility for cheating and corruption

In general, however, opposition to the move was near-unanimous. In addition to bemoaning the perceived death of the poker dream and introducing politics into the online environment, several users brought up the possibility of cheating and corruption that the changes would allow.

“Whoever is going to be deciding who gets to play and who doesn’t will very likely just do what private games do where that entity gets a piece directly from the game while also getting to make deals with regs,” said TwoPlusTwo user “The Standard Station.”

“Rahm brought up a good point about fish selling accounts too… you’re going to have ppl ghosting accounts. This will 100% happen.”