PokerStars has announced that it will close all ring game tables at $50/$100 for Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha, replacing them with fast-fold “Zoom” pools on January 1, 2014.

“Our biggest motivation for making this change is to reduce the seating and angle-shooting meta-games that surround our current High Stakes offerings,” said a representative of PokerStars.

“This is in an effort to allow players to concentrate on actually playing poker while encouraging a healthy, competitive, non-predatory environment in our highest stakes games.”

Standard big-bet ring games are offered up to $200/$400 on PokerStars, although the $50/$100 game is the biggest that regularly runs. Zoom is currently only offered up to $25/$50, so the change will involve a new pool being added to the mix.

Although Zoom Heads up games were recently added, they will not be affected by this change. PokerStars is looking at alternative solutions for these tables.

“This is intended as a trial. No decision has yet been made as to whether this change will be permanent or temporary. After the change has been implemented, we will look at how it affects the games and make further decisions regarding either rolling back or expanding the change at that time,” wrote PokerStars Ring Game Manager, Nick Williamson.

Though billed as a trial, the change has been in the works for some time, and the Zoom product was originally developed “with an eye toward replacing all High Stakes games with Zoom,” writes the rep.

“We do understand there are potential issues with moving toward a Zoom-Only offering, but the current state of the games at these stakes makes the risks associated with a major change more worth taking,” he adds.

State of the Games

The “current state of the games” is a reference to the proliferation of aggressive “bum-hunting”—pursuing weaker players and avoiding tough games—and the use of automated tools to help grab the best seats at tables. PokerStars and other operators have tried a variety of changes in the last year to mitigate the effects, but small, incremental changes have had limited success.

A switch to fast-fold only games is a much more substantial change that mostly avoids these problems, but at a cost: By removing the skill of table and seat selection, many players see Zoom as “not real poker.”

The announcement made in the high-stakes Hold’em and PLO forums on 2+2 garnered responses from many high-profile players, including sauce123, Kanu7, Phil Galfond, and Andreas “Skjervoy” Torbergsen.

The early response has been mixed to negative, with many concerned over the adverse effects it will have on the games. Others have questioned whether it will succeed in stimulating more action.

One vocal proponent is Phil Galfond, who made a rare post in support of the change and lamented the changes he has had to make over the last 18 months due to tougher game conditions.

“I used to love my job and love playing. I would sleep well, go to the gym, get food, and sit down and almost always have something to play … I would focus and have fun playing the game I love, trying to play as best I can,” he writes. “Today, the main skills you need are seat-getting, table-hopping, and altering your sleep schedule to not miss a fish. Playing a 25/50 session hasn’t been fun for me in a over a year.”