PokerStars has taken a bold step to reshape the online cash game experience with the introduction of its Seatfinder system. This automated seating feature, now live on the global platform, removes players’ ability to choose specific tables or seats for No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha cash games at stakes of one United States dollar and two United States dollars or lower.
The move aims to simplify the game lobby interface and create a more welcoming environment, particularly for casual players. By allowing Seatfinder to automatically assign tables, PokerStars hopes to replicate the randomness of live poker while reducing predatory behavior online. Seatfinder does not stop with Hold’em and Omaha. Fixed Limit games, Draw variants, Badugi, Stud formats, and Short Deck Hold’em at lower limits are also affected by the new system.
Interestingly, this rollout only applies to PokerStars’ global platform and does not extend to its regulated markets in the United States and Ontario. While players at higher stakes still retain the freedom to select their tables and seats, the new approach signals a firm shift toward automated seating for the majority of the player base active at lower stakes.
Mixed Reactions from the Poker Community
Reactions among players have been divided. Some support the change, seeing it as a way to level the playing field and protect casual players from targeted predatory tactics. However, others are skeptical, raising concerns about the impact on game formation, especially during quieter hours.
There are also worries that the system may encourage short-handed tables and increase table breakups. High-volume players, in particular, have expressed frustration, fearing it may reduce profitability, especially with the platform’s current cap of four active tables. PokerStars has acknowledged this feedback and is reportedly reviewing its multi-table limit policy.
A Tested Model
Seatfinder is not entirely new. PokerStars first tested similar blind lobby concepts in Spain in 2017, later expanding them to France, Portugal, and Italy. Those trials were aimed at restricting the use of seating scripts and reducing behavior that preyed on recreational players.
While PokerStars had once planned to bring this system to its global player base back in 2018, the actual rollout has arrived seven years later, where it is now limited to lower-stakes games. Dan Price, Head of Poker Games and Performance, described the launch as a balanced approach designed to protect new players while preserving competitive integrity at higher stakes.
With most competing platforms like GGPoker, WPT Global, and 888poker still allowing manual seat selection, PokerStars is charting a unique course. Whether this bold move enhances fairness or disrupts game flow will be closely watched in the months ahead.
