New Game Varieties
Two new Omaha Hi games are now available at Full Tilt Poker:
- 5-Card Omaha: This game is a variant of Omaha in which players are dealt five hole cards instead of four. Following the flop, 5-Card Omaha proceeds similarly to a standard Omaha hand, with players using two of their hole cards and three cards from the board to make the best five-card hand.
- Courchevel: This variant of Omaha, in which players are dealt five hole cards, introduces the flopet (a single shared community card dealt before the flop and the initial round of betting). On the flop, two more community cards are dealt. At showdown, the player with the best five-card hand using two of their hole cards and three cards from the board wins.
Check the Full Tilt Poker game lobby to play any of these games now.
April 16th 2013
New to the Game
Full Tilt Poker’s New to the Game tables provide players with an easier way to experience different game types and enhance their poker skills. Play proceeds at a slower pace than at standard tables, with tooltips available to offer information on key aspects of the game and options at the table. In addition, your current hand strength is always displayed, giving you an easy way to see how your hand is developing. When you’re comfortable playing one of our game variants, the New to the Game tables are where you’ll find your feet at other game variants available at Full Tilt Poker.
New to the Game ring game tables cover the smallest stake levels offered. You can sit at a maximum of two New to the Game ring game tables simultaneously. New to the Game Sit & Go tournaments cover the smallest buy-in amounts offered. You can sit at a maximum of two New to the Game tournament tables simultaneously.
Your eligibility to play at New to the Game ring game tables is based on the number of hands you’ve played. Similarly, your eligibility to register for New to the Game tournaments (scheduled and Sit & Go) depends on the number of tournaments you’ve played. Once you’ve played 2,000 hands in a Ring Game or 75 Scheduled or Sit & Go Tournaments of a particular variant, you are no longer new to the game.
When you are no longer new to a particular variant, such as Hold’em, you can still play at the New to the Game tables in our other variants, such as Omaha or Irish.
You can continue to play at New to the Game ring game tables after you’ve reached your limit for the number of scheduled or Sit & Go tournaments played, or vice versa. For example, you may not be eligible to sit at New to the Game Pot Limit Omaha ring game tables, but can still register for New to the Game Pot Limit Omaha tournaments.
All existing players are eligible to access New to the Game tables, with each player’s eligibility only impacted by games played following the launch of New to the Game.
You may have proven yourself in our most popular games, such as No Limit Hold’em, but still be considered ‘New to the Game’ for other poker variants available at Full Tilt Poker.
Learn more about New to the Game tables
March 12th 2013
New Game Varieties
Some new game varieties have been added to those on offer at Full Tilt Poker:
- 5-Card Stud: One of the oldest poker variants, the rules of 5-Card Stud are very similar to those of Stud Hi; the main difference is that in 5-Card Stud, players are dealt a total of five cards during the hand and must use all of these to make their best high hand at showdown, while in Stud Hi players can choose any five of their seven cards to make their best hand.
- Irish: This game is a variant of Hold'em, where the main difference becomes obvious when the cards are first dealt: players are dealt four hole cards instead of two pre-flop. Two of these must be discarded after the flop round of betting, and the hand then proceeds similarly to a standard Hold'em hand. Irish is offered in both No Limit and Pot Limit formats.
Check the Full Tilt Poker game lobby to play any of these games now.
Escalator Tournaments
Escalator Tournaments are different to tournaments with Normal, Turbo or Super Turbo structures, as the duration of the blind levels gradually increase as the game progresses.
The length of each blind level will be decided before the tournament begins, with each blind level increasing accordingly. This pattern will continue as the tournament progresses until the final level, at which point the blinds remain fixed until the tournament finishes.
Learn more about Escalator Tournaments.
Early Bird Sit & Go Bonuses
Be one of the first players to register for a new 6-man, 8-man, 9-man or 18-man Sit & Go and the Full Tilt Points you accumulate will automatically be doubled. Every seat must be taken and the tournament must run to conclusion for the Early Bird bonus to apply.
Bonus Full Tilt Points are awarded to the first two players in a 6-man Sit & Go, the first three players in an 8-man or 9-man Sit & Go and the first six players in an 18-man Sit & Go.
Early Bird Full Tilt Points can be earned in more than one Sit & Go at a time. In Sit & Gos taking place during Happy Hour and other promotions offering double Full Tilt Points, 3x Full Tilt Points will be awarded to Early Bird players.
Learn more about Early Bird Sit & Go bonuses.
Tournament List Improvements
We've improved the tournament list in both Standard View and Mini View of the game software, making it easier for you to identify tournament names and prize pool amounts. Additionally, we've modified the color-coding scheme used, enabling you to differentiate between tournament types faster.
Final Table Redraws
All players in our scheduled tournaments, with the exception of Shootout tournaments, are now randomly reseated upon reaching that tournament's final table.
Find Player Improvements
We've vastly improved our Find Player interface, enhancing both the functionality and the look of the feature. You still access the feature in the same ways as before, via the Requests menu, by clicking Ctrl+F (Command+F on Mac) or by right-clicking on a player's avatar at the table.
Enter the Player ID of the player you wish to search for and select Find Player.
If the Player ID you've searched for exists, the results panel will show that player's avatar, any notes you've taken and the ring game, tournament and Sit & Go tables they are seated at or registered in. The results will include information on the games in which that player is involved, such as table/tournament name, stake level, game status and their position in the tournament. You can sort your list by clicking on the column headers.
The results panel also includes a Player Notes facility, allowing you to record new notes or modify existing ones. You can assign a note color if desired, allowing you to quickly identify players when you run into them again in the future.
If a Player ID that you've searched for previously is entered into the search field, you'll be able to delete that name from your list by clicking on Remove Player.
My Tournaments Interface
We've made it easier to view and manage the tournaments you are playing in and registered for by introducing the My Tournaments interface, which replaces the Registered in Tournaments interface. You can access the feature via the Requests menu in the lobby, by clicking Ctrl+R (Command+R on Mac) or by clicking the See All button in the My Upcoming Tournaments widget.
The My Tournaments window lists tournaments under two tabs: 'Playing' and 'Registered'. Tournaments that are underway and from which you have not been eliminated are listed under 'Playing', while those that you have registered for but have not yet started are listed under 'Registered'. You can quickly tell how many tournaments fall into either category by glancing at the number in brackets beside the tab titles.
You can sort your list of tournaments by clicking on the column headers. The widget to the right of the tournament list displays additional information about whichever tournament is currently highlighted in the list, such as stack sizes, current position, and blind levels. To highlight a different tournament, simply click on it; the widget will automatically refresh.
Click on the Go to Tourney Lobby button immediately below the widget to open the lobby of the currently highlighted tournament. If that tournament is underway, you can click Take your Seat(s) to open the table(s) you are seated at, or I'm Back if you are currently sitting out of that tournament. If the highlighted tournament has not started yet, you can click Unregister Now and will be prompted to confirm this decision if it is possible to unregister from that tournament.
Betting Shortcuts
We've made it easier and more efficient for you to make large bets by introducing a number of betting shortcuts. Rather than typing out the full amount you wish to bet into the bet size box, you can now use abbreviations to speed up the process.
Specifically, you can now use the characters "k"/"K", "m"/"M" and "b"/"B" to indicate "thousand", "million" and "billion" respectively. For example, to make a bet of 1,500,000, you can type "1.5m" instead of "1500000". Similarly, to make a bet of 24,700, you can type "24.7K" instead of "24700".
February 5th 2013
Re-Entry Tournaments
Even after losing the last of your chips, as long as late registration is still available, you’ll be able to take another seat in our Re-Entry Tournaments and play for your share of the prize pool.
You can only occupy a single seat in a Re-Entry tournament at any given time, just as in a standard freezeout. However, should you be knocked out while late registration is still available, you will be given the option to re-enter the tournament – as long as you have not already reached your re-entry limit – and take another seat with a full starting chip stack.
Learn more about Re-Entry Tournaments.
Game Lobby Improvements
We have improved the game lobby to provide you with more relevant information about our ring game tables.
In both Standard View and Mini View of the Full Tilt Poker game lobby, the “Plr/Flp” column has been replaced by the “Active” column, which shows the average percentage of players per hand who voluntarily put money into the pot. Voluntary actions include calling, betting, raising, or posting an optional big blind.
Similarly, in the Advanced Filters and Add as Favorite dialogs, the “Minimum Players per Flop/4th/Draw” field has been replaced by the “Minimum Active” field. Pre-existing values selected for either “Minimum Players per Flop/4th/Draw” field have been retained in your software following the introduction of the “Minimum Active” field.
Tickets Balance Window Enhancements
We’ve made it even easier for you to use your Tournament Tickets and Ring Game Tickets.
To quickly find tournaments or ring games to buy in to using your tickets, click on the Requests menu in the game lobby and select Check my Ticket Balance to open the Ticket Balance window. Alternatively, you can click on the red Cashier button in the game lobby and select View Tickets.
When you click on one of your tickets, the games list at the bottom of the Ticket Balance window will feature upcoming tournaments or ring games into which you can buy using that specific ticket. Use the appropriate buttons to register for your desired tournament or open a tournament lobby, ring game table or Rush Poker lobby.
Automatically Decline Heads-Up Tournament Rematch Requests
You can now choose to automatically decline any rematch requests in the aftermath of a Heads-Up Sit & Go Tournament.
To do so, go to the Options menu in the game lobby, select Table Options and click on Gameplay Settings... Check the box alongside "Automatically Decline Rematch Requests".