Nevada’s first (and so far only) licensed online poker operation Ultimate Poker has released version 2.0 of its bare-bones software. There are no new games offered via the update, but the graphics are sharper, the animation no longer injects molasses into the proceedings and several small bugs have been fixed. The 10-tiered ‘Color Up’ VIP program has made its debut in tandem with the new software, which will surely please the site’s couple dozen players.
Ultimate Poker will soon be joined in Nevada by the 888 Holdings-powered WSOP.com online poker site from Caesars Entertainment. In the meantime, apparently inspired by Ashton Kutcher’s performance in the biopic about the late Apple co-founder, 888 Poker has finally gotten around to releasing Mac-compatible software. On Monday, an 888 rep announced the beta version of the software was available for download and asked Mac users to tell 888 whether the product is up to Jobs’ “insanely great” standards.
The poker arm of UK operator Sky Betting & Gaming has also got into the beta game. Sky Poker’s new software is testing its tinkering on Hold’em cash games before tackling less popular poker variations in September. Grinders will appreciate the extra multi-tabling support while players who lost their Lasix surgery money to a bad beat will appreciate the larger action buttons and the ability to assign different colors for note-taking purposes.
This site has oft lamented the lack of inventiveness that surrounds many of the fast-fold Rush Poker clones that emerged after Full Tilt Poker got the Han Solo carbon-freezing treatment in mid-2011. Leave it to French poker operator Winamax to break the mold with the launch of ‘Espresso’ poker. The fast-paced Sit N’ Go product randomly matches three opponents for three minutes or less with one of nine prize pools up for grabs. Three-quarters of the time, players will be playing for twice the buy-in. That rises to 4x the buy-in around 15% of the time, rising again to 20x or more 1% of the time, and there’s a one in 20k chance the pool will rise to 100x the buy-in (with a €10k cap). Winamax has taken some criticism over Espresso’s estimated 7% rake, but then again, it’s France, so maybe no one will notice.
