Online poker website PokerRoom.com scored an industry first this week with the announcement that parent and software provider Ongame has developed a team play format for poker rooms, making it possible for friends, co-workers, frats, and others to team up and play other teams.
This team play allows members to join an existing team or set up a team of their own. The player who registers a team is considered the team manager and handles setting up the events to play in and also monitor the team wallet.
Team size can range from a minimum of 5 to a max of 10. Teams can play in Leagues or Eliminators. Leagues last much longer, while the Eliminators are heads up matches between teams. Eliminators continue until only 2 men stand to dual out for the victory or defeat of the team.
The team wallet is done in a fair method by using a percentage method to calculate how much a member can withdraw from the team wallet to ensure the players do not take a larger percentage of what they put in.
Poker Room is the first to introduce this team play format to online poker, and the concept appears to be popular with hundreds of players joining and creating new teams “…every minute.”