888 Poker rolled out the first stages of its new Poker 8 platform on Monday, giving players a major update to the look and feel of the site’s poker client.
The first stage of the transition has put the upgraded Poker 8 tables in the desktop version of the 888 Poker software, with further updates to the mobile software platform and the site’s lobby coming in the future.
Poker 8 Features Host of Software Upgrades
In a press release announcing the debut of the new software, 888 Poker said that the new tables should provide a more user-friendly layout for multi-table players, as well as a “more engaging and enjoyable experience” for all users.
The changes to the 888 Poker platform were first announced in October, with a preview of the new, more modern look already available on the company’s website.
Among the changes, 888 advertised cleaner tables, a sit out menu, the option to automate rebuying, time banks, and a new notes system among 18 highlighted changes that players could look forward to.
“We’re thrilled with the initial roll-out of our Poker 8 platform which includes a number of exciting and innovative new features to make the 888poker experience even more enjoyable,” 888 Holdings Senior Vice President of B2C Guy Cohen said in a statement. “Over the coming months, all players will benefit from additional upgrades and improvements to our next generation poker platform and we’ll be taking on board customer feedback about the new features.”
Players Lament Lost Notes, Seating Options
But while 888 Poker might be enthusiastic about the changes they’re implementing, some players are already finding serious issues with the transition to the new software.
On the TwoPlusTwo.com forums, a user posting under the name “weatherman1” asked whether notes and tags made under the previous software were lost forever, and asked how to change his seat in the new table layout. An official 888 Poker representative wrote back explaining that all notes and tags would have to be made from scratch because of the new software, and that users could not change their seats, as seating had been “centralized for all the players.”
That was enough to provoke a blistering response from at least one user.
“I am sorry, neither change is acceptable,” wrote forum member leviathan74. “You cannot have people who have been playing for years lose their notes and shrug your shoulders; it’s disrespectful to your customers.”
Leviathan74 also questioned how taking away seating choices from players could serve any real purpose, and said players should have more input when it came to changes to the software.
“The first thing you need to do is start listening to your players,” leviathan74 wrote. “Not in a polite way and then shrug them off, but in a way that shows them that you do take their feedback seriously.”
888 may be banking on the new client upgrades contributing to an improvement in their online poker revenues, which fell 37 percent in 2018. Despite that decline, however, the operator saw an overall 11 percent increase in pre-tax profits, hitting a record $108.7 million for the company.
