GGPoker Tournaments to Have Bubble Protection from August

From August, players at GGPoker who miss out on tournament prize money by one place will get their buy-ins refunded – subject to certain terms and conditions.

Bubble protection – in which players get their buy-ins back if they finish outside the prize money in a poker tournament – is not a new concept. For many years the World Series of Poker has given the player who bubbles the Main Event an entry into the following year´s tournament; and, in 2011, a US company launched a service in which players could insure themselves against finishing outside the money in online poker tournaments.

The company offering insurance in online poker tournaments no longer exists due tdeal-makinga paid-for service that didn´t attract enough interest to be viable; but the concept of bubble protection has never gone away (i.e. with staking and private deal making). Now GGPoker has announced it will apply free bubble protection to all its online poker tournaments from August; but, in order to benefit from the feature, players have to fulfil certain terms and conditions.

How GGPoker´s Bubble Protection Works

From 1st August, GGPoker will automatically refund the buy-in of any player who finishes one place outside the money in a GGPoker online poker tournament, provided the tournament has at least ten entries and the player entered the tournament before it started – e.g. if a player finishes outside the money bubble after late registering, he or she will not be eligible to receive a refund of their buy-in.

The “twist” of excluding late registering players from the feature is designed to encourage more players to register early for GGPoker´s tournaments and dissuade players aiming for a minimum cash registering at the last minute. Whether or not this element of the features achieves its desired effect, and more players are seated at the start of each tournament, we shall have to wait and see.

A Gimmick or a Worthwhile Feature?

A bit of both really. GGPoker will get plenty of positive attention for introducing this feature and trying to get more chips on the tables at the start of poker tournaments. It will certainly be a worthwhile feature for any player who registers prior to the start of a Blade or High Roller tournament and misses out on the prize money by one place; but, rather than accelerate the end of GGPoker tournaments, it could actually slow them down.

By introducing bubble protection, GGPoker has effectively introduced two back-to-back bubbles – the first to receive a refund of the buy-in, and the second to hit the lowest cash prize. Although not every player will be interested in the bubble protection (because some of them will have late registered and be ineligible for a refund), there´s likely to be even more tanking each turn than previously. So, although it´s a nice gesture, bubble protection could negatively impact the online poker experience.

Better New Features Likely During August

Bubble protection aside, the next couple of months looks like they could be really exciting at GGPoker. Following on from its Rush and Cash Gold Hunt promotion in June, this month´s Flush Rush promotion has been incredibly popular. With a week remaining in the promotion, you now need more than a thousand Flushes to make it onto the low-stakes Flush Rush leaderboard.

We don´t know yet what the site has planned for its August promotions or what new features – other than bubble protection – will be incorporated into its next software update. What we do know for sure is there are already plenty of permanent promotions running that provide players with the opportunity to enjoy a lucrative experience at GGPoker. You can find out more about these in our GGPoker review.