PokerStars Launches Action-Inducing New Cash Game Variant – Swap Hold’em 

In any industry, it is always up to the industry leader to lead the drive for innovation! Leading the charge for the poker industry has been the global giant PokerStars that has launched as many as seven innovative new cash game variants in the last three years. And guess what? It recently launched its eight new game variant, Swap Hold’em.

A six-handed game, this new game variant is played the same way as the regular Texas Hold’em, except that players have the option to exchange one or both of their hole cards for new ones any time during a hand. Now that does open up a lot of possibilities, and we’re guessing that cash game enthusiasts will love this twist to the classic game!

For now, Swap Hold ’em is available only on the .net and .uk clients at PokerStars, but like many of its past game launches, a global rollout cannot be ruled out.

PokerStars tweeted news of the launch of the new Swap Hold ’em variant on March 17, giving all a visual run-through on how the game is played.

What if you could change the cards you were dealt?
Introducing Swap Hold'em 👉https://t.co/eHxVXqfi2A pic.twitter.com/8Nkz1s9Tgt

— PokerStars (@PokerStars) March 17, 2020

Swap Hold’em – The Works!

PokerStars seems to have picked up the theme of swapping cards from its esports game variant Power Up, which was part of the site’s lobby for two years before it got pulled last November.

Swap Anytime – This new launch on PokerStars lets players swap one or both of the cards they’re dealt in exchange for new cards. The fun part is, players can choose to swap their cards at any point in the hand, be it pre-flop or post-flop, or on the turn or river.

However, hole cards can be swapped only once per hand. Once a player goes all-in, he or she cannot swap cards after that.

Notably, players have to mandatorily swap their cards before they can fold.

Six-Max Format – The game features a 6-max format and the players on the table will be able to tell if any of their opponents have swapped one card, or both, or chosen not to swap at all.

Stakes – Swap Hold’em is presently available across a dozen stakes on the cash tables ranging from as less as $0.02/$0.05 to $10/$20.

PokerStars – Making Aggressive Moves With Game Innovations & Lobby Makeover

PokerStars has been relentless in its pursuit for innovation, and since 2018, the brand has come out with several novel game formats like Split Hold ’em, Showtime Hold’em, Unfold, and Fusion.

News of an advanced new game engine Aurora has been doing the rounds since December 2018. The very next month, PokerStars came out with the 6-Plus Hold ’em variant.

In addition to these new game launches, PokerStars has been implementing other changes like banning seating scripts and reducing the time bank given to players in cash games. The poker major has also become very stringent in its policy on the use of third-party tools. That, along with a team-up with Twitch to let players link their account with Twitch directly on the online client, have worked wonders to offer players a safe and more engaging playing environment.

The other recent introductions to the site were Deep Water Hold’em and Tempest Hold’em in November. While the first of them was withdrawn in January 2020, Fusion made a comeback around the same time.

PokerStars completed its migration to the Aurora engine in January this year. This brought with it significant changes to the client like a redesigned look, new themes, and graphics, more legible fonts, mute table felts, and better-looking buttons.

Swap Hold’em is the company’s latest launch after the introduction of the 6-Card Omaha variant in February.