Poker Software - Seating Options

[SixersFan]

Hey all you posters! I was asked what I thought of this unique option if it were offered at a poker site. I don't think that I was asked if this option would draw players but more if this feature would be 'good or bad' to a site. What do you think of the option of being able to switch seats at the same table you are playing on. There are no sites that have this feature.

I suppose that this would entail making the software allow a player currently at the table the option of taking the new empty seat without having to go to the bottom of the list. What are your opinions? Please help me, I would appreciate all your online poker knowledge and experience. Thanks a lot,

SixersFan

[cbfair]

This would be a great feature and was discussed in this recent thread (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=2385952&page=2&view=colla psed&sb=5&o=14&fpart=1).

[Tapin]

If a site offered the ability to switch seats at a table I was playing at, I would at the very least give it a try. That's one of the major lacking features I've complained about for months. Others around here have been complaining about it for years.

Would it be good or bad for a site? My guess is that it would be value-neutral. The fishiest fish aren't likely to notice unless the site also has a fully-customizable avatar (like Stars; if it's just "pick from the list" like FTP or Noble they still won't notice, I'd imagine), and anyone who's paying enough attention to notice a seat change is already paying enough attention to know why the change would be requested.

I'd be curious to see what the implementation details would be like. Do you click on a seat and say "move me here"? Is there an in-game per-seat queue? Or if someone's already in the game and waiting to move to a seat, do you just get denied when you ask to move there? If there's no queue and no registering interest, does it become whack-a-mole when the seat to the left of the maniac opens up?

[SixersFan]

Very good points. I must address these with the one in charge of implementing this feature. I am sure it would only be available to those already seated at that particular table. I think that maybe just one seat change per player per table? And of course, to post their blind if the move was away from the blind etc.

What do you think would work optimally? That you chose a seat at your table 'in case' in becomes available and that player quits? Or that you have to be quicker at the draw should a player quit and you must click the seat first? Or that you just have a mini-list at that table that requests the first seat available and you get first dibs at that seat?

What do you all think would be best? And do you have strong opinions that it would perhaps slow the game or affect it adversely or positively? Thanks for your input, as this will be launched at some time in mid June. This helps a lot.

Sixersfan

[JoshuaD]

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If there's no queue and no registering interest, does it become whack-a-mole when the seat to the left of the maniac opens up?

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I think that's the only good option. They should leave any open seat at a table open for 10-20 seconds before filling it from the waitlist, and anyone who's sitting at the table sees it as an open seat. First to click it and select "move to" wins.

[SixersFan]

That is a great way to utilize this feature. Do you think this feature WILL draw players? Or that it might just be a feature that one site has over another?

[Mike Haven]

you can change seats at True

you have to "sit out", and then you receive an immediate option to sit at any other empty seat

[SixersFan]

Thank you I did not know that. I will check that out. Does this work efficiently and if you could improve this option what would you do? Sorry for all the questions but we want to try to perfect this issue before launching it life. THANKS!

[SixersFan]

This is a sincere post and would like some response for a legitimate reason. I am not spamming and have not mentioned the software companies name at all. I have not mentioned the site either. Just some feedback is all I want. NOTHING else. Thanks so much for your help and feedback.

Sincerely,

SixersFan

[Mike Haven]

i think the waiting list takes priority over already seated players

perhaps if the seated players had a special sub-waiting list for specific seats, (say, a maximum of three players for any one seat?), that took priority over the waiting list for 8 seconds?

the first player on the sub-waiting list would be offered his chosen seat for 8 seconds as a player left, and if he took the option he would be auto-moved at the end of the current hand

if the first person refused the option, the second player would be offered it for 8 seconds; then the third

this would stop a new player coming to the table for a maximum of only 24 seconds

edit: also make all new players to the table select how much they want to sit down with before they sit down so they aren't farting about and using up more valuable seconds of what could be playing time

[Terry]

I’m one of those who has been posting about wanting this for years. I will definitely give the site a try. Be sure to keep us informed, please.

I think having a general “seat change” list would cause some slow-down in the games while waiting for people to pass on the seats they don’t want.

An “I’ll take that seat if he leaves” list sounds ideal to me but it could be a bugger to implement, with lots of thinking (and coding) about how to display the list (an icon showing you you’re on the list for that seat ?) – is the list for each seat shown to every player or only to those on that particular list -- does the list show who is on it or only how many -- how long to keep someone on the list -- checking and clearing the list of players no longer at the table – on and on, it’s actually pretty complicated.

All in all, I think the whack-a-mole approach may be best – giving some reasonable amount of time for a player to click it before the seat is filled from the “real” waiting list – and if the programmer is up for an additional complication, allowing you to still choose the seat while the “Reserved” icon is up, just like real life.

It seems to me that having the ability to change seats may make the games more stable as people change seats rather than leaving the game. The best part for the site is that the players who find this most attractive are likely to be players who put in a lot of hours.

[SixersFan]

Thanks so much for this valuable input. I appreciate your comments, as this will certainly help develop the software to its full 'user' potential. I see that this is a feature that is desired and would not complicate the site if it is implemented efficiently. I will try to come back with some answers to those questions asap. This feature makes it fair to the players currently in the game who find that table in particular to be 'good'. This might perhaps increase player retention? Great feedback....

SixersFan

[SixersFan]

How about if they just move the amt they have at that particular seat only? That would make sense. Then no going south with a win....

[Tapin]

[ QUOTE ]
How about if they just move the amt they have at that particular seat only?

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I'm fairly certain Mike was referring to players coming in. I agree with what he's saying -- basically, the current paradigm is "pick your seat, then enter the amount of chips you want, then you can play." He's suggesting "Enter the amount of chips you want, then pick a seat, then play." The latter makes much more sense if people can possibly be changing seats.

I'd be concerned about telling someone that a seat was available on a table, and then making them have to wait for up to a half-minute to be able to take a seat.. that's a longshot possibility based on the suggestions here (I think), but it seems to me that it would be something to be studiously avoided. Nothing'll turn away action junkies more than having a randomly imposed timeout before they can plunk their cash on the table and start to gambool.

The trick might be to wait until all the seat-changing has been completely resolved before notifying the waiting list... I dunno.

[Tapin]

Here's an idea, a variant of whack-a-mole.

When someone stands up from a table with a waiting list, rather than empty their seat, put a status on their name/avatar/whatever that says "Standing up..." or "Leaving...". Have that persist for a fixed amount of time, say 5-8 seconds (it needs to be significantly shorter than the length of a hand). If the "leaving..." status chair is clicked on (right-clicked on?) by someone at the table in that 5-8 seconds, make their status "Leaving..." and put a hold button on the chair they're moving to. They're locked into moving to that chair for the next hand, no matter what.

If more than one person clicks, give them a "Sorry, that chair is already being held" message. You'll have the UI feedback of the hold button instead of the "Leaving..." message at that point, too.

If a seat gets through the 5-8 second window without being taken, put a hold button on the seat, notify the wait list, and don't allow anyone at the table to take the seat.

You might want to also put a limit on the amount of movement that people can do -- maybe once ever five hands, tops.

This way, if people really want to play musical chairs, they'll be able to -- but by the end of the hand (or, possibly, the next hand) all seats will be reserved again and the table will be filled back up.

[Guthrie]

I'd love to see it. When I first started playing online I tried to drag myself to a new seat and was amazed it didn't work. They try to mimic everything else about a live game, so why not this?

[Mike Haven]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm fairly certain Mike was referring to players coming in. I agree with what he's saying -- basically, the current paradigm is "pick your seat, then enter the amount of chips you want, then you can play." He's suggesting "Enter the amount of chips you want, then pick a seat, then play." The latter makes much more sense if people can possibly be changing seats.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. Or possibly have a default minimum amount if you don't enter an amount. You can always reload as soon as you are seated, to be added at the end of the current hand.

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The trick might be to wait until all the seat-changing has been completely resolved before notifying the waiting list... I dunno.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good idea.

[SixersFan]

Thank you for all your help. I appreciate the extra input. If anyone else has something to add please let me know. Thanks for the PM's too.

SixersFan /images/graemlins/smile.gif