PokerStars Prepares to Celebrate its 200 Billionth Hand Played Online

One of the world’s leading online poker rooms is on the verge of reaching a mammoth milestone, underlining its global popularity among amateur and professional poker enthusiasts alike.

(Photo by Unknown / Public Domain)
This 200 billionth hand promotion cements PokerStars as a global leader for online poker.

PokerStars deals its 200 billionth hand online this month, which is an unthinkable number but demonstrates its appeal to micro-stakes, high-stakes and play money players. The platform, which recently bid farewell to the iconic poker grinder Randy “Nanonoko” Lew as an official ambassador, looks to forge ahead with its celebrations to mark this unprecedented event.

As part of its 200 billionth hand promotion, PokerStars plans to run a “Mega Freeroll,” with a whopping prize pool of $200,000. All the players that play a minimum of one hand of poker in the lead up to the 200 billionth hand receive a freeroll ticket in their account. The lucky players to be part of the 200 billionth hand dealt by PokerStars online will each receive $10,000 in cash, regardless of the outcome of the hand. The site has confirmed that all cash prizes won during this promotion will not incur restrictions or wagering requirements.

Exclusive Spin & Go Action

Scheduled Cash games and multi-table tournaments will also experience random chest drops, with blinds all of a sudden multiplied by 20 to create juicy, hugely lucrative opportunities for players. The celebrations will also see PokerStars host its largest ever Spin & Go tournament thus far. For only a $5 buy-in, players will be able to compete for a $2 million guaranteed prize pool, with more promotions and giveaways scheduled in the buildup to the 200 billionth hand itself.

The PokerStars brand has taken to new heights in 2019 with the recent announcement of its partnership with UFC, making it the official and exclusive poker partner of the world’s premier mixed martial arts franchise. The PokerStars brand now has a prominent place in the UFC’s world-famous Octagon, laying its foundations to further enhance its customer base in key markets, including the burgeoning UFC fan base.

(Photo by Lee Brimelow, CC-BY 2.
The UFC Octagon, which PokerStars now has a brand presence inside.

Christopher Coyne, chief marketing officer of the PokerStars parent company, said that PokerStars and UFC “have a lot in common.” Coyne added that both brands “want to thrill and entertain” in their “products and customer experience.” Earlier this month, PokerStars unveiled a host of new UFC-branded Spin & Go’s, giving poker enthusiasts the chance to win a bundle of UFC-branded merchandise and gift experiences, including the opportunity to meet their UFC and poker icons. The hyper-turbo UFC Spin & Go’s offer fast-paced, action-packed poker gameplay in these short-lived, three-player tournaments where the pregame spin determines the size of the prize pool.

Virtual Reality Looking

Like the Next Chapter for PokerStars Regarding realism and innovation, PokerStars also works hard to cement the brand at the forefront of the next generation of online poker: virtual reality (VR) poker. The recently unveiled PokerStars VR transports poker fans with the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive VR headsets into a virtual poker environment to play real opponents in Texas Hold ‘em ring games and friends at private tables. With the chance to read their opponents’ body language and have fun at the tables with a raft of props, toys and accessories, PokerStars words hard to show the way for the online poker industry. The app is currently a free-to-play experience, with virtual poker settings including the vintage “Showdown Saloon” and the futuristic “Macau 2050.”

Away from the computer screens, PokerStars also works hard to develop its brand with state-of-the-art live poker rooms in three of the world’s gambling capitals. London’s Hippodrome Casino hosts PokerStars Live, with regular cash games and tournaments played here daily, along with exclusive live poker tournaments and events. PokerStars Live has also made its way to the Philippines with Manila’s Okada Casino playing host to the Manila Megastack on May 12th. Plans are also afoot for a PokerStars Live room to launch in Macau, which has become the world’s No. 1 gambling capital based on revenue alone.