Online Poker

The introduction of synchronized tournament breaks has swept the world of online poker, with many different poker networks jumping on the bandwagon. What's most interesting is that many of them have chosen to break at the same time - 55 minutes past the hour, for 5 minutes, or simply to the top of the hour.

Poker sites that synchronize their breaks in this way include Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, Ultimate Bet, Absolute Poker, Cake Poker, and recently Carbon Poker. Most of these sites make exceptions for tourneys that have only recently started, except for Cake Poker, which has elected to maintain the 55 minutes past the hour rule regardless of how little time the tournament has been running for, though they are excluding Sit and Go tournaments with fewer than 30 players from break synchronization.

It's really good to see the poker rooms deciding to break at the same time, and not being jerks about people who might play at multiple rooms at once. Not everyone is some incredible savant player who can do well in any game at any stakes and with any conditions - some people have a niche that requires they play only in specific tournament conditions at specific stakes if they are to do well. For these specialist players trying to make some money by playing in tourneys at multiple sites simultaneously, the synchronization of breaks must be a godsend.

What do you think about poker rooms synchronizing tournament breaks at the same time? Please tell us in the comments.

-Shad