• Pokerstars Showtime Hold'em
• Pokerstars Showtime Poker
• Pokerstars Nl Showtime
• Pokerstars Showtime Holdem

PokerStars announced in September that it will be removing Unfold.

Originally touted as a permanent addition to the company’s offering, the latest cash game innovation by PokerStars is scheduled to be scrapped in the coming days.

“Following a strategic review, we have made the decision to fold ‘Unfold’,” said Severin Rasset, Director of Poker Innovation and Operations in a statement to pokerfuse.

Initially, Unfold was scheduled to be taken down Monday, September 10, but the company quickly backtracked on its termination termination timeline, though the game is still set to be pulled.

What is Unfold Hold’em?

Unfold Hold’em is a unique twist on traditional Texas Hold’em that allows a player the ability to retrieve their mucked cards once a flop is dealt and enter a side pot with other players.

What are the Rules of Unfold Hold’em?

PokerStars is set to launch its new novelty cash game Showtime Hold’em across the dot-com network later today, PRO can reveal. Showtime Hold’em is a twist on No Limit Hold’em, where players have to reveal their hand to the table every time they fold. It is the second in a suite of new game innovations that will hit the client this year. Jun 06, 2018 June 6, 2018 by Ivan Potocki Showtime Hold’em: The latest innovation to hit the felt at PokerStars, introducing a new variation of the game, where players’ cards are exposed once they decide to fold. Online poker giant PokerStars seems determined to come up with a new variation of the most popular poker game out there, Texas Hold’em. Showtime Hold’em Launches on PokerStars Split Hold’em has given way to Showtime Hold’em, a form of poker that shows all folded cards to the rest of the table (except in the case of the showdown where the losing player folds).

A minimum of four players must be dealt into a hand for the Unfold action to kick in. At the start of each hand, every player on the table contributes an ante—the size of which depends on the table stakes. The antes collected go into a separate pot called Unfold pot.

Once a flop is dealt, players who folded may return to the game with the same hole cards they mucked. To do so, players have to contribute a bet equivalent to the size of the Unfold Pot and the players that previously folded will only be able to compete for Unfold pot.

Once eligible players pay the Unfold bet, there will be no further bets from these players, and the rest of hand will be played out among the players who have not yet folded in the the hand. In case the main pot is won before the full board is dealt, the remaining community cards are dealt (rabbit hunting) to determine the winner of the Unfold pot. The unfold pot is awarded to the player in the Unfold pot with the strongest 5-card poker hand after the river is dealt.

Unfold antes will be refunded to all players if:

• The main pot is decided pre-flop
• Fewer than two players fold pre-flop
• No players choose to Unfold

Where Can I Play Unfold Hold’em?

Unfold Hold’em can be played at the world’s leading online poker site, PokerStars.

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Is Unfold Hold’em Available in Tournaments?

No, Unfold Hold’em is only available in a cash game format. It is played as an eight-max No Limit Hold’em format.

What are the Minimum and Maximum Buy-ins or Table Stakes for Unfold Hold’em?

Unfold Hold’em is offered from $0.03/$0.06 with the Unfold Ante at $0.02 to a maximum limit of $1/$2 with the Unfold Ante at $0.60. Buy-ins are fixed meaning players cannot choose their own buy-in. Buy-ins range from 60 big blinds at lower stakes to 80 big blinds at higher stakes.

Can Players Choose Their Own Table or Seat in Unfold Hold’em?

No. Unfold Hold’em has adopted “Seat Me” or blind-lobby functionality. Under this system, players choose the game and stake and the software automatically finds a seat for the players. If no seat is immediately available, players join a waiting list.

What is the Rake Structure of Unfold Hold’em?

Since there are two separate pots in Unfold Hold’em, there is separate rake for each pot. The Main Pot is raked at 4.25% at lower stakes and goes up to a maximum of 5% at higher stakes.

However, in an Unfold Pot, rake ranges from 5% to 8%. If no players choose to unfold or if the hand gets dealt to less than four players, rake is not charged on the Unfold pot. Caps on the rake depend on the table stakes which is shown as below.

Unfold Rake

Stakes	Unfold Ante	Main Pot Rake	2 Player Cap	3-4 Player Cap	5+ Player Cap	Unfold Rake/Cap
$0.03/$0.06	$0.02	4.25%	$0.50	$0.50	$1.00	8%/$0.09
$0.05/$0.10	$0.03	4.50%	$0.50	$1.00	$1.50	8%/$0.13
$0.10/$0.20	$0.06	4.50%	$0.50	$1.00	$2.00	7%/$0.24
$0.25/$0.50	$0.15	5.00%	$0.75	$0.75	$2.00	7%/$0.59
$0.50/$1	$0.30	5.00%	$1.00	$1.00	$2.50	6%/$1.01
$1/$2	$0.60	5.0%	$1.25	$1.25	$2.75	5%/$1.68

Is Unfold Hold’em Available in My Region?

Unfold Hold’em is available for real money in global dot-com, European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), and Denmark (DK) client. The game is not yet available in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, European shared network (France, Portugal, and Spain), Greece, India, Italy, and New Jersey.

However, players from all these regions (including the United States) can play Unfold Hold’em for play-money in NET client.

Is Unfold Hold’em Supported by Third-party Tracking Software?

No, at the moment neither PokerTracker or Holdem Manager tracks Unfold Hold’em.

Are There Any Promotions on Unfold Hold’em?

PokerStars is offering over $7500 in free cash to celebrate the launch of Unfold Hold’em. Players who make their first deposit by September 1 will receive 30 School Pass tickets which can be used to enter Unfold Freebuy tourneys.

Existing players can also earn 30 School Pass tickets by making a deposit of a minimum of $10 using the bonus code “UnfoldSchool” by September 1.

Additionally, players can earn School Pass tickets by participating in PokerStars social media or commenting in the PokerStarsSchool forum.

However, Unfold Freebuy tourneys will play as normal No Limit Hold’em and players won’t have the ability to unfold their hole cards. Players who make cash in these tournaments can use that bankroll to play Unfold cash games.

Latest News on Unfold:

Exclusive: partypoker to Implement Fixed Buy-in Functionality at Cash Games by the End of June

As a part of partypoker’s ongoing changes to improve ecology, all cash games will have a fixed 100 big-blind buy-in by the end of this month.

Exclusive: 6+ Hold’em, Showtime and Fusion to Return to PokerStars in Tournament Format

Both Hold’em and Omaha versions of Showtime are among the games that will soon make their debut as MTTs.

6+ Hold’em to Debut in Italy and it Could be Permanent

6+ will be the only variant in the recent wave of new games from PokerStars to go live in a segregated market.

PokerStars Takes Down Fusion, Six Plus Hold’em Could Make its Debut on January 16

After successfully running for more than two months, PokerStars has withdrawn Fusion from its poker client.

888 to Launch a New Poker Game: Pik’em Poker

The latest innovation from 888poker is expected to be released later this month.

PokerStars Hints that Showtime, Split Hold’em May Return in Tournament Format

MTT versions of recent limited-run games have been requested by players.

Unfold Poker: Your Guide to PokerStars’ Latest Poker Game

Unfold Hold’em by PokerStars lets players get back into the action even if they had folded preflop.

PokerStars Folds Unfold Poker: Online Poker Giant Set to Remove Latest Poker Innovation After Six-Week Test Run

Unfold will be the third new cash game product innovation from the online poker giant this year that will be withdrawn after a limited time.

Exclusive: PokerStars’ Next New Online Poker Game Could be Six Plus Hold’em

New leak suggests that the online poker room plans to launch 6+ Hold’em, also known as Short Deck Poker, the action-filled online poker variant that’s proved a hit in Asia.

Read more on

Pokerstars Showtime Hold'em

Unfold » May 26, 2018 8:55 am

Over the years, PokerStars has prided itself on continuously inventing new poker variants in order help keep players interested in the game, with examples that spring to mind including Zoom, Beat The Clock, KO Poker, and Spin & Gos.

More recently, an adaption of the “run it twice” concept was introduced called Split Hold’em in which two sets of community cards are dealt, although the game may not have been quite so well received as the PokerStars had initially hoped.

The site’s latest innovation on the Texas Hold’em theme, however, is sure to create a much greater sense of excitement as players participating in Showtime Hold’em will be able to see their opponents’ hole cards once they are folded. For a game of incomplete information, this will allow players to form a much more complete picture of their opponent’s potential holding and style of play, whilst shining more light on their poker strengths and weaknesses.

Nightmare for Nits

Recently, PokerStars Team Pros Lex Veldhuis, Fintan Hand, and Ben Spragg appeared in a video promoting the new variant, with Veldhuis pointing out that Showtime Hold’em players can now receive all the information necessary in order to make the best decisions possible in a hand. As Spragg subsequently explains:

“For a nit like me, this is a nightmare. People are just going to see how pathetic I am when I play this game.”

Strategic Adjustments Needed

Pokerstars Showtime Poker

Meanwhile, PokerStars Director of Poker Innovation and Operations Severin Rasset has highlighted that being able to see the mucked cards belonging to players will “introduce some fascinating strategic adjustments” to standard Texas Hold’em games. Professional poker players, for instance, use the cards in their hand to help narrow down their opponents’ ranges and determine their possible holdings, with these cards referred to as “blockers”.

In addition to being thoroughly entertaining and introducing a new and exciting twist to the game of poker, Showtime Hold’em therefore has the potential to help players to become more attentive and form the right habits when trying to assess an opponent’s hand range, with skills learned applicable to other more traditional forms of NL Hold’em. As Dan Price wrote on a PokerStars blog post entitled “Introducing Showtime Hold’em”, the variant will help players develop different levels of strategy and think outside of the box, explaining:

“Will conservative players be forced to loosen up to avoid being labelled as nits? Will aggressive players still be able to represent strong hands with multiple cards exposed? Will you keep bluffing the opponent folding big hands… until they catch on?”

Limited Testing Time

Pokerstars Nl Showtime

Showtime Hold’em was initially tested in Belgium before now becoming available across the brand’s international network. Like previous innovations, the latest Showtime Hold’em variant will be introduced for a limited time only before PokerStars decides whether it is feasible to offer it on an ongoing basis.

Split Hold’em, for example, was discontinued after a trial period, although it would have provided the operator with a greater insight into the interest of its customers. Other innovative variants expected to be introduced this year include “PokerStars Fusion,” which is a combination of Hold’em and Omaha, and “Spin & Goal”, whose released date is expected to coincide with the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia in June.

Low as $2 Buy-In

There’s plenty of opportunity to learn Showtime Hold’em quickly and cheaply as games are available on PokerStars starting at stakes as low as $0.02/$0.04 with a $2 buy-in. Players are also able to use an “observe” button to watch Showtime Hold’em games being played on the site, with other opportunities to gain experience expected in the near future via PokerStars ambassador livestreams on Twitch.

Pokerstars Showtime Holdem

Furthermore, players can automatically be seated in games via the “Seat Me” button, with the system introduced by PokerStars in order to prevent “bumhunting” and more experienced players preying on their recreational opponents.