Seat-me explanation

We’ve introduced 'Seat Me', a way to join our cash games. It's a fairer, faster, and more seamless experience for players. This update applies only to cash games. Tournaments, Sit & Go's and Zoom remain unaffected.

How it works

With Seat Me, you no longer pick specific tables or seats. Instead, you choose your game type and stake, and Seat Me will find you a spot right away. You won’t see individual table listings in the cash game lobby anymore.

If no seats are available, you’ll join a waiting list. We’ll do our best to seat you fast by filling existing tables or opening new ones. If you step away, remove yourself from the waiting list so you don’t get seated.

When everyone at a table sits out, it closes, and you’ll need to rejoin through the main pool. Non-dealing tables won’t restart.

What changes?

Because Seat Me places players automatically, you can no longer:

• Choose your own table or seat.
• See any previous hands at the table before joining.
• Search for specific players in the cash game lobby.
• View or chat at specific tables as an observer in real time.

But you can still see rolling highlights of key hands. Team PokerStars Pros will appear more often, so fans can easily find and follow them.

Leaving early or sitting out

If you want to leave or sit out of a game, make sure you’ve played at least 10 hands. This applies to any cash game table with stakes of $0.05/$0.10 or higher. If you leave early, you can get a temporary penalty that prevents you from joining other cash games. You’ll see a pop-up warning before this happens. The penalty increases if players repeatedly leave early.

If you’re under a penalty, you can stay at your current tables, but you can’t enter any new. This rule does not apply to Zoom, Sit & Go, Spin & Go, or multi-table tournaments.

If connection issues beyond your control caused the penalties, reach out to us. We’ll review and remove them when possible.

Why we introduced Seat Me

Seat Me helps us protect the integrity of poker and create a level playing field for everyone:

• Preventing players from targeting others based on experience or play style.
• Blocking seating scripts that give unfair advantages.
• Eliminating datamining, keeping game data private.
• Mimicking live poker with random table and seat selection.
• Reducing bum hunting and improving the fairness of the games.