PokerStars Trials New Insurance Feature On Cash Games

PokerStars is currently testing a new insurance feature on its .NET play money site and it looks like the online poker giant is preparing to roll out the same across its .COM markets.

The “All-In Cash Out” feature allows cash game players to collect their equity in the form of cash when they are all in, rather than playing out the remainder of the hand.

By enabling the new option, players may receive their share of the pot according to their equity in the hand. It comes with an administrative charge of 1 percent of the player’s equity.

The cash out amount a player can take depends on the hand’s probability to win the pot after all community cards are dealt. If you decide to cash out, you are entitled to receive instant money without any risk, but you are no longer eligible to win the pot.

How It Works

Let’s say there’s $100 in the pot and you are all-in against an opponent, with your equity being 70 percent. You can now choose to play the hand out or cash in your equity. If you decide to go for the second option, you can take $69.30.

Here is an example that you can use to work things out: 70 percent of 100 = $70 (your equity) and 1 percent of $70 = $0.70 (administrative fee). This means $70 – $0.70 = $69.30 (will be the total amount you will take home).

If you decide to resume the hand, but your opponent chooses to cash out, the hand will play out as normal and you will either win or lose the pot, with the remainder of the hand now being played against PokerStars. The poker operator keeps the money if they win.
The all-in insurance does not in any way affect the odds or outcome of the hand, and the feature is not mandatory, meaning players can still choose to turn off the option if they wish.

Now Available in Selected Cash Games

The innovative feature is currently available in some selected 6-max No-Limit Hold’em tables on PokerStars.net. It is due to be rolled out across a variety of cash games, including Six-Plus Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha and No-Limit Hold’em, according to rules posted on the site.

The All-In Cash Out feature is expected to be introduced across all of PokerStars.COM markets, except the ring-fenced sites such as France, Spain, Portugal and New Jersey. Players in these regions may have to wait a little longer for the new feature to become operational owing to various licensing laws.