Heads-Up Poker Tables: A Problem Waiting for a Solution

David Benefield, a poker player, recently shared his thoughts on the current state of heads-up poker tables on PokerStars. He observed that there were 70 heads-up tables at NL $25/50, each with a single player waiting for an opponent, and no active games. This situation, he argues, is not beneficial for the game and needs to be addressed.

Proposed Solutions

Benefield suggests two main proposals for changing the heads-up lobby: 'King of the Hill' and 'Common Lobby'. The 'King of the Hill' format would limit the number of tables and force players to compete for spots, potentially reducing the number of players waiting for weaker opponents. The 'Common Lobby' format, on the other hand, would organize matches randomly from a group of players, ensuring that players cannot leave until they have played a certain number of hands or lost a specific amount of money.

However, Benefield's favorite proposal is to remove heads-up tables entirely. He believes that this would clean up the lobby and potentially increase action in 6-max games. He also suggests adding a checkbox next to each player's name to indicate interest in a heads-up game, creating a special heads-up table if both players agree. This idea, he notes, was proposed by Ansky on 2+2 and received positive feedback.