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New Jersey to Merge Online Poker Pools Starting May 1st

For those playing online poker in Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware, the games will be getting a major boost in about two weeks. On Monday, it was announced that interstate player pooling between the states will commence on May 1st. This means that players in three states will be able to compete against each other, finally making the regulated online poker market viable.

WSOP.com and 888poker.com to Merge Pools

Both WSOP.com and 888poker.com will go live with merged player pools starting on May 1st. WSOP.com presently offers a merged player pool between Nevada and Delaware while 888poker NJ presently only serves NJ.

Caesars has already submitted software for testing and anticipates that they will receive final regulatory approval in all three states. According to New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement director David Rebuck, this compact is likely just the first of many to come.

Rebuck commented, “This will raise jackpots and provide even greater opportunities for play. It also paves the way for additional states to join and grow the regulated, legal online poker market.”

For those wishing to play in the merged pool in Nevada and Delaware, additional steps must be taken. First, players must download new software that will take advantage of the combined player pools. Next, they must register an account for the new software. Current software in both states will be discontinued once the switch is made.

What About PokerStars and Pala Poker?

Unfortunately, if you’re presently playing on PokerStars NJ or Pala Poker, you will not be taking advantage of the merged network. That’s because neither site has a prescience in Nevada or Delaware.

What this will likely mean is decreased traffic for both sites as players jump ship to play in the tri-state poker network. Pala Poker may be the worst hit as they are the newest site in the state.

Of course, things could change if either site decides to open shop in other states. However, players at those sites will likely have to wait until Pennsylvania goes online. PokerStars is barred from operating in Nevada and 888 Holdings is the sole provider in Delaware. It is likely that PokerStars will open shop in Pennsylvania, but players in New Jersey probably won’t see any benefits from that launch until at least 2019 and maybe not even until 2020.

What Will This Mean for Players on Merged Network?

If you’re in NV, NJ or DE and plan on playing on the merged network, expect a strong increase in traffic starting next month. Naturally, cash games for NJ and DE players will jump dramatically as they will now have access to players from NJ.

Tournament players will see the best rewards as the addition of NJ to the interstate market will result in larger tournaments and larger guarantees than ever before. In addition, players in New Jersey will likely also have access to a full array of WSOP.com satellites for the 2018 World Series of Poker.

In the past, players at NJ only had the chance to play in Main Event satellites open to NJ residents. Now, not only will they be able to play in a wide array of satellites but they will now also be eligible to play for WSOP bracelets online.

This year, there are four bracelet events being held on WSOP.com. Players from DE and NJ will now be able to buy-in to these events and take their shot at WSOP gold.

Let’s not forget that with the mass influx of players to Nevada, cash game action this summer at the WSOP will be insane. Add NJ and DE players into that mix and it will probably seem like the old days of online poker for about six weeks.

The merged player network will launch on May 1st and the poker world will be watching. This is just the beginning for the interstate network. Pennsylvania launches later this year and most expect them to join the network as well.

Analysts also expect that a growing interstate network will be enough to get some states to get off the fence regarding online gambling. While poker is not the ultimate selling point, a robust interstate network may be the missing piece to get some states to pull the trigger.

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