PokerStars Will Launch in New Jersey on March 21

We have big news for online poker players in New Jersey.  The world's largest real money online poker site, PokerStars, has announced that on March 21 it will be making its return to the United States for the first time since Black Friday.
 
Anyone who is living in or visiting New Jersey will be able to play on PokerStars New Jersey after the launch at PokerStarsNJ.com.  This is because the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE), the regulatory body that governs legalized online poker in New Jersey, only requires that New Jersey-licensed sites only service players within its borders.
 
The regulated New Jersey online gaming marketplace already has a few big names in it, and it will be interesting to see how the other sites react to what many believe will be the market leader in a short period of time.  Borgata Poker and PartyPoker run on PartyPoker's software, while WSOP and 888 Poker both utilize 888's software.
 
PokerStars' software is expected to be very similar to what is available to players in the rest of the world.  While we won't know exactly what games and functions are included, we expect the differences to be minor.  Since the software is required to undergo a review by the NJDGE, there may be some differences in order to comply with the state's regulations.  The software will be available on a variety of operating systems and devices including PCs, Macs, mobile devices, and tablets.
 
The main difference players will experience compared to those players in the rest of the world will be that the New Jersey PokerStars client will not be sharing liquidity with the main rest-of-the-world PokerStars client.  This means the players pools in tournaments and the number of players in cash games will be much less than what players were used to seeing on PokerStars before Black Friday.
 
Americans, however, can look forward to new games that PokerStars has introduced since it departed the US marketplace almost five years ago.  The most notable addition is the lottery-style Spin and Gos where in a three-max hyper turbo sit and go format, players can play for a random prize pool that is announced after all players are registered and before the tournament begins.  Additionally, casino games will be available to those who wish to test their luck, including blackjack, roulette, baccarat, video poker, and video slots.
 
As far as third-party software goes, we expect that poker tracking software will be permitted.  However, PokerStars clamped down on some of its terms of service, so it is possible that some advanced third-party poker software tools will not be permitted.
 
Another thing worth noting is that players who already had an account on PokerStars before Black Friday will be able to create one on the New Jersey site using their same user name and password they previously had.  Based on the player's history, they will be rewarded with an upgraded VIP status, StarsCoin (the virtual currency used in its VIP program), and play money chips.
 
Stay tuned to PokerSoftware as more news develops with PokerStars re-entering the US marketplace for the first time in almost five years.

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