GGPoker's Time Bank Cards: A New Era of Online Poker?
"When you are at a crossroad, take some time and shape your destiny."
That's not Ernest Hemingway or Mark Twain—it's GGPoker, at the top of their new page about Time Bank Cards.
As you probably know from live poker, time bank cards are deployed whenever players need a few more minutes to think. They extend the thinking time beyond the normal window, but players only get a certain, limited supply of them. And in online poker, time banks were traditionally fixed, with no way to pay for more minutes on the clock.
It looks like that might be changing, at least in one of GGPoker's jurisdictions. Users on the Ontario GG platform first noticed a few changes. Their time banks were gone, replaced by 3 time bank chips, and for 1BB, players can purchase Time Bank Cards.
How Time Bank Cards Work
Players are allocated a limited number of free Time Bank Cards based on the game type and stakes. These cards can be used to extend decision-making time during a hand. Once the free cards are depleted, players can purchase additional ones at the cost of one big blind (1BB) per card. The cost is deducted from the player's balance or stack at the end of the hand if insufficient funds are available in the balance.
However, the money paid for a Time Bank Card doesn't go straight into GG's accounts. Instead, it is split equally among the other players at the table. If the amount cannot be divided evenly, players closest to the dealer button receive the remainder. This approach seems to offer a fair compromise, as players who act quickly can benefit from those who choose to buy extra time.
Impact on Gameplay
Of course, this move made some players quite unhappy. It's possible to look at GGPoker's Time Banks as a reasonable move to combat the slow-movers and habitual tankers in online poker. On the other hand, many players dislike being asked to pay 1BB for something that was historically free. When a complaint hit Twitter, GG gave a lengthy explanation.
— "This new timebank system is awful, please consider undoing it, timing out all over the place."
— "Sorry to hear you don't like it Niall Farrell, but we had considerable feedback from players who were frustrated at the game being slowed down purposely, so we decided on the Time Bank Card enhancement. We understand it might take a little getting used to, but here's why, based on the feedback, we thought it made sense.
- They give players more control. Instead of being rushed into a decision that could impact your stack, you get the breathing room to think clearly when it matters most.
- They keep the game moving. By limiting the number of free cards and capping paid usage to one per hand, GGPoker ensures that play remains fast and consistent. There’s no risk of players endlessly stalling.
- They balance fairness with flexibility. The redistribution of the Paid Time Bank Card cost ensures that everyone benefits when a player chooses to buy extra time. It’s a fair trade-off that rewards everyone."
On the official GGPoker subreddit, a similar discussion popped up. The brand said that "player feedback" was the reason for this change.
— "In fact, the reason it was brought in was precisely because of a lot of player feedback asking for this because of players intentionally slowing the game down."
One redditor said the move is "only good for GG" as the games will speed up and logical actions will be tougher to make. But the world's largest poker brand repeated their motives:
— "It was implemented due to continuous player feedback asking for something to be done about players consistently and deliberately slowing the game down."
What Will This Time Bank Update Do to Games?
Whatever you feel about GGPoker's Time Bank Cards, the feature will have a direct impact on games.
1. GG's users will play more hands on tables with Time Bank Cards.
With less time to think about each decision, players will inevitably find themselves moving from one hand to the next. For a winning player, seeing more hands is a plus, but many players are still calling for the regular non-timebank time to be extended.
2. GG will collect additional rake from tables with Time Bank Cards.
A table being played at normal speed will generate a normal amount of rake for GGPoker. However, with less time to make decisions, it is reasonable to assume that more hands will be played, potentially raising the amount of rake GG collects every hour.
3. Multi-tabling will become more difficult on tables with Time Bank Cards.
With even less time available, multi-tablers will take a hit from this update. These players will likely scale down the number of tables they sit at, in order to keep their decisions at a reasonable quality.
4. Some players will switch to slower-paced poker sites. At least a non-zero number of players will feel rushed with the new Time Bank Card system and be unwilling to shell out 1BB for some extra thinking. Instead of adapting and speeding up their actions, they may swap their business to other poker rooms.
It's still early days, but it would not be surprising to see another boycott from the poker community, like GG faced in the past.
