PokerStars Tempest Hold'em is a unique poker format, based on Texas Hold’em, with antes that increase until a showdown is reached, an extra pre-flop blind, and just two options for all players: all-in or fold!

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Available exclusively at PokerStars, PokerStars Tempest Hold’em is easy to pick up and packed with fast, fun action.

The Rules of PokerStars Tempest Hold’em

Available across Hold’em and Omaha games, at various play money stakes. Find Zoom tables under the ‘Zoom’ tab in the PokerStars.net lobby. Play Zoom on the PokerStars Mobileapp for Android™ and iOS devices. Zoom is currently available in play money ring games and tournaments for Hold'em and Omaha, at certain stakes only. In Hold'em, a player may use any combination of the seven cards available to make the best possible five-card poker hand, using zero, one or two of their private hole cards. To view the rankings of poker hands, visit the poker hand ranks page. Download PokerStars: Free Poker Games with Texas Holdem for Android to pokerStars LITE is the online poker app that allows you to play poker games with millions of real players, on the most fun.

The four major variations of Hold'em at PokerStars are distinguished from each other by their betting limits: Limit Texas Hold'em: There is a pre-determined betting limit on each round of.

At the beginning of each hand, every player posts an ante. The value of antes for a given hand is based on previous hands dealt at the table:

• If the previous hand had a showdown, the ante is reset to its lowest value.
• If the previous hand did not have a showdown, the ante value increases (up to a maximum value, displayed in your game window).

In addition, the player sat to the left of the Big Blind posts a third blind called the Giant Blind, which is double the value of the Big Blind.

The hand then plays out according to Texas Hold’em rules, but with two significant differences:

• Players have only two options, pre-flop: to go all-in, or to fold.
• Every pot is ‘capped’, meaning that no player can wager (or lose) more than 10 Giant Blinds in a single hand.

Heads-Up Play

During heads-up, the player sat on the button will post a Big Blind and their opponent will post a Giant Blind.

Ante Cap

Pokerstars Holdem Manager

Possible values of antes are fixed and displayed on the top right corner of the table. Maximum ante value is capped for each stake and cannot exceed the Big Blind.

How do I take my seat in PokerStars Tempest Hold’em?

To start playing PokerStars Tempest Hold’em, all you need to do is choose the game and stake you want to play, and the software will find a seat for you. If no seat is immediately available, you’ll be placed on a waiting list.

Please Note: There may be a minimum number of hands that you must play before you can sit out or leave without incurring a time penalty. Time penalties are cumulative and should rarely impact most players. They are in place to deter players from attempting seat selection by repeatedly joining and leaving a large number of tables.

More Poker Games

We’ve got plenty more surprises in store for cash game players, so make sure you log-in regularly to see what’s new!

As well as Texas Hold’em, we also offer many other poker variants. See our Poker Games page to learn more.

If you have any questions, please contact Support.

Find out how the different hands compare in Texas Hold'em, Omaha and other games.

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When will online poker launch in Michigan?

After years of attempts, Michigan online poker launched on Jan. 29, 2021, when PokerStars went live.

Will I be able to play poker with players in New Jersey and Pennsylvania?

Michigan’s governor recently signed the interstate online poker bill into law, but the law doesn’t automatically set up a pact between other states. That is now up to the MGCB. It is unclear whether such a deal will be made in 2021.

One option is for Michigan to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Association. The MSIGA allows New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware to share player pools.

Still, multi-state poker could be on its way to Michigan. It’s likely a must-have for the online poker market in the Great Lakes State to survive long-term. Michigan is slightly larger than New Jersey, where online poker is barely surviving despite pooling players with Nevada and Delaware.

Adding states, including Pennsylvania and Michigan, to the MSIGA over the next few years would certainly be a boost to the US online poker market.

Online poker in Michigan

Because sports betting and online casinos will likely generate more revenue than online poker, the latter verticals took priority. Even so, online poker was only a week behind the rest.

Only existing casino operators, which include three commercial casinos in Detroit and 12 tribal casino operators throughout the state, are able to procure online gambling licenses.

Each will be allowed one online casino brand and one online poker brand per license, up to two total brands apiece.

This means additional poker sites could be in the cards. WSOP and 888 Poker are two of the bigger names that have not found a path into Michigan but are available in other states with legal online poker.

Michigan online poker partnerships

PokerStars + Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians

Global online poker giant The Stars Group secured a partnership with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Gaming Authority in early January 2020.

The deal gives The Stars Group first-skin market access for all gambling verticals in Michigan, including online poker.

The Stars Group owns and operates PokerStars, which operates in NJ and PA. The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians operates three Michigan tribal casinos, with the largest being the Odawa Casino, near Petoskey.

The Stars Group has secured a provisional license from the Michigan Gaming Control Board. However, it appears it’s a matter of time before PokerStars Michigan launches.

BetMGM Poker + MGM Grand Detroit

For a long time, it was understood that MGM Resorts International and partypoker’s parent company GVC Holdings would join the online poker market in Michigan. The two companies established a 50/50 joint venture sports betting and online gaming platform for the US in July 2018.

However, BetMGM Poker will be the brand available in Michigan in 2021.

The launch of partypoker Michigan through MGM Grand is no longer a go, but there are other ways for partypoker to enter the Michigan online poker market.

How Michigan online poker will work

Michigan’s online poker will launch as a fenced-in market.

Players who are 21 years or older and within state lines will be eligible to play online poker cash games and tournaments.

Online poker operators will use geolocation technology to ensure all live players are inside the state.

Players will need to sign up for an online account with an operator of their choice and go through identity and age verification before they can play.

One day, state lawmakers may enter into a multi-state compact to allow operators to share player pools with sites in other poker states.

A clause initially included in the state’s online gambling bills that would have directly facilitated an interstate compact was removed before the legislation was passed.

Lawmakers have indicated its removal was intended to address multi-state progressive slot jackpots. Therefore, multi-state poker is still a possibility down the road.

Online poker bonuses and rewards

Michigan online poker sites will offer free play to attract new customers.

Tax breaks allowing Michigan online poker operators a percentage of gross receipts for free play over the first five years of operation all but guarantees this.

Plus, giving free bonus cash as an incentive to sign up has proven to be a successful poker marketing strategy elsewhere.

PokerStars PA has shot out of the gate, posting four to six times the revenue it averages in NJ.

Players who open a PokerStars account in Pennsylvania using the PokerStars PA bonus code PLAY30 and deposit at least $20 will earn $30 in free play.

This offer includes $20 in free play and $10 in Spin and Go tickets.

New PA players also receive a ticket to the depositor freeroll event on the last Sunday of every month. It features cash prizes and a zero-entry fee.

PokerStars’ players in Pennsylvania can also use the promo code STARS600 when they sign up and make their first deposit (or three qualifying deposits within 60 days), and can also earn a 100% bonus of up to $600.

Players need to earn redemption points to unlock the bonus, but get 5 points for every $1 paid in tournament fees or rake in most games. Once earning 100 redemption points, PokerStars PA will release $10 in bonus cash into their account.

PA players can only receive the free-money bonus or the deposit bonus, not both. PokerStars Poker in Michigan should roll out with something similar.

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Any tournaments that launch will attempt to stay competitive with a bonus structure to try to attract new players.

Fund your online poker account

There’s little doubt Michigan online poker operators will want to make getting your money on and off the sites as easy as possible.

That means offering a variety of deposit and withdrawal options, including third-party payment processors like PayPal, debit or credit cards, and cash.

Here’s an example of the variety of deposit methods at PokerStars PA:

• Instant E-checks: ACH payment.
• Skrill: A secure online third-party payment option.
• Mastercard or Visa: Credit or debit card transactions through approving issuing banks.
• Neteller: A secure online third-party payment option.
• Stars Transfer: Instant deposits with online banking.
• PayNearMe: Make a cash payment at retail locations, including 7-Eleven and CVS.
• PokerStars Play+ Card: This prepaid card pairs to a Stars’ account.
• Cash Deposit: Cash at the Mount Airy Casino cage.

Poker and cardrooms in Michigan

There’s a massive live poker scene in Michigan with as many as 10 live poker rooms operating across the state.

Walk into any one of the Michigan poker rooms on this list, and you’ll find securing a seat at affordable stakes is as easy as asking for one.

Bay Mills Resort & Casino

Bay Mills Resort & Casino, in Brimley, features a four-table poker room that is open 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

There are regular cash games and low-buy-in tournaments. Players must be at least 18 years or older.

FireKeepers Casino Hotel

The newly renovated 26-table poker room at FireKeepers Casino Hotel, in Battle Creek, is the premier poker room in the state.

The room spreads Texas Hold’em, Omaha and stud cash games at a variety of low to mid-stakes. Plus, there are low to mid-stakes buy-in tournaments every day, including a regular stop on the popular Mid-States Poker Tour.

Promotions include a progressive bad beat jackpot.

Greektown Casino Hotel

Greektown Casino Hotel, in Detroit, features a 12-table poker room offering Texas Hold ’em and Omaha games. There are regular tournaments and high-hands promotions.

Gun Lake Casino

Gun Lake Casino in Wayland, features a 14-table poker room spreading Texas Hold’em and Omaha games.

There are low-stakes tournaments happening five days a week, and promotions include a bad beat jackpot.

Kewadin Casino

Kewadin Casino, Hotel and Convention Center, in Sault Ste. Marie, features a four-table poker room open Wednesdays through Sundays.

There are low-stakes tournaments on Wednesdays and cash games every day.

MGM Grand Detroit

The poker room at MGM Grand Detroit features 17 tables with Texas Hold’em and Omaha action.

There are bounty tournaments three days a week and promotions include splash pots, bad beat jackpots and hot-seat drawings.

MotorCity Casino Hotel

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The MotorCity Casino Hotel, in Detroit, features a 17-table poker club spreading Texas Hold’em and Omaha games.

There’s a regular tournament calendar, and promotions include a bad beat jackpot, high-hands and a gas card giveaway.

Ojibwa Casino Baraga

The Ojibwa Casinos, in Baraga, spreads poker on a single table running on Fridays and Saturdays from 6 p.m.

Ojibwa Casino Marquette

The Ojibwa Casino, in Marquette, has poker on three tables on Fridays and Saturdays from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m.

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Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort

Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, in Mount Pleasant, features a 14-table poker room open 24/7.

There’s a six-day per week tournament schedule and promotions include a bad beat jackpot, early bird rake, lucky ticket draws and high-hands.

Pokerstars Holdem Manager 2 Prohibited

The room spreads Texas Hold’em, Pineapple, Crazy Pineapple, Omaha, seven-card stud and Razz. Multi-game formats include round by rounds, dealer’s choice, HORSE, SHOE and HOP. Players may request any game type with any limit.