What is Poker Liquidity?

The subject of liquidity in online poker is a complicated and multifaceted one that is hotly debated within the industry. Everyone has a unique stance on the topic, from industry insiders, poker professionals, regulatory authorities and of course poker site operators.

If you’re a poker player who is interested in understanding the basics of liquidity, we’ve compiled a list of definitions as well as easy-to-follow answers that will provide you with a basic understanding of the topic - hopefully providing you with some clarity on this somewhat convoluted subject.

Definition of Player Liquidity

Player liquidity can be defined as the number of players playing at a particular poker site or online poker room. The poker sites that have the most amount of players often end up attracting more poker players. Naturally, players tend to be more reluctant to spend their time on sites where there aren’t as many tables going, and would instead prefer to have more choices available to them in terms of being able to play multiple tables at a particular level.

As a result of this, online poker sites and many global and Canadian mobile casinos focus their attention on keeping a high level of player liquidity in an effort to attract more poker players. This is where proposition players or ‘props’, as they are more commonly referred to, come in.

What is a Proposition Player?

A proposition player is a player that is paid by the poker site with the intention of them starting new tables, as well as to sustain the number of players that are on short-handed tables. Prop players fulfil an important role in the process of having a number of tables, games and levels of play running optimally in order to attract new players. Prop players must follow a particular set of rules as set out by the online poker site in order to receive payment. Each poker site employs their own set of specific rules which proposition players need to adhere to.

Prop players remain wholly responsible for their own bankroll, this means that they play with their own money. They do however receive a much better propback deal than all the other non-prop players for their service.

Does This Mean That All Poker Sites Use Prop Players?

At one point or another, many poker sites and online poker rooms have used prop players in an effort to help their player liquidity levels. Prop players are often used during the fledgling years of an online poker site to help build a steadily increasing flow of traffic to their site. Once the poker site is established and has built up a steady volume of player traffic, they suspend their proposition player programme.

There are some larger poker sites that strategically use prop players in specific areas that they are trying to develop such as attracting target players or increasing traffic to their site during times in which they experience characteristically low volumes of traffic.

What is Game Liquidity?

Game liquidity is a term used to refer to the amount of liquidity required to offer target players a satisfactory amount of opposition to satisfy the player’s desire for action, as well as creating an overall game experience that is exciting and worth paying for. Game liquidity largely depends on who the target player is and which game dynamics are implemented, as well as how well this is done in order to satisfy the player’s need for entertainment.

We hope that this sheds a bit of light on what poker liquidity is, and how it affects the industry and players as a whole.