🎰 Road to Vegas

The Road to Vegas is live on Phenom Poker! Qualify today for:

Find out more information - https://phenompoker.com/road-to-vegas

• A brand new tournament series is now live — find it as the leftmost tab in the Tournament lobby (labelled "Vegas" on mobile)

• New Road to Vegas banner in the lobby carousel — tap it to read the full series details on phenompoker.com

• "My Road to Vegas" and "Available Road to Vegas" sections separate the events you're registered for from the ones you can still join

⭐ Highlights

Road to Vegas — The new flagship tournament series is live. Find it as the leftmost tab in the Tournament lobby.
Tournament stability — A pile of registration, re-entry, multi-tabling, and blinds-order fixes that make tournaments feel more reliable end-to-end.
Hand History — Downloads are now unlimited (previously capped at 3 per week).
Leaderboard emails — Now only sent to prize winners, no more inbox noise if you didn't make the cut.

🏆 Tournaments

• Fixed players who re-entered a tournament being charged but not actually re-entered

• Fixed players being registered with funds taken but no registration record on file

• Fixed players being unable to reopen the final table after closing it

• Fixed multi-tabling in a tournament — you can now return to your original table after opening another

• Fixed players who late-register being dealt in and immediately sat out before their table opens

• Fixed players entering on the big blind having the small blind skip over them on the following hand

• Closed a loophole where players who qualified via a satellite ticket could unregister from the target tournament

• Cleaned up confusing "waiting for hands on all tables to complete" messaging at the start of tournament breaks

✨ Improvements

• Hand History downloads are now unlimited (previously capped at 3 per week)

• Leaderboard emails are now only sent to prize winners — no more "you finished outside the prizes" notifications

• Lobby filters now apply to the Special Tables section too, and Special / All section collapse state is remembered across sessions

🛠️ Fixes & Bugs

• Fixed Hot Table progress countdown circle not animating

• Fixed players being unable to rebuy on Hot Tables

• Fixed the Buy-In modal closing immediately for players on devices with skewed system clocks

⭐ Highlights

Maintenance flow — Active hands now play to completion before tables pause for maintenance.

Hot Table stability — Fixed badge flip-flopping between sister tables and delivered a bundle of Hot Table admin/runtime fixes, including Cooling-state issues, instance allocation, schedule handling, and reheat behavior.

Downloadable Hand History improvements — Fixed skipped sessions and inaccurate preflop action notation in downloaded histories.

OFC polish — Improved small mobile card spacing, variant label line-height, dark-background card styling, and restored the missing mobile chat button.

Table rebalancing fix — Corrected button movement after rebalancing so newly moved players do not incorrectly receive the button.

🛠️ Fixes & Bugs

• OFC card and UI positioning polish

• Hot Table instance flipping fix

• Maintenance flow improvements

• Fix Button skipping players during tournament play

• Downloadable Hand History improvements

• Rebalanced table has incorrect button move

• OFC mobile waitlist indicator showed for player already in the game

• Player unable to open tournament table on PC client

• Fix a Tournament table freeze issue

• Mobile PWA triggering multiple login notifications

• Disable mute/unmute icon while mute request is pending

• Fix Draw indicator missing when drawing 5

• Hand replayer cards not ordered by rank like live table

• Fix Mobile Cash Lobby blank row

• Fix Mobile lobby scrolling viewport

🔥 Hot Tables

• Jump in early and lock in up to +20% boosted rakeback — the fewer players there are, the bigger your reward

• Your bonus sticks — it won’t drop, even when the table fills up

• Play short-handed, earn more — if players leave, your rewards increase

• First in, best dressed – limited Hot Seats with the highest bonuses

• Look for the 🔥 in the lobby and grab your spot before it’s gone

👉 Start the table. Get rewarded. Read more information about Hot Tables

✈️ Cash Table Preview Flyout

• Click on a table row, anywhere from its Stakes column to its Waitlist column to open the flyout specific to that row

• Flyout shows currently seated players, ordered by their stacks - highest to lowest

• Waitlist also shows a list of any waiting players

• Join the table or waitlist directly from the flyout

• Click on the Table Name column to open the table directly

• The cash table preview is not available on mobile

✈️ Special Tables & All Tables Section Dividers

• Special Tables show Hot Tables, Ambassador Tables, Friend Tables and Active Tables (tables you are currently active on)

• Adjust the Special tables you want displayed via Filters > Specials

🏆 Daily Leaderboards

• Starting next week (May 4th) our leaderboards are updating to a daily cycle.

• New leaderboards every day — jump in and compete for the top prizes

• Fair competition with 5 stake tiers — play against others at your level

• More chances to win with faster resets and daily payouts

• Track your progress live at the table as you climb via the cash table flyout

• Lobby Stake filters will match the new stake leaderboards; Nano, Micro, Low, Mid, High

• Max Stake games will contribute a percentage of their generated rake to all leaderboard prizes!

👉 Prepare to score daily! Read more about the Leaderboard changes

🍍 OFC Chinese Poker Improvements

• Short stack payouts now correctly apply to all opponents in 3-handed games (not just one player)

• Discarded cards are now visible to all players and observers during showdown

• Added “Ultimate” special icon for table template creation

• Neutral 0 Total Point banner now uses the correct grey variant

• Improved observer mode card sizing (top players now match bottom player size)

• Clicking a seat with below minimum buy-in now shows a clear toast instead of seating you

• Fixed long decimal values appearing in player stacks after rake

• Fixed Hand History navigation buttons being off-screen

• Fixed Waitlist & Remove from Waitlist buttons being off-screen on mobile

• Fixed card placement SFX playing on failed attempts

• Updated “Scoop” sound effect to a softer version

✨ Improvements

• Reduced sit-out timer from 6 hours → 30 minutes

• Replayer now includes all in equities

• Hand Recovery system improvements for OFC

🛠️ Fixes & Bugs

• Fixed tournament payouts not displaying after final table start

• Fixed players unable to join tables (including waitlist issues on mobile)

• Fixed reconnection issues causing missing action buttons

• Fixed incorrect chip amounts when leaving cash tables

• Fixed dealer button overlapping cards in stud games (mobile)

• Fixed tournament freezing during final table merges

• Fixed wallet and transaction history inconsistencies

• Fixed multiple mobile UX issues (buttons, modals, rate limits)

• Fixed OFC bugs including fantasyland loss and table freezes

• Fixed tournament button rotation issue (stuck between 2 players)

We are excited to announce the release of our full suite of stakes for OFC!

Stakes:

Variants:

	Pineapple (150pt min buy, 50pt rebuy threshold)
	2-7 (150pt min buy, 50pt rebuy threshold)
	Progressive (150pt min buy, 50pt rebuy threshold)
	Ultimate Progressive (200pt min buy, 100pt rebuy threshold)

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback and support during the Beta. We continue to work on improvements and look forward to adding the Joker variant.

🍍 OFC Updates

• Open-Face Chinese Poker (OFC) has been stabilized with major fixes across core gameplay, hand history, and rebuy flows

• OFC Improved Card Placement

  • Select multiple cards at once and place them directly onto your desired row

  • Select a row and then then choose cards to automatically place them into the selected row — row auto-switches when full

• Hand History now appears in the table list with improved visibility

• Hand History, All Hands display updated: 5 cards shown for non-Fantasyland (FL), 8 cards for FL

• Sit-out system improved:

  • 7-minute countdown timer

  • Players are auto-removed after the current hand ends

  • Option to sit back and wait to be dealt in again without being booted if timer goes to 0.

  • Players can now leave the table immediately while sitting out

• Rebuy/Add-on improvements:

  • Add-ons are delayed until the end of the hand

  • Add-ons are also delayed if a player qualifies for Fantasyland (until all FL hands finish)

  • Rebuy prompts trigger when stack drops below threshold:

    • 100 points for Ultimate Progressive

    • 50 points for all other variants

• 3-handed card reveal system added to avoid collusion:

  • Non-FL: cards revealed only on player action

  • FL: cards revealed when non-FL players reach final set

  • All-FL tables: cards dealt face up

• Disconnection handling improved:

  • Disconnected players are placed into sit-out

  • Hands are auto-set from top to bottom with no timers or time bank

  • Players are forced into Fantasyland if opponents reach it

• Waitlist added for OFC tables

✨ Improvements

• Removed client version enforcement for smoother access across versions

🛠️ Fixes & Bugs

• Fixed OFC deployment issues

• Resolved crash during tournament table teardown

• Fixed OFC placement handling to prevent duplicate actions at round boundaries

• Improved duplicate login detection using stable device ID

• Fixed issue where Tournament History tab wasn’t recording or displaying completed tournaments

⭐ Highlights

• New depositing options are now available, giving you more flexibility when funding your account.

🆕 New Features

• Independent animation toggles for Cards, Chips, and Dealer Button. Players can now select if they want to show or hide animations. You can find the toggles in Settings > Table

• Restored client access for affected Russian players

✨ Improvements

• Fixed mobile Stud UI where winning hands were not visible behind the Mixed Game Badge

• Reduced lobby filtering complexity by removing numerous sub stake options

• Improved lobby filtering for Omaha and Mixed game variants

• Improved lobby search input filtering across page refreshing

🛠️ Fixes & Bugs

• Fixed BB display on animated chip values.

• Fixed tournament tables not opening for late reg players

• Fixed last-second late reg causing players to bug in tournaments

• Fixed incorrect blind posting for new cash table players

• Fixed deposits and transfers not appearing in transaction history

• Fixed rate limit exceeded issue

• Fixed cancelled tournaments showing in history

• Fixed player colour not syncing across tables

• Fixed removed players appearing seated after reopening tables

• Fixed desktop lobby filter persisting without restoring in UI

• Fixed top-up reserve issue

• Fixed excessive avatar/tier requests and transaction retry bug

• Fixed React hooks violation

• Fixed double refresh on update

• Prevented redundant table contract updates

• Fixed Pre-action buttons not functioning

🍍 Open Face Chinese (OFC)

We’re Beta testing Open-Face Chinese Poker. Expect tables to launch in the Chinese section in the coming days! Reduced stakes for the beta launch but we will expand the stakes as soon as possible!

— a strategic set-building game where you arrange 13 cards into three hands (Top, Middle, Bottom) while keeping proper hand strength order.

Build your hands across multiple rounds, compete line-by-line for points, and aim for bonuses like sweeps and royalties. Avoid fouling your hand, and chase Fantasyland for a powerful advantage in future rounds.

Multiple variants are supported, including Pineapple, 2-7 and Progressive. (Jokers will be added in a future release).

For more information, check out our blog post - https://www.phenompoker.com/blog/open-face-chinese-(ofc)-rules

Beta Testing Information:

• No Rake will be collected. Play Rake Free!

• A variety of small stakes options of each variant will be available.

• We expect the beta to run for ~1-2 weeks.

• Report any bugs directly to our Help Center -

  https://help.phenompoker.com/en/

🛰️ Satellites & Tournament Tickets

We’re excited to introduce Satellites — a new way to qualify for tournaments and win your seat for a fraction of the buy-in. Over the coming days we will start to include Satellites into the tournament rotation.

🏆 What Are Satellites?

Satellites are special tournaments where the prizes aren’t cash — they’re:

• 🎫 Tournament Tickets or 💰 Tournament Money (T$)

Instead of paying full price for a big event, you can win your way in.

🎫 Tournament Tickets

Tournament Tickets are awarded as prizes in select satellites and promotions.

With Tickets you can:

• Automatically register for the target tournament when you win

• Register manually for eligible tournaments

• Unregister (if eligible) before the event starts

If you win a satellite ticket, you’ll be automatically registered for its target tournament — no extra steps needed.

The Tournament Registration modal will first allow you to Register/Re-Enter using a Ticket (if you have one), then T$ (if you have enough) and finally via your regular balance (a per normal).

💰 Tournament Money (T$)

T$ is a flexible tournament-only currency.

You can:

• Use T$ to buy into tournaments

• Track your available T$ via the Wallet > Tickets panel

T$ cannot be withdrawn and is valid for tournament entries only.

💼 New: Tickets & T$ Wallet Panel

You’ll now find a new Wallet → Tickets panel where you can:

• View all your available Tournament Tickets

• See your T$ balance

• Register and unregister from tournaments using your tickets

• Enter a code word to redeem promotional or competition tickets

This gives you full control over your tournament entries in one place.

📅 Satellite Schedule & Lobby Access

You can find Satellites in two places:

• 🗓️ A dedicated Satellite Schedule

• 🏁 The new Satellites Tab inside the Tournament Lobby

Browse upcoming qualification events and plan your path to the big stages.

✨ Improvements

Global Player Muting
You can now mute players more broadly for a more controlled chat experience.

Waitlist Pop-Up Behaviour Update
The waitlist pop-up flow has been improved to feel clearer and more consistent.

Lobby: Filters UX Redesign
We’ve refreshed the lobby filters experience to make finding the games you want easier.

Chat Panel & Tournament Info Panel – UI Alignment Clean up
We’ve cleaned up panel alignment for a more polished table and tournament interface.

Performance Improvements
We’ve optimized Socket.IO event payloads to help improve performance across server and client interactions.

🛠️ Fixes & Bugs

Tournaments

• Fixed an issue where tournament prize transactions could fail.

• Fixed an issue where the tournament table was missing the dealer button in some cases.

• Fixed a final table break issue where breaks could trigger twice if no hand was played before the break started.

• Fixed an issue where only the first table was viewable in tournament hand history lists.

Tables & Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where players could be unable to join a table from the waitlist.

• Fixed cases where players remained stuck in a table contract after leaving.

• Fixed an admin issue where some players stuck in a table contract could not be removed.

• Fixed a stale action panel issue in Big O after an opponent raised.

• Fixed a mobile issue where observing a table and selecting “Leave Table” from settings could return you to the table instead.

Wallet, Payments & Rewards

• Fixed an issue where Arbitrum USDC deposits could be credited but not appear in the wallet.

• Fixed inflated potential values and incorrect progress shown in the deposit bonus dashboard.

• Fixed missing rake and rakeshare values in parts of the referral dashboard.

• Fixed incorrect balance display after some USDT transfers.

Client & UI

• Fixed streamer links opening incorrectly inside the client.

• Fixed missing seat alert sound effects when the lobby was minimized.

• Fixed a double scrollbar issue in the Player Notes modal.

✨ Behind the Scenes

We also shipped a range of backend and platform improvements to make the experience more stable and reliable, including:

• better tournament hand history infrastructure

• improved admin error handling

• more accurate bonus calculations

• leaderboard query optimizations

• better withdrawal error capture

• reduced unnecessary avatar API calls

• maintenance window UX and guard improvements

📝 Notes

Some changes in this release improve internal systems and platform stability, so while you may not see them directly, they help us deliver a smoother and more reliable experience overall.

⭐ Highlights

• Mixed Game Tournaments – Fairer Final Tables
  We’ve improved how mixed game tournaments play out:

  • Tables now start on a random variant instead of always beginning with the same game.

  • Final tables dynamically adjust rounds when an extra player is present, then revert once balanced.

  This makes gameplay less predictable and more fair, especially at the final table.

• Tournament Ranking List – “See Yourself” UX Improvement

  • Easily locate yourself in the rankings without scrolling through the entire leaderboard.

  • Your sticky row appears at the bottom of the table when you are not currently visible in line.

  • Tap your sticky row to jump to the correct page and position where you will be shown in line.

• Rebuy Flow Fixes

  • Rebuy is now much more reliable and frustration-free. You can no longer trigger duplicate rebuys while a transaction is pending

  • If you rebuy while busted, you’ll automatically be sat back in

  • Trying to sit back with 0 chips now correctly opens the buy-in flow

  • Sit-out timers are cancelled once your rebuy is confirmed. This should eliminate missed hands and inconsistent table states.

✨ Improvements

• 5-Second Delay Reduced from Stud Hands in Mix Games
  A short delay has been reduced before each Stud hand to improve pacing and ensure smoother game transitions.

• Mobile Chat Enhancements

  Added Chat icon to the table. Sending a message on mobile automatically closes the chat window. Added a new Sound effect for chat message arrival.

• Tournament info page optimization
  Reduced background requests when players register or are eliminated, resulting in faster and more stable tournament pages.

• Reduced Redis Pub/Sub bandwidth usage
  Backend optimizations to prevent throttling and improve platform responsiveness.

• Client update behaviour improved
  Tables will now reload between hands when a new version is available, preventing unnecessary refreshes during gameplay. Players will be shown a toast mid hand, warning the player that the table will automatically update at the end of the current hand in progress.

• Improved system stability with better event loop monitoring.

• Reduced tournament polling for smoother performance.

• Unified API + WebSocket routing through CloudFront for better reliability.

• More robust handling of public lobby table data.

🛠️ Fixes & Bugs

• Fixed an issue where players could become stuck in a table contract after buying in or rebuying.

• Fixed 8-Game Mix NLHE rounds skipping hands.

• Fixed an issue where new players joining a table were incorrectly assigned a missed big blind instead of posting normally.

• Fixed incorrect blinds information appearing on the button in mixed games.

• Fixed missing tournament sessions in hand histories.

• Fixed an issue where players could be skipped from dealing after re-joining a table.

• Fixed tournament tables getting stuck in an initializing state.

• Fixed desktop environment configuration issues.

• Fixed back-office socket access problems.

• Fixed rebuy failures that could boot players and cause missed hands

• Fixed “Sit out next BB” incorrectly applying in Stud games

• Fixed pot size settings resetting incorrectly during play

• Fixed tournament re-entry counter disappearing