by Mario Alfonsi | Published on May 31, 2012 | Updated on May 31, 2012Just weeks after announcing that they would break with the Merge Network and start their own online poker network, Lock Poker is ready to make the switch, which will take place on the morning of Thursday, May 31. The move is expected to happen in the early morning hours, around 5:30 am GMT.During the move, players won’t have access to the website for about six hours. This means that those players who enjoy playing overnight – especially in tournaments – should note to expect an interruption during this time. Once the process of transitioning the site to its new network is completed, players will be prompted to download the new version of the Lock Poker software.When players install the new software, they’ll see few chances in terms of play options, game selection, or anything else related to the content of the room. However, there will be a couple of major changes related to the change in network.First, Lock Poker will now be a part of the Revolution Gaming Network, a new network designed and headed by the people at Lock Poker. This new network will also include rooms from what was formerly the Cake Poker network, which was bought by Lock at the same time they left Merge.The move by Lock Poker to leave Merge did not come as a complete surprise, as Lock had long been one of the largest rooms on the Merge Network, and enjoyed some degree of independence prior to moving. In fact, since Lock already had their own cashier system in place, players will not see any difference when making deposits and withdrawals from Lock Poker.The Merge Network is currently listed as the 7th largest online poker room or network in the industry by PokerScout.com. While it is unclear how much of their traffic will leave with Lock’s move, it is likely that Merge will retain its position as the largest network accepting American players, at least for the time being. Also of interest will be the initial numbers for the new Revolution Gaming Network, as the combined resources of Cake Poker and Lock Poker might be enough to make it a sizable player in the industry.Please note: We will soon update our listings to include Lock Poker in its correct location – along with giving you full details of the new Revolution Gaming Network. Keep in mind that Lock Poker bonus the Cake Poker Network and are rebranding it as their own. We highly recommend players sign up for Lock Poker as we always felt they were the best US pointing site.
