Today is the national day of my adopted home, Hungary… and it’s a 35 degree C scorcher! I am doing the sensible thing and sitting in my air conditioned home office and working on websites. What is spurring me on at the moment is a little more than just the fact that I enjoy my lifestyle and the rewards that owning my sites give me – there is an element of clearing the decks for some big developments which will hit us as the Summer of 2012 draws to a close.
iPoker Are Splitting First up there is the imminent split of the iPoker Network. Who are splitting their cash game tables and SNGs between the sites who bring a lot of new / depositing players and those who do not. In other words the sites who exist by offering higher volume ‘grinders’ big VIP (rakeback by any other name) deals will be left playing against each other…
While the big names like Titan, William Hill and Bet365 will be hosting super-soft games which are safer for recreational players… and a lot more fun! This is good news for both players and webmasters. Novice and recreational players will see their money last longer (no ‘tax’ from the multi-tabling grinders!). Webmasters will not lose those players who get good at the game to the VIP skins so readily – so long term player value should edge up. There may even be some players from the smaller skins looking to get back to the bigger choice that the top sites can offer. Lots of work to be done ahead of these changes. Much of it will need to wait until September when the new system starts… though here at Planet HQ things are already taking shape!
Full Tilt Are Coming Back! Everyone should know about it by now, only the exact date is yet to be settled. There are thousands of players who started playing poker while they were ‘away’ who will try out Full Tilt, and many old fans of the site (myself included) who will be glad to get back to the tables. I am particularly looking forward to the 90 player knockout SNGs which were just prefect for unwinding with a beer at the end of the day. Again good news for players who will get a great site back with some cool features – Rush tournaments, multi-entry tournaments, and on-demand tournaments… 10 game, FTOPS, mini-FTOPS and the Sunday Brawl to name but a few. Webmasters also have a great opportunity. Sure there are some caveats with Stars being the new owners, however with so many accountless players across the world this is a huge opportunity. I had an ebook on those 90 player knockout SNGs somewhere to dust off… now, where did I leave it!
US Developments And New Rivals! Third on my list is the positive moves in the US. Sure, with an election coming along there will probably not be any major moves… Though there are some green shoots to report on. Players are already starting to benefit from there being 2 networks with decent liquidity. Revolution Gaming (formerly the Cake Network) do seem to be having some teething troubles with their payments. However giving Merge (Carbon) a run for their money is obviously high on their agenda. Players can already enjoy increased tournament guarantees and can get reasonable volume at the mid-stakes between the 2 networks. Webmasters have a story to tell and opportunity to send players to the skins offering genuine value. I have been busy updating my reviews and guides (a head-to-head here is a good starting point) for US readers, as well as a lot of my payment method articles.
Nevada will be live soon and there are murmerings from other states that others could follow – who knows what 2013 will bring! Anyway, a random optimistic post. I have a ton more pages in several different languages to bring up to date today. Next week I plan completing my eBook strategy guide to the new Speed Holdem at Titan Poker – if you are already on my mailing list I’ll send you a copy!
GL at the tables, Mark
Submitted by Planet Mark on Mon, 08/20/2012 - 15:53