Overkill

My head is spinning, as there's so much going on in the poker world at the moment. We are truly spoiled for choices – in cyberspace, in brick-and-mortar cardrooms, and last but not least, on TV. After years of attending just half a dozen festivals a year (because that's all there was) and the obligatory pilgrimage to Binion's, we're now in the happy position of being able to lose our money without stirring from our living rooms, and sickies can play around-the-clock without having to shave or shower! It's not surprising, really, when you consider all of the tasty deals with which Internet players are currently being bombarded. Deposit bonuses ranging from 10 percent to 100 percent (on AbsolutePoker) are being offered daily, and so are rakebacks. There's anything from zero rake (on WorldPokerExchange) to temporary rakeback (on Ladbrokes for the duration of the World Cup). Plus, there are numerous tournaments with either guaranteed prize money or money added. All of this competition designed to seduce us is just too wonderful for words.



If you do your homework properly, you can take advantage of some fantastic situations. In June, for example, UltimateBet had to add $68,000 to its Sunday night $200,000-guaranteed tournament. Who can resist that sort of value? So, amongst all of this bounty, I was a little bemused to receive an e-mail from UKBetting, informing me that inasmuch as my account had been dormant for a few months, they were going to charge me $2 a month until my money on deposit (all of eight pence) ran out! Even more confusing were e-mails from PartyPoker. At first, they wanted to charge $5 per month for accounts that had been dormant for 180 days, but a month later, I received an e-mail advising me that they missed me so much on their site that they put $50 in my account. Yum-yum; thank you, Party.



This ferocious competition is putting a lot of pressure on traditional cardrooms. Worst hit have been the expensive tournaments that are not well-supported by an extensive satellite programme. The Showdown Tour in the Fitzwilliam Club in Dublin (with a 5,000 euro entry) could manage only 20 entrants and the Victoria Grosvenor £5,000 World Masters, held in June, attracted only 45 players. On the other hand, the World Poker Tour event in Paris saw its numbers increase by more than 50 percent even with a 10,000 euro buy-in. There's a lesson there somewhere, and it could be that in Europe, we're overloaded with a glut of big buy-in competitions in which there is no added value and not a lot of opportunity to qualify cheaply. I'm a little surprised that Grosvenor Casinos didn't run supporting satellites in all of their provincial cardrooms for their showpiece event in London. Well, I'm not entirely surprised after experiencing Grosvenor Luton during the April springfest. A total of 110 of us signed up for the £500 pot-limit hold'em competition. About 15 minutes after it started, they announced that first prize would be all of £15,000 (a massive 27 percent)! Well, they must have been inundated with protests, because after a few minutes of hurried consultation, they increased it to £17,600 (32 percent) and promised to revert to the old prize structures for the remainder of the festival. I know that there are many advocates of a flat prize structure, but £15,000 out of £55,000 is overdoing it. And how about the Midlands Masters held at Walsall in June? The £300 pot-limit Omaha double chance attracted only 45 players, yet they still paid out nine – yes, nine – prizes. Talk about overkill. So, poker players, if any of these things bother you, phone up first before making any travel arrangements; at least that way you'll know what to expect.



In today's fiercely competitive market, you have to work very hard to keep your player base growing and staying loyal. Canvassing your players, as Grosvenor Walsall did, is one way, and adding value is another. Grosvenor sent out questionnaires regarding its ladies-only tournament (which Blue Square sponsored by adding an all-expenses-paid entry to the WSOP ladies event for the winner). Great stuff. So, inasmuch as it's Sunday, what do I do? Support my local, which is Walsall? Go to Broadway, where there is no registration fee and a £20 buy-in tournament that regularly fetches more than £7,000? Stay in and play on PokerStars, PartyPoker, UltimateBet, and a few others, as well? Help! Overkill!