Horse league

[LeanAndMean]

Please switch the HORSE games from full tilt where we are charged .50 for a $1 buy in to just about anywhere else. Like AP where we are charge .10 for a $1 buy in. And I would LOVE for it to be weekly. maybe add a HORSE at AP and continue the FT ones if you are stuck there. There are a LOT of private games on AP so they must be friendly to the concept.

[scrawnybob]

Please switch the HORSE games from full tilt where we are charged .50 for a $1 buy in to just about anywhere else. Like AP where we are charge .10 for a $1 buy in. And I would LOVE for it to be weekly. maybe add a HORSE at AP and continue the FT ones if you are stuck there. There are a LOT of private games on AP so they must be friendly to the concept.

please bear in mind I am not made of money and I also dont make the rules at Fulltilt

a) I have to pay for all the games at Fulltilt and several of the other sites - so I cant afford to make horse games weekly or add more games generally - most of them cost me money one way or another (some are part funded by the rooms IF I get enough new players which come generally from visitors not so much members signing up so they can play in the league games) - you only have to look at the numbers of members entering the games to see that the forum games dont generate new signups to sites via our links (which is where the funds come from so I can fund games)

b) I dont work with Absolute Poker or UltimateBet anymore and havent done for a good while - so even if I ignored the issues and concerns I have with the way they have been run from a player POV (I'm not keen on them as business to work with either) they wont be remotely interested in funding or running games their for us if we dont bring them new players OR if I was to fund the games I would have zero chance of ever covering the costs from visitor signups as I dont have links to them in our reviews anymore

hope this makes sense

alternatively members can tell me which new sites they have signed up to or will be signing up to via 4kingpoker and depositing real money and I will happily organise additional games at those sites for those players ;-)

this generally isnt popular for the majority of forum members as they are already signed up at sites (& just want more games at those sites) -

despite tournaments being a total cost with in real terms zero return I still organise and pay for games at sites members already play at in order for the community to hopefully be more active ... hint hint

I hasten to add the I make NOTHING directly from running the games (they cost me the $25 or whatever added) & I get nothing from their tournament rake - which I agree is high for a $1 buy-in but as it is their min I cant change it - but if members want a $2 or a $5 buy-in with the same 50cent min rake we could do that - but other members wanted it dropped from $5 for the monthly horse game so thats what happened

I would have continued to have the monthly horse game at Pokerstars but they made a rule a few months ago where the minimum private game I could setup with them was a min $5 buy-in with at least $100 added (of my money obviously)

cheers scrawnybob

[thejuanupsman]

I like the Horse game just the way it is. Appreciate all that you do and love that the games are on FT which I find to be vastly superior to other sites.

[LeanAndMean]

OK, thanks for the comprehensive reply. I did not realize that that the forum owner puts up the money added. I thought that the site put it up. Wow, how can anyone afford to be a forum owner if it is so expensive. If you ever have games at a site I am not already on, I will definitely download from you. But that would be hard because I am already on a skillion sites.

[scrawnybob]

hi

This topic comes up quite a bit and so Ive replied to similar requests / questions a few times ...

basically this is the drill - there are practically zero established websites (especially poker related) that are online as charity or total hobby (as it takes too much time to do)

so all sites make money somehow - most if not just about all websites earn revenue from the poker rooms for referring them players so we get a commission for each of the real money players that signs up (and deposit etc) at a poker room ... this is really the same is being paid for advertising but this is the way they do it

90% of these signups are generally from the (non forum) visitors generally finding the info they needed in our reviews and then signing up via us for a usually better than direct bonus etc

ALL similar sites work like this - some wont openly discuss it - but I'm upfront about how the business is and how poker forums / content sites work

that is how now after 4 years of building up the sites I earn some sort of living from 4kingpoker plus several other non forum poker sites and other non poker sites that I've built

I then happily plough back in some of the money to our private forum games - because these are an important part of the community and competition etc

(yes I would probably earn the same / more money not running the games but that would rather miss the point of running a forum community)

in general poker rooms used to be far more free and easy with their budgets - they're not anymore and they've cut back generally and also expect affiliates fund themselves mostly and to produce good number of signups for them to help out or part fund games etc -

basically they know that tournaments are good for keeping their brand name in peoples minds and maybe encouraging people to continue to play at their sites - but they're not the greatest incentive to new players to signup at a new site and they know that too

I tend to avoid the freeroll promo games at every "greatest new site" that comes along because I simply dont think it fair to keep pushing new sites on the same skins every 5 seconds ... those sites probably would do freerolls or fund games -

but while I can afford to fund games at FT and run games at other well know sites I will

hope thats a help
cheers scrawnybob

[hojediade]

ALL similar sites work like this - some wont openly discuss it - but I'm upfront about how the business is and how poker forums / content sites work

I noticed it already, Bob and i appreciate much the fact that you're straight with members as it seems most forums tend to dismiss it's all about money, to tell us it's all about poker.
I discovered through your article a whole part of OL world i used to ignore.
That's why i will keep on thank's you to open up our eyes on OL business as well as giving us good advice on playing poker.

[dooish]

can't find tonights HORSE in the lobby.

cos it's holdem lol.