Would you say that the site's promotions are getting worse, better or the same?

Would you say that the site's promotions are getting worse, better or the same?

  • Site's promotions are getting worse.

    Votes: 16 55.2%
  • Site's promotions are about the same.

    Votes: 7 24.1%
  • Site's promotions are getting better.

    Votes: 5 17.2%
  • I'm not sure.

    Votes: 1 3.4%

  • Total voters
    29
Gorak

Gorak

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Would you say that the site's promotions are getting worse, better or the same?

You can vote in the poll and add comments. See the next post for an example.

As a reference point you can take when you first joined poker. Affiliates are included in the balance; but we understand that they are dependant upon the site's decisions.
Things to consider are: rakeback, promotional freerolls, deposit bonuses, VIP programs and etc.

1) Site's promotions are getting worse. (i.e. we are losing value)
2) Site's promotions are about the same. (i.e. no noticeable change)
3) Site's promotions are getting better. (i.e. we are gaining value)
4) I'm not sure. (i.e I don't know)
 
Last edited:
Gorak

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I voted 1) Site's promotions are getting worse.

By far I lost a lot of promotional value since I joined the poker world.

I remember getting rakeback on several sites. Now only a few still remain and their rules are constantly changing.

As for freerolls, this is where I lost the most value. poker sites have cut drastically in their freeroll offers and prizes.

Deposit bonuses are very seldom offered and they a very hard to clear at the micro stakes.

The VIP programs on some sites are ridiculous for micro stakes players. However this is the one area where some sites have moved in a positive direction for the micro stakes.

Anyway I used to make a LOT (sometimes 10 times) more money from the promotions just a couple of years ago.

New players joining these days will get good initial promos but after that stage, they become just another raker.

I don't think the sites will make changes based on a player being unsatisfied with the current trend. But if we say nothing the sites will assume everything is fine.

This is my opinion. What's yours?
 
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BluffMeAllIn

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I voted for cake :D
 
BluffMeAllIn

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lol, well only mods can do that and typically you will find options cake and bastard on most polls (most regs add them as part of the choices) .... i chose to go with just cake, but i can remove it if you are looking for a serious result .....

But essentially when referring to such promo's you are obv gearing it towards mainly stars due to their changes, and they have simply become more about the business now and these changes are obviously good for their pockets and probably look good to the new players but for anyone that knows better the promos have lost value, smaller prizes and all being more random etc.

Overall stars probably still has more promo's etc then many sites, they are just such low value because of their large player base, and the move towards more random prizes vs a set prize that you know you are going to get .... so those become intriguing to anyone when there is the chance of a large score even if small.

Mainly in the grand scheme of things it matters very little what we think, we are not new players so we are not the audiance that they are looking to attract with most of their promo's and specifically freerolls. While promos like missions are in fact a bonus to anyone who already regularly plays the games that they are geared towards, so "it depends" on what you play normally and your current situation as a poker player and br.

edit: its obv very objective based on the sites people play as well, some sites have been getting better and some worse while others stay the same .... I think the question is likely too open to get any reletive results since you know not who and where they play that responds to the poll.
 
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Gorak

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but i can remove it if you are looking for a serious result .....
Well I'd appreciate you removing the cake option.

Actually pokerstars is not the site that I lost the most value.

Titan is really no.1 in this category.
I lost a lot of value from PKR also. Especially on Bonus/Rakeback and freerolls
On Stars, with my affiliate, I had a 25K freeroll/month when I started; then it got to 10K then 5K then 2.5K then only brand NEW depositors. Sick
On many ipoker sites I had an affiliate with weekly depositor freerolls. Today nothing!

I know many are in the same situation as me.
 
toots babos

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I would also vote for some cake :D

As for promotions I truly couldn't care if they were there or not, I learnt to make money by playing well and getting a bit of luck at the right moments but have also been given bad luck at the wrong moment also so that balances that out.

Learn to win money without promotions so that when promotions come around you aren't relying on them and instead they are just bonuses
 
Gorak

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Learn to win money without promotions so that when promotions come around you aren't relying on them and instead they are just bonuses
I wish I was gifted enough to forget about the promos.

But I am promotion hunter so my extra money is coming from that route.
 
toots babos

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I wish I was gifted enough to forget about the promos.

But I am promotion hunter so my extra money is coming from that route.

Well unfortunately you are just going to have to take the good with the bad then, who knows in a month or so there could be a few great promotions popping up that make you happy but in the meantime strive to become better so that in the future you won't need to rely on them
 
Kenzie 96

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No cake or Bastard option, no vote. Sometimes principal demands one take a stand.
 
Ljuk358

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That promotional money has too much conditions to withdrawal so I don't care if they give me it or not...
 
Gorak

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but in the meantime strive to become better so that in the future you won't need to rely on them
How exactly can I do that?

I've been a member of several training sites for cash/tournaments and I'm still not up to par with the field except for the micro stakes tourneys.

I have several tools/trackers to analyze my game.

However it seems that there is no substitute for my lack of poker IQ. I just have to live with it I guess.
 
toots babos

toots babos

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How exactly can I do that?

I've been a member of several training sites for cash/tournaments and I'm still not up to par with the field except for the micro stakes tourneys.

I have several tools/trackers to analyze my game.

However it seems that there is no substitute for my lack of poker IQ. I just have to live with it I guess.

I know very little about your game, what games and stakes you play and what kind of style you have.

To start to dig deeper into this subject wouldn't be fair to this thread that you started but If you started a new thread for improving your play then I'd happily try and add my input.

I would only be able to help in tournament and sit and go areas but there's also loads of people who specialise in cash games that will probably chime in for that area.
 
Poker Orifice

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Its pretty obvious they are getting worse on all sites. And rake actually getting higher on some sites :(

I think one of the biggest decreases in what you are you referring to as 'promo' money is the stuff that used to be available via affiliates (ie. affiliate freerolls, affiliate 'cash-added' buyin tournaments, etc. etc.) as there used to be HUGE value in going after those. I recall back in 2008, 2009 a player could find sometimes up to 30 games in a day! (via promos across a gazillion sites).

I used to keep track of my daily (weekly, monthly, yearly profit) from 'promo' stuff and prior to 2012 it was never less than $10k a year. In 2012 it was $8.3k, 2013 $7.9k, 2014 $6.8k, 2015 $9.9k (but would've been far less if I hadn't won 5,000 euro in that one freeroll on WillHill).
I used to be able to WD a minimum of $500 monthly just from 'promo' type games.

The games just don't exist anymore... sites cutting back on their affiliates in a big way (some losing HUGE sums of money as a result).

Time to make like Ivey - - get good at making adjustments.
 
Gorak

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The games just don't exist anymore... sites cutting back on their affiliates in a big way (some losing HUGE sums of money as a result).
We can say that, for a moment, we had it good. Now it is more difficult to find good promos and the field is getting tougher.

New players arriving on the scene of poker never tasted the good old days of juicy promos.
 
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I think everything in moderation as it was before, thanks for your site)
 
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Some sites were giving away a million a week.
 
LinkornU

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I voted that they are about the same.
I dont pay much attention towards them, but i feel that PokerStars promos became lottery oriented. Most of them like - you can win thousands of dollars... with 0,000.... probability. But again promos are just additional money, a pleasant bonus, nothing more than this.
And i do like partypoker promos.
 
Poker Orifice

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And i do like PartyPoker promos.

aside from the couple bucks they were giving away in their Advent x-mas calendar, the others are typically only worth ~10% rakeback value (in other words, 'they suck'). You can get more than twice that from some iPoker sites.

I think the stuff that Gorak is talking about is just sooooooooo much better than what you see these days that unless you were playing then, you wouldn't believe the difference.
 
BigJamo

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Who took the "cake" option away ... I wanted Cake.

But seriously. Its clearly across the board changes (pardon the pun) for everyone and as mentioned before, it could or more than likely will change again in the future.

I admit, the challenges/missions/tasks/promos add a little something extra to play for.
 
fletchdad

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No Cake (or Bastard either, sad, sad world it has become...)

All sites I play on have become worse. Stars, FTP, 888 and PKR.

On the other hand, just about everything in the world has become worse.

And I am an optimist.........

Cake


Bastard
 
WVHillbilly

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How exactly can I do that?

I've been a member of several training sites for cash/tournaments and I'm still not up to par with the field except for the micro stakes tourneys.

I have several tools/trackers to analyze my game.

However it seems that there is no substitute for my lack of poker IQ. I just have to live with it I guess.

This thread is an example of why you never get any better. You're stuck in your ways. Someone wants to add the 2 traditional options for EVERY poll on this site and you asked for it to be removed. You post HHs and argue with the advice given if it doesn't fit with your way of thinking. You're not really open to suggestion and that makes improvement impossible.

As for your question it's the most obvious thing in the world that sites/affiliates don't give as much away as they did previously. Something about a shrinking player pool and higher costs that makes them less giving. As for affiliates a lot of sites have cut them out completely. Just the way it goes. Time to adapt or quit playing.
 
Gorak

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Just the way it goes. Time to adapt or quit playing.
I think quitting would be a bit drastic since I'm still making money and I enjoy playing recreationally.

What if CardsChat was cut by every sites and there would be no more freerolls; do you think you would get as much traffic as now on CC?
 
fubarcdn

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It is definitely gets worse every year although the first deposit promos seem to be a bit more generous with more tickets on most sites.
The biggest changes are for sure in the affiliate programs which are now very limited and cc seems to be the most generous.Where else can you score a coveted Cardschat hoodie. :)
Where there used to be countless affiliate free rolls daily now there are only a hand full a week and even less with one of the unnamed affiliates pulling out of Stars and Full Tilt.
And life goes on.
 
Gorak

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