Everything I think I know about EMPIRE

[BobbyShaftoe]

I'm looking to whore some place at .50/1 or 1/2. Its looking like Empire next, but I'm not certain. After searching around quite a bit, I think I have a handle on things, but I'd like a backstop. Its tough finding fresh info and sorting out the dated stuff.



Please correct anything wrong:

/images/graemlins/diamond.gifEmpire used to be a Party skin, but Party dropped Empire(& others) like a bad habit last fall.
/images/graemlins/diamond.gifEmpire player numbers suffered.
/images/graemlins/diamond.gifParty bought Empire recently(2/2006), but the players are still not on same network.(?)
/images/graemlins/diamond.gifGames at Empire are not as soft as at Party.
/images/graemlins/diamond.gifThere is still a signup deposit$500-get$100 at Empire that clears quickly.
/images/graemlins/diamond.gifYou can sign up for said bonus even if you are already on Party.(?)
/images/graemlins/diamond.gifThere is no more RB at Empire, so don't bother signing up with an affiliate.

[BigBadBabar]

something you might not know: playing .5/1 and 1/2 at Empire is like getting your teeth pulled. without anesthetic. it's not that it's "not as soft as party" but that it's so much less soft than party that it's probably the tighest place around that i know of except for absolute. good luck.

bbb

[midwestkc]

I don't know that it's THAT bad. My .5/1 FR time there was very profitable (though it was only to clear the First deposit bonus). I ran well, sure, but these players weren't that good. Much easier than absolute, and I thought it was on par with Prima.

[terrapin314]

The 2/4 games are pretty good, however. It does look like they might a little high for you.

[Mossberg]

The .50/1 and 1/2 games are actually way too tight over there.. I went there to do a reload, and since there are no 2/4 6max games, i played some 1/2.. it was tedious and frusterating to say the least.. I looked around though and found a juicy 200NL game, and a couple good 3/6 6max games.. NOT recommended for lower limit players..

[triviaguru]

The $25 NL and $50 NL are a quarry also.. have fun playing if you enjoy 85 cent pots. Plus, you'll see the same 8 rocks at every table you play.

What a relief to return to party after playing at empire for 2000 raked hands (for the 40% reload last week).

[BobbyShaftoe]

500 raked hands in 30 days? I'll be just another rock in the garden, I suppose.

Hell, maybe I'll get crazy and play on the beginner .15/.30. Wooot!

[grjr]

[ QUOTE ]


Hell, maybe I'll get crazy and play on the beginner .15/.30. Wooot!

[/ QUOTE ]

Those tables have been filled with whores during this reload period. World's only .15/.30 tables with a average VP$IP of 20%.

[MicroBob]

1. if you're new to empire then I think they still have the 'beginners' tables that you can play on with even less rake...but you still get credit as a fully raked-hand.


2. Since there isn't even any rakeback there anymore I would have doubts that the games currently are so tight.
The reason they were tight during the reload: We were all doing the reload.

Right now there are ZERO reloaders. So NOW would be the time to take advantage of their first-time deposit bonus (assuming they still offer this).
i can't imagine the games are that tight without the reload-chasers.


Also - I didn't think the games were that bad at 1/2 and 2/4 during the last reload.
But I usually believe that these types of things are overstated.

[JerseyTom]

I cleared the last couple of bonuses there playing PLO and PLO8 (the $25 tables, since no one seems to play any higher there). Probably clears similarly to NL, except that the hands take longer.

.50/1 and 1/2 hold em will clear quickly too. As others have said, the play there is tight, but not unbeatable.


Tom

[Jake Ox]

[ QUOTE ]
Also - I didn't think the games were that bad at 1/2 and 2/4 during the last reload. But I usually believe that these types of things are overstated.

[/ QUOTE ]

I couldn't agree more. Most 1/2 6max tables I played at had an average VPIP of 40 or so, and it wasn't uncommon to find 1 or 2 players at your table up in the 60s. Fairly low aggression both pre and postflop as well. I cleared the $200 reload when it came out and then did an additional $100 reload (account specific?) this weekend, and won more money at 1/2 than I cleared in bonus both times. I thought Empire was a gold mine and would continue to play there if they still had rakeback. Or if I didn't have bonuses and rakeback to work on other places.

Even the players with VPIPs in the low-to-mid 30s -- just because they're not crazy loose doesn't mean they're good. In fact, if you know what you're doing against this type of tight-weak player, you should be able to achieve an excellent winrate with fairly low variance.

[MyTurn2Raise]

yep...this place is a fish farm, or at least it was during the 3 hours I was there today.

[BobbyShaftoe]

Ok, I signed up but no $100bonus. I emailed support and they said that there is NO $100 bonus running, but they gave it to me anyway as a gesture of good faith, etc. It'll pay out at 7x (instead of 5x?), but that's still sweet.

I hit the beginner $5NL table. It was the only game running in the Beginner section, but it was at least a fish fry. Not worried about clearing the bonus at all.

So, a word to the wise, they aren't officially running the signup bonus anymore, but they took care of me. YMMV.

Peace.

[bulldawgblue]

I did the sign-up at Empire about a month ago. Everytime I logged on (prime-time) the highest game running in the Beginner section was NL10. There were seriously like 5 tables total.