[CountDuckula]

Lots of very good ideas here. Here are my thoughts:

1. Buddy list and player search - yes, but make it possible to opt out of being placed on someone's list or being searched (I'm sort of intermediate between fish and shark, and while I like being able to find fish easily, I don't want the real sharks to find me [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]).

2. PokerTracker - yes, and have the option to save the hand histories to a folder on your hard drive, so you don't have to keep requesting your hands periodically. I also think that hand histories should be restricted to tables you're actually playing on; I really dislike the practice that has been dubbed "datamining", which is basically opening up as many tables as the software will support, and harvesting the hand histories so as to compile a huge database of players and their tendencies. Preventing observers from getting hand histories without playing will blunt this practice. PokerTracker is excellent for analyzing one's own play, and that's how I use it; I will look up players I've played against before on occasion, but I primarily want to track my own play and look for leaks.

3. I don't know if anyone's mentioned this, but I think you should offer a wide range of limits. Some people just aren't ready to play $.50/1.00 or higher, and would prefer to drop to $.10/.20 or even $.02/.04. This opens the door to recreational players who aren't trying to earn a living at online poker. Eventually, they may get confident enough to venture a bit higher.

4. Single-table tourneys, also known as Sit-N-Gos. Again, I'd like to see a wide range of buy-ins here, from 50 cents to whatever (Absolute offers these; I find them useful for trying out different styles, and picking up some cash when I've had a bad run (usually due to trying to play over my head... [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]). And try not to over-juice them; I think a reasonable fee is 10%. For example, Party offers $5 tournaments, with a $1 fee ($5 + $1); they also offer $10 tourneys for the same $1 fee. I'd be more likely to play $5 tourneys if they were $5.00 + $.50 instead of $5 + $1. Absolute is a little odd; they have a $2.00 + $.25, and a $6 + $1 tourney. I avoid the $6 +$1 tourneys (16.67% fee), and play either $2.00 + $.25 or $10 + $1. Very rarely will I drop to the $1 + $.15 or the $.50 + $.10 tourneys (I only play these if my account is really low and I won't be redepositing any time soon).

5. Custom images - at Absolute and Poker Stars, my avatar is the same one as I use here. It amuses me, and it frequently draws comments from other players. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] It also makes it easy for me to spot my own seat when I'm switching tables.

6. Bonuses and rakeback - Bonuses are good for micro and low limit players, whereas rakeback is good for the higher limit players. I think that offering a rebate on play over a certain level per month would make your site very attractive to the higher limit types. Most rakeback deals are done through affiliates, who get a percentage of the rake generated by the players they sign up, and then kick a chunk of it back to the players. But the newer players don't know about rakeback, and by the time they find out, they either have to live without or employ subterfuge to get it (things like closing an account and then reopening it under an affiliate, or creating "gnome" accounts under a relative's name or some such). But if it's above-board, and based on level of play, it acts as an incentive for frequent players. I'd suggest a multi-tier approach, such as:

Generate $100 in rake, get 5% back.
Generate $500, get 10% back.
Generate $1000, get 15% back.

...That sort of thing. Exact numbers up to you; I'm just tossing out some random ones.

7. Custom seat positions - YES!!!! Customizable on a per-table basis, please; I'd like to be able to put myself in the upper-left corner on one table, the lower-left on another, etc. That way, when I'm multi-tabling, I can see what's going on even when the tables overlap (I don't change my screen resolution, because that makes it harder on my eyes with my current monitor).

8. Seat change buttons - yes; players should be able to request a button, and be offered a seat that opens up before it's opened up for anyone. The buttons should be tracked, and the seat offered in order; the player who has held the change button the longest should get first crack, and so on down the line.


A few people have remarked that making the site shark-friendly will scare away the fish. I don't agree; Party and its skins are considered to be extremely fishy, and they offer several shark-friendly features, such as PokerTracker compatibility, stored hand histories, etc. I think the fish are mostly unaware of these features, and don't find out until they get serious or someone tells them.

-Mike