WSEX: Official Monthly Thread: July. (#11 of 12.)

[SwordFish]

Hey Fred -

Can I get a T-shirt with 3/4 of a rake on it ? Thanks [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

I don't have a problem with reducing the rakeback to 75% if the advertising will bring more traffic. I have money on your site, but have not played there in months due to the lack of players. Good luck, I hope it works.

SF

[jafeather]

Are there new disconnect problems popping up? Last night I got d/c several times. I was also playing on Stars at the time and never missed a beat there. One time I disconnected from one of my WPEX tables, but not the other three. No one else at my tables mentioned an issue, but the circumstances around mine were weird TSTL.

[pippetto]

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I know, 'easier said then done.' Here is what I would try if I were king of WsexLand:

1. Be exactly like Stars/FTP in every way including names in hand histories, allowing PT, HUDS, Datamining, 8-12 multi-tabling (stop listening to cranks and crackpots like 'tuff_fish') and have top notch state of the art software (just copy every good idea off stars and FTP).

Except, don't be like the others in the following ways:

1. Offer 80% to 100% rake back on a sliding scale with your most active players getting the 100%, but the 'extra' 20% bonus must be spent in the sports book or the casino.

2. First two people who start a new table automatically get the 100% rake back regardless of their activity level.

3. The 'Aces never lose' "congratulations!" auto-banner is a great idea.

4. A cool side-bar sports book panel up the side of the table to increase, entice more sports book action, and a casino panel up the other side highlighting the +EV for Wsex casino games to increase, entice more casino action.

5. Get rid of the free-roles, use the money for advertising.

6. Get out the word that the MoneyGram deposit option is, as it is, the single best way to deposit for Americans, this seems to be some kind of secret - why?

7. Pay out the rake back every other week, make more money on the interest carry float.

I applaud the GM's and Wsex's efforts, and I want rake free poker to succeed, but i believe new measures must be enacted quickly. Also, there must be some other good ideas posted here I left off.

If this didn't work, THEN I would shut down the room and say gg to the rake free experiment. Its too soon to conclude 'it just isn't working'

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agree

[gamblerNC1]

Many of us here have been too hard on WPEX management, my self included, though I still feel they have made many counterproductive moves. The reality of online poker is none of the sites that cater to US players are growing in the present business climate.

From what I can gather from the trends at Poker Scout, almost all the sites are flat lining or seeing a slow downward trend, bar a few upstarts like Cake Poker. The problem seems to be that more money is coming out the online poker economy than is going in. I read an article a short time back that estimated the US market has seen a 35% traffic decrease since the new law. Little was offered in the way of proof so take it with a grain of salt, but it seems to me to be close to accurate.

The real problem that WPEX and all poker sites are up against are the difficulty of moving money. I don’t see how any promotion, gimmick or tinkering is going to change this, if rake free poker did not get the job done. The wait for checks gets longer and the expense for the sites continues to climb.

The realistic outlook for all these sites are not how to grow but how to hold on to the business they have. Unfortunately, WPEX does not have much to hold on to. What traffic they have is there is because of the 100% rake back, which in this climate has proven impossible to maintain. Unless a better, faster and cheaper way is discovered to move money online than I think Fred is going to find himself the mayor of a ghost town, no matter what changes the management at WPEX makes.

[Mojo56]

Getting rid of the free rolls wouldn't bother me in the least. One thing I would like: The ability to use Poker Tracker to keep track of SNG's and MTT's. It works on ring games so why not on tourneys?

[BuddyQ]

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'The real problem that WPEX and all poker sites are up against are the difficulty of moving money. .... Unless a better, faster and cheaper way is discovered to move money online ...

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Look, this is merely the perception, not reality. Admittedly, this perception is a problem. I don't know the best way to overcome this perception of difficulty, but perpetuating it further on these forums is counterproductive.

Sure, Neteller is gone for us Americans but getting money to the Pex is simple and free, admittedly you must get off your ass and bring cash to the MoneyGram outlet, but is that really that hard?!

Money In = Simple (and free for $300+):
Cash ---> MoneyGram (on every corner)--->Wpex ---> Play.
(PS some credit/debit cards still work as well)

Money Out = Simple
Request a snail mail check, or pay for a FedEx.
(results vary, have been a few screw ups resulting in long waits, but others report excellent results. Hopefully, Wsex further improves to the point were the few screw ups are gone)

[Svarog]

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I think perhaps one thing that caused WPEX to not garner a larger player base was the fact that, initially, the software was really bad. It's completely fine now

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Not true -- I continue to lose significant pots due to my hand being checked automatically. I am still a fan of WPX, but the software needs improvement (see my other posts in this thread for more details).

[gamblerNC1]

First, it is not a misconception that money is harder to get on and off line than it was before, that is a fact. If you think otherwise, you are living in a sense of denial. Second, I don’t need to get off my ass and put money online I have money. I need the casual player to go buy MoneyGrams. I need lots of them to and so do the poker sites, but they are not.

A check now needs two to three weeks even with a $30 charge, where I use to get it in 15 minute out of an ATM for $2.50. so while there is a misconception by some that it is not possible to get money on and off line, anyone who argues that it is not harder and more costly and as a result many casual players have stop playing on line, has lost touch with reality. Fred said that one of the reasons they have had to cut back on rake is the high cost of moving money.

Many things are arguable, and that is what a site like this is for, but how anyone can argue that money is not much more diffcult and costly to move on and off line and as result less casual players are now playing has no clue what they are talking about.

[gamblerNC1]

this was taken off of poker scout
16-week change, April 30 - May 6, 2007 vs. Jan. 8-14, 2007



first number: Site/Network Change in peak # of players Second number: Change in average # of players

PokerStars -21.1% -18.4%
Full Tilt Poker -3.3% +0.5%
Microgaming Network -10.6% -9.4%
UltimateBet -28.6% -30.1%
Bodog -33.3% -36.0%
Absolute Poker -13.0% -9.7%
World Poker Exchange -24.0% -18.7%
Action Poker Network* -49.4% -49.8%
Skill Games Network* -95.0% -96.2%

[BuddyQ]

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First, it is not a misconception that money is harder to get on and off line than it was before, that is a fact. If you think otherwise, you are living in a sense of denial. Second, I don’t need to get off my ass and put money online I have money. I need the casual player to go buy MoneyGrams. I need lots of them to and so do the poker sites, but they are not.

A check now needs two to three weeks even with a $30 charge, where I use to get it in 15 minute out of an ATM for $2.50. so while there is a misconception by some that it is not possible to get money on and off line, anyone who argues that it is not harder and more costly and as a result many casual players have stop playing on line, has lost touch with reality. Fred said that one of the reasons they have had to cut back on rake is the high cost of moving money.

Many things are arguable, and that is what a site like this is for, but how anyone can argue that money is not much more diffcult and costly to move on and off line and as result less casual players are now playing has no clue what they are talking about.

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Meh, you said it was difficult to move money. In my opinion its not, on wsex that is. What is 'difficult'? MoneyGram is simple, takes a few minutes. Seems some have had slow cash out, others not. Again, "difficult"?

Might not be as good as it used to be, but I never said it was. Points off for poor reading comprehension skills.