Zero Rake Poker Business plan

[Benjamin]

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I love my plan (such as it is) and genuinely am interested if anybody here would like to play at a site such as I have described.

So far, apparently, nobody from here would be joining us.


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I'd be there Tuff. And I expect that playing one table of 10/20 6-max on such a site would be all I need to make a living.

Everybody else in online poker would be there too, once it was off the ground. Don't let the message board haters get to you, holmes.

[Tuff_Fish]

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I wouldnt support a site that forces me to only play one table, especially considering its only because the founder can't multitable so is pushing his bias on everyone else.

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Absolutely amazing.

To use a fish analogy. There are several lakes in the region, and lots of fisherman. All of the lakes except one are suffering severely from over fishing. All the fisherman have dozens of poles, some nets, and even the odd stick of dynamite.

There is one lake that does not suffer from over fishing. There are no fisherman allowed on it. It is surrounded by a high fence with large quantities of barbed wire. In the early morning, the water is literally roiling with the fish jumping.

One day the keeper of the pristine lake offered some access to the lake. But the fisherman could only use a single pole with a single baited hook. Using the lake was free so long as those conditions were met. The fisherman could fish as long as he wanted, there was no limit.

But the fisherman that frequented the other lakes were incensed. How dare they not be allowed onto to the new lake without their multiple poles, nets, fishfinders, and, in a few cases, their dynamite.

They screamed and cursed and vowed to NEVER set foot onto the new lake.

Oh well.., They wouldn't be missed by those who understood that, to keep a lake well stocked, you must practice restraint, keep greed in check, and not take more from the lake than it can withstand.

So, our enlightened friends spent their days fishing at a leisurely pace, catching and keeping ample quantities of fish, eating well, and getting on with the rest of their lives.

Their compatriots, on the other hand, were spending their days and nights trolling, dragging nets, and blowing up the water in an ever more frenetic attempt to catch the last fish available.

The end.

Tuff [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Benjamin]

And, by the way, I agree that starting this thread then holding out on your ideas is kind of lame-o.

How about this. Set up the card room as a non-profit. Hire an experienced and successful non-profit fundraiser. I think money would rain down into such a non-profit from all the wealthy people in the US who love poker.

Charge a membership fee: $25 annually, with prizes and levels and stuff if you give more, like all non-profits. I.e. 'World Champion' level giving of $50,000 or more gets you an entry to the WSOP and all the prizes from lower levels.

You would probably have to black-list states where non-raked home games are illegal, like my own backward-ass NC.

Sounds feasible to me. Surely a professional approach to the above would net enough money to get it off the ground. It might take a few years of fund raising and development before the games go online.

[Tuff_Fish]

[ QUOTE ]

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........ but I really don't see how this could work. I think you are underestimating the startup costs and the cost of drawing players to the site, where are those dollars coming from? Then of course you have all the other operational expenses that come with running a functional poker site. I look forward to hearing why anyone would want to start such a site.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am really not sure how much it would cost to support such a site as I have outlined.

Does anybody have any idea how much it costs to run a site? That is, the direct costs of software leasing (buying?), running a server farm, and security? Customer support would be minimal. You help yourself. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

I have been working on a round number of $100,000 a month, $1.2 million a year. I have no clue if the is reasonable or not.

Is anybody in the know here?

Seriously.

Tuff

PS:

This whole idea was reborn in my head by the "The Rake is Too Much" thread. Seems some folks think it only takes pennies to run a table. Are they correct? If so we are definitely in business.

[1p0kerboy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I wouldnt support a site that forces me to only play one table, especially considering its only because the founder can't multitable so is pushing his bias on everyone else.

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely amazing.

To use a fish analogy. There are several lakes in the region, and lots of fisherman. All of the lakes except one are suffering severely from over fishing. All the fisherman have dozens of poles, some nets, and even the odd stick of dynamite.

There is one lake that does not suffer from over fishing. There are no fisherman allowed on it. It is surrounded by a high fence with large quantities of barbed wire. In the early morning, the water is literally roiling with the fish jumping.

One day the keeper of the pristine lake offered some access to the lake. But the fisherman could only use a single pole with a single baited hook. Using the lake was free so long as those conditions were met. The fisherman could fish as long as he wanted, there was no limit.

But the fisherman that frequented the other lakes were incensed. How dare they not be allowed onto to the new lake without their multiple poles, nets, fishfinders, and, in a few cases, their dynamite.

They screamed and cursed and vowed to NEVER set foot onto the new lake.

Oh well.., They wouldn't be missed by those who understood that, to keep a lake well stocked, you must practice restraint, keep greed in check, and not take more from the lake than it can withstand.

So, our enlightened friends spent their days fishing at a leisurely pace, catching and keeping ample quantities of fish, eating well, and getting on with the rest of their lives.

Their compatriots, on the other hand, were spending their days and nights trolling, dragging nets, and blowing up the water in an ever more frenetic attempt to catch the last fish available.

The end.

Tuff [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Your analogy misses in a couple of spots.

First, the fisherman would still figure to catch more fish in the lake with less fish where he could use all of his gear. He may think it's silly to have such a rule in that one particular lake, but so be it. I don't think he would be incensed. But he would have no incentive to leave the lakes he was currently fishing in.

Secondly, he could fish in BOTH LAKES at the SAME TIME, since these are "virtual" lakes on the internets. I'd be happy to play one single table on your site while playing my normal 20-24 at Stars.

Finally, if the fisherman has a large family, or a business, that he is fishing for, he simply won't be able to maintain with a single pole.

[questions]

I this idea, and the lake analogy. I would play there. Frankly, I think multi-tabling and HUD-play, etc. basically destroy the quality of the games on the major sites, but they don't seem to be hurting for business, despite that. I just play elsewhere, for the most part, and do much better. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I do think you have a bit of an attitude, so if you are going to persuade people to get behind your idea, you need to work on your sales skills.

[Tuff_Fish]

Good points all.


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Your analogy misses in a couple of spots.

First, the fisherman would still figure to catch more fish in the lake with less fish where he could use all of his gear.
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I think this is going to be less and less true as more fisherman chase fewer fish. They are mostly going to be chasing each other.
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He may think it's silly to have such a rule in that one particular lake, but so be it. I don't think he would be incensed. But he would have no incentive to leave the lakes he was currently fishing in.

Secondly, he could fish in BOTH LAKES at the SAME TIME, since these are "virtual" lakes on the internets. I'd be happy to play one single table on your site while playing my normal 20-24 at Stars.
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As I stated earlier, feel free. That doesn't bother the model at all. My personal preferance is to have a short clock so the action doesn't slow down, but otherwise, go for it.
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Finally, if the fisherman has a large family, or a business, that he is fishing for, he simply won't be able to maintain with a single pole.

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Tuff

[Tuff_Fish]

[ QUOTE ]

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I do think you have a bit of an attitude, so if you are going to persuade people to get behind your idea, you need to work on your sales skills.

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ME..?? an attitude? Come now, say it ain't so.

Tuff

[prodonkey]

so basically you want a zero rake pacific poker of the early 2000's.

[augie_]

tuff,

come on, what's the catch?