Movers and mergers
There has recently been a lot of activity with different poker networks merging and poker sites moving their allegiance from their current networks to new ones. Partly, this is because poker sites are quickly generating traffic thus forcing them to move to networks which best suite their category. The newer poker sites are opting for the networks with smaller traffic levels to enable their players get accustomed to playing poker at the same rate as others from other networks.
Cake Poker Network
The Cake Poker Network has become a favorite for many poker rooms which have been switching to this poker room. One reason why many poker rooms are deciding to switch to Cake Poker is that this network allows US citizens to register. Whereas most other networks will deny access to US citizens, the Cake Poker network grants them access and even offers a Gold Card to ease transactions.
Doyle’s room decided to move from the Microgaming Network and join the Cake Poker network so that they can be able to give access to American players. Microgaming had made it clear that they were moving out of the U.S market and Doyle Brunson did not waste much time in announcing their decision to migrate from their network to the Cake Poker network. The fact that the only 10-time bracelet winner of the WSOP joined the network proves that it has become very much liked by many.
Merge Poker Network
On the other side, the Merge Poker network is still relatively small compared to other networks. It’s however attracting new poker sites. This network is currently hosting Carbon poker as the one of its bigger poker sites. The Cake network is much larger than the Merge Poker network and though some poker sites are moving to the Merge network, it’s bound not to have a big effect on the Cake network which has over 70 partners already signed on. The Merge Gaming network is bound to grow by up to five times its current size due to the high traffic that will be brought about by the upcoming transfer of Sportsbook poker and Players Only poker to their network.
Poker sites switching networks means that the members of those sites must change their software and adjust in line with the requirements of the new network. For poker sites which have very stringent terms and conditions, the loosening up to ideals of a different network may prove a bit difficult but compulsory.
Network Feature Article: No more Cake!
Sportsbookpoker.com and playersonly.com recently announced that their changing networks and transferring to the Merge Poker network. They were initially at Cake Poker network but decided to move. A statement released by the poker sites read in part that “Our goal is to provide our players with the best poker experience possible, which is why we decided to make this move. We’re confident that our players will enjoy the groundbreaking features, generous loyalty rewards program, and improved overall playability that Merge’s poker software provides.”
Rumors were earlier rife about the transfer of sportsbook.com and playersonly.com. Sporstbook.com has been under the Cake Poker Network since 2006 whereas playersonly.com just recently opened its doors to members from across the globe. Initially, the poker site only allowed registry from players within Canada and America.
The Microgaming network is still encountering a lot of transfer from their members due to their neglect of the American players. Many are opting to move away from the network in order to gain from the lucrative American poker playing market. The Cake Poker network and the Merge network are both known for accepting US citizens and thus this was not an issue for sportbook.com and pokersonly.com while deciding on transferring. Cake Poker has not absolutely lost, though the exit of this two major poker sites has dealt a big blow to it. The famous professional poker player Phil Laak started his own poker site and it’s currently registered as part of the Cake Poker network. Some Cake Poker network rooms that were onboard include Rags2Riches Poker, Amsterdams Poker, Dimeline, Burro Poker, 7Win Poker, Redback Poker, and Safari Poker.
The Cake Poker network tagged the move by the two websites as unfortunate because they had enjoyed a good working relationship together but quickly went on to focus on better things to come such as the new software they are planning on bringing out. This software will have much better features and will even have a specials feature allowing players to regularly change their name in a bid to avoid the tracking done by some players using Poker trackers such as Holdem manager and Pokertracker. Apart from Carbon Poker, which is the most common poker site in Merger Gaming network, some other members include Reefer Poker, ACED, Poker Nordica and IronDuke. The traffic in Merge Gaming network has been reported to shrink in recent months for unknown reasons but since the rumors started late December of 2009, traffic rapidly jumped. Now that sportsbookpoker.com and playersonly.com have formally announced their movement, much higher traffic is being seen in the network.
The Cake Poker network is at the moment holding on as the tenth most trafficked poker network with an average of 2,000 players throughout the week. This number has however began to deem due to the move. Some other common poker networks include Poker Host, Power Poker, and Bet US. Each of them is relatively doing well. Poker networks highly determine the choice of poker rooms that players join depending on the terms and conditions. No American person for instance would join the Microgaming network.
Tournament News Update
Turning to big tournaments which were held recently, we have the EPT Poker Caribbean Adventure, season six which was held at the Atlantis Resort & Casino at Paradise Island. The buy-in was $10,000 + $300. Another tournament that just ended is the WPT Southern Poker championship, season 8 which was held at the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino in Beach Boulevard. Their buy in was $9,700 + $300. The LA Poker Classic, season 8 was the most recent to end and was held at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. Their buy in was tagged at $9,600 + $400.