Bill's Poker Blog

Learning Thai and Doing What I Was Hoping Never to Do

2009-07-08T22:34:54-07:00

Later on today I start my first actual Thai lessons. I get the informal lessons from Thais who introduce certain words to me or try to explain to me why Ratchadamri spelled in Thai has a mystery “M” (ราชดำร = R-ah-cha-d-ah-ri as far as I can tell). And I’ve listened to tapes and have a few phrase books but I’ve never had any sort of formal training.

Last week I went up and signed up for two two-hour classes a week for the next year. Before people think I’ve gone off the deep end, I also will basically get a visa to stay in Thailand for a year. I say basically because it’s actually a bit more complicated with trips to the immigration office every 90 days for renewals but for the most part it’s a one year visa to study in Thailand.

After that I can continue a second or third year of study basically doing the same thing. It’s a tad more convenient than having to leave the country every 90 days and waiting around for another tourist visa which may or may not be granted.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, the same day I sign up and set the dates for my classes a friend from Gibraltar sends me a text saying he’s going to be arriving Thursday night which also happens to be my first class.

He’s on his way down to Pattaya for a bit of a holiday so assuming the red shirts, yellow shirts or some other color shirts don’t close the airports (again) or do something else stupid I’ll probably try to leave straight from class and either get a taxi with him down to Pattaya or grab my own taxi and meet him down there.

In the 5 or 6 years I’ve been frequenting Thailand I’ve never had a desire to go to Pattaya. To me it represents the worst parts of Thailand. I know some people are saying “But Bill, it’s and endless party down there,” and you would be right but to me it just seems to attract the worst types of people - both farang and Thai. But then again, I’ve never been so perhaps I shouldn’t be so quick to judge.

Either way, I’ll be hanging out with a good friend I haven’t seen since I left Gib back in Oct and that alone should make it an interesting few days.

I’m bringing my laptop as I have a half-dozen or so half-written posts that I might try to finish up and get them up during the morning coffee ritual. If not, expect to be inundated when I get back.

Photocred to Roman Lashkin

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eGaming Review Aug Edition

2009-07-08T22:26:17-07:00

If you’ve gone over to the eGaming Review site to check out the stories I’ve linked to concerning William Hill’s stance on rakeback and affiliates you might have noticed the following footer on the articles:

Marcus’ comments will be published in full in the eGaming Review August edition’s special rakeback feature, which also includes views from Rake the Rake chief executive Karim Wilkins, Entraction chief executive Peter Astrom, poker affiliate Bill Rini and Keith Freeman, founder of PokerStrategy.org, the industry’s first affiliate to offer a ‘rake rebate’.

If you happen to get the print version it might be worth a read. Then again, it might not. I haven’t seen it yet. :-)

Thanks for reading Bill's Poker Blog. You might want to check out his other sites:

Poker Job Search is a resource for people who are looking to get started in the online poker industry.

Rakeback Report Get the best rakeback deals from the biggest online poker sites. Learn how you can make a living playing poker.

Foot, Meet Mouth. Mouth, Meet Foot. - Or Mr. Marcus Backpeddles Well, no sooner had I finished posting about William...
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888 and Party Gaming Agree With Me on Legalized Gaming in the US

2009-07-08T18:58:51-07:00

Last month I posted an article about what would really happen if online gaming was legalized in the US. I’ll spare you reading the entire boring post and just pluck out the most important part:

Any legalization of online gaming will come with a regulatory body who will determine who can and cannot offer gaming to US citizens. One of the big assumptions at the moment is that because Party Poker paid a fine that they are clean. Actually, part of the settlement was an admission of guilt. That admission may come back to haunt them if companies like Harrah’s lobby for licensing requirements that state that any company allowed to offer gaming cannot have illegally offered gaming previously. It’s a perfectly logical requirement and one that many people would agree with so I don’t think it would be too difficult for a land based casino to attempt to get it inserted into any licensing requirements.

In reality, I would be very surprised if any of the current top online poker rooms ever get a license to operate in the US. If I was Mitch Garber running Harrah’s online division I would pump as much lobbying money as it took to make sure that the licensing requirements were sufficiently stringent that all existing online poker sites would be disqualified.

Well news is coming out of the Gaming Executive Summit in Madrid that I may be right on the mark about this. First, 888 CEO, Gigi Levy, was quoted as saying:

“The US will be protectionist even if it regulates, and its withdrawal from its GATS commitments means it doesn’t have to conform to any WTO regulation on internet gambling.

“There are five other states [with California] we know of that are considering regulating online poker, and we know the licences will go to US companies.”

Sitting on the same panel as Levy, Jim Ryan, CEO of Party Gaming, said:

“The [egaming] world is changing as regulation takes different shape in different markets. But upcoming regulation means new entrants and competition in the market, and I worry less about direct competitors such as those sitting on this panel than I do about government-licensed operators and major media firms targeting their power markets in the future.”

So it does sound like both 888 and Party Gaming are starting to worry that they may find the doors closed to them in the US if and when online gaming becomes legal.

I also think that Ryan is on the mark when he mentions major media firms. Although they’re not technically a media firm, but what if Google decided to get into the online poker business once it was legalized? How long would it take them to capture a major piece of the market and effectively shut out competitors? They would own the fish market and the sharks go where the fish are.

Photocred to emilywjones

Thanks for reading Bill's Poker Blog. You might want to check out his other sites:

Poker Job Search is a resource for people who are looking to get started in the online poker industry.

Rakeback Report Get the best rakeback deals from the biggest online poker sites. Learn how you can make a living playing poker.

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Karim Wilkins Speaks Out on Mr. Marcus’ Comments

2009-07-08T18:42:16-07:00

Kudos to Karim for calling it like it is.

Wilkins said: “These days networks like iPoker, Entraction, Boss and Microgaming will seemingly give an online skin to anyone with a few hundred dollars and a small database of players. And it’s a majority of these skins that are cannibalising existing network traffic, by contacting players through player chat at the tables and so forth in order to poach them across for higher rakeback”.

That’s almost exactly what I was saying in my previous post.

Rakeback [what is rakeback?] isn’t a big problem for a stand-alone room because they can decide whether or not to offer it. If they choose wrong then it’s on them.

But when you get into a network scenario, things get more complicated. Wilkins is right. Anybody with some cash can open up a poker room on a network even if his name is IPlan OnOffering Rakeback.” And as Wilkins implies, within the industry we all know who is doing shady deals under the table. The players tend to send in the emails and ask for their current room to match the deal being offered before they leave.

The fact that the networks aren’t cracking down on rouge licensees shouldn’t be a rallying call for the industry to reject rakeback. It has very little to do with rakeback. It’s about stealing players unfairly. It’s about all the licensees on a network agreeing to a set of rules put forth by the network operator and then some licensees going off and violating the rules while the network operator looks the other way.

Rakeback is really no different than a loyalty program that allows players to take cash for points. Even Party Poker announced that that their new loyalty program was equivalent to 40% rakeback. And that’s a H-U-G-E change for Party where even saying the word rakeback would get you dirty looks in the office.

Instead of Mr. Marcus calling for the banning of rakeback he should be calling for network operators and network licensees to come up with a viable plan. For instance, why don’t they do split rev sharing on a player who moves from Room A to Room B? If Room B steals the player from Room A but has to split the earnings from the player 50/50 he won’t be able to make a profit. But if the player migrated there himself, 50% is better than nothing.

Network operators and licensees really need to get their act together because if they keep blaming rakeback and ignoring the real problems then they’re going to lose focus of where the industry is going and will soon find themselves unable to compete.

Thanks for reading Bill's Poker Blog. You might want to check out his other sites:

Poker Job Search is a resource for people who are looking to get started in the online poker industry.

Rakeback Report Get the best rakeback deals from the biggest online poker sites. Learn how you can make a living playing poker.

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Foot, Meet Mouth. Mouth, Meet Foot. - Or Mr. Marcus Backpeddles

2009-07-07T22:25:37-07:00

Well, no sooner had I finished posting about William Hill’s stance on rakeback when I go back over to eGaming Review’s site and see that Mr. Marcus got pwned by affiliates who pointed out that William Hill basically offered rakeback when they were moving from the Cryptologic network to iPoker.

Awwwkwaaaaard.

In response this is what he had to say:

Marcus said: “This was only available to selected existing players and for a very limited period of time. This is a clear and targeted retention bonus and was not aimed at, and nor did it, move players from other affiliates or operators”.

But I think he ended up sticking his foot in his mouth again when he was quoted as saying:

However Marcus continued that there was a need for the separation of responsibilities between affiliates and operators. “The role or retention and player life value is the responsibility of the operators, whilst the role of the affiliate is acquisition of players, he said.

That is part of the problem with the current system! Why are you paying an affiliate a lifetime of revenue when his role stops at player acquisition? If his role stops once the player signs up then simply offer a CPA deal and be done with it.

I’m not sure many rakeback affiliates who run ongoing rake races, rake chases, and other retention incentives think that their job ends at the point of acquisition. And I don’t think that many traditional affiliates like to think that they have such a narrow scope. Many run rake races and other promotions out of their own pocket because the increased play helps their MGR numbers.

Yes, the primary job of an affiliate is to help the poker room acquire customers but if Mr. Marcus thinks that they provide no value in retention then his view of the online gaming world seems rather narrow. If the role of the room is player lifetime value and Mr. Marcus doesn’t feel affiliates play a role in retention then he’s likely not maximizing the player lifetime value and thus not doing his end of the deal.

I wonder if there will be a follow up to his follow up to explain this one to the affiliates :-)

Photocred to benjamin_mercadier

Thanks for reading Bill's Poker Blog. You might want to check out his other sites:

Poker Job Search is a resource for people who are looking to get started in the online poker industry.

Rakeback Report Get the best rakeback deals from the biggest online poker sites. Learn how you can make a living playing poker.

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William Hill Sounds Off On Rakeback

2009-07-07T22:04:17-07:00

There was a recent article in eGaming Review quoting William Hill Online COO Peter Marcus making an appeal to the industry to reject rakeback [what is rakeback?]. He pleaded with the industry to “get together and be strict.”

I think Marcus seems rather unrealistic.

Interviewed for a special feature on rakeback in eGaming Review’s August edition, Marcus continued that rakeback in its present form “has a limited shelf life” and that “licensees who just want to give rakeback and not spend money on marketing will find it’s not going to work, because someone coming up behind working on smaller margins will just steal their customers.”

“It’s the wrong way of building a sustainable industry – you do this by brand marketing, giving great customer service and rewarding customer loyalty,” he added.

I do agree that rakeback has a limited shelf life. Sooner or later online poker sites are going to have to realize they can’t pay out 40% or more of net revenues to affiliates for life. Customers simply aren’t going to support that model.

The existing rake model is simply a tax on the ignorant. It’s basically saying that if you’re too dumb to know about rakeback then we’re going to charge you full price until you figure it out and leave and go to another site that offers you rakeback. The longer they can keep you in the dark the higher their profit.

So instead of trying to artificially keep rates high, operators would be better off lowering the cost of their services. Players wouldn’t need rakeback if the industry priced itself correctly. Rakeback is basically an industry created ill based on the failure of the industry to adapt to changing customer expectations and increased knowledge of how the industry works.

There’s also the problem that many sites operate on a network model. And there I will agree with Mr. Marcus that licensees that cheat the system do the entire network great harm. If there are three sites on a network and two of them are spending their money going out and acquiring new players and the third simply steals the customers away from the other two by offering rakeback or under the table deals then they are benefitting off of the hard work being done by the other two rooms. And if the other two rooms decide to copy the rakeback room and put all their efforts into stealing the customers of their competitors then it just becomes a vicious dogfight nobody can win.

But I think Mr. Marcus is barking up the wrong tree. It’s the networks that need to crack down on this. You don’t have to rely on the rooms doing the right thing if the network operator is willing to shut down licensees who continuously violate the terms of service of the network. But most don’t because shutting down a licensee cost the network operator revenue.

It’s funny how a network’s fraud department can catch two players colluding or chip dumping based on IP address blocks, previous playing history, etc but no alarms are sounded when one poker room on a network starts being the net recipient of players being lost to other licensees on the same network. They don’t catch it because they don’t want to catch it.

Rakeback is here to stay. Because it’s not just a network or industry problem; the players are part of the equation. Unfortunately, between affiliates, licensees, operators, and networks few people seem willing to concede that players have a choice and can vote with their wallets.

Photocred to timparkinson

Thanks for reading Bill's Poker Blog. You might want to check out his other sites:

Poker Job Search is a resource for people who are looking to get started in the online poker industry.

Rakeback Report Get the best rakeback deals from the biggest online poker sites. Learn how you can make a living playing poker.

Karim Wilkins Speaks Out on Mr. Marcus’ Comments Kudos to Karim for calling it like it is....
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The Week That Was June 29 - July 6

2009-07-05T22:40:09-07:00

Last week I made some comments about celebrities dropping like flies. Shortly after I wrote that post I was having a conversation with a Thai friend and she mentioned the deaths. When I brought up the recent death here in Bangkok of David Carradine she replied “That doesn’t make any sense to me. He’s staying in a four star hotel and there’s no security footage?”

I chuckled to myself and told her what many farangs think happened. I don’t think anybody thinks Carradine was murdered. That’s highly unlikely. But it’s also just as unlikely he tied himself up. He probably had a little help. But when things got out of hand the gal probably freaked out and didn’t know what to do.

Now, if you’re David Carradine, chances are it wouldn’t be difficult to hire the company of a famous Thai television film star or cover model to show you around the city and make sure you have a good time. Because she’s famous she probably has friends in a lot of high places. So when Carradine accidentally choked himself to death - wanting to save her career from scandal - she picked up the phone and called someone high up in the police or military and they came and erased all evidence of her being there and left the body for someone to find.

My friend looked at me for a few moments with a confused look on her face and I began to wonder if something might have been lost in the translation or whether she was having trouble imagining that corruption was so rampant in her country. Finally she smiled and said “Yes, that makes a lot more sense than what they said in the news. Amazing Thailand!”

“Amazing Thailand” is the tourism board slogan but it’s also used jokingly as a way of explaining the inexplicable. A good example is the other night I’m getting out of a taxi with a friend and another taxi driver comes up to me while I’m still paying the first driver and asks if I need a taxi. I’m absolutely floored at what logic (or lack thereof) prompted this guy to ask me if I need a taxi when I’m still settling up with the first. But before I could say anything my friend just looks at me and says “Amazing Thailand!”

Lots of good content last week.

We had a misleading headline from Bluff Europe suggesting that Obama might be playing in the WSOP , tales of a DIY circumcision (ouch), suggestions on how to increase your rakeback profits, Las Vegas safety tips, video of a kid on uber-tilt, and information on how you can become a rakeback affiliate.

Over at Rakeback Report we had advice on whether you should move up in limits or increase the number of tables you play in order to maximize your rakeback, info about Full Tilt’s Face the Ace promotion, and a list of rake races and rake chases being offered by Rakeback Report.

If you’re looking for a job in the online poker industry, Poker Job Search has some new listings.

Country Manager - France - Online Poker
Polish Speaking CSR - Online Casino/Poker
German Speaking CSR - Online Casino/Poker
SAS Developer - Online Poker

For those of you who read my post a few months back on the dumbing down of affiliate managers, the saga continues as I just received another spam invite to become a Noxwin affiliate.

Dear Webmaster,

We are looking for new opportunities to expand our Affiliate network. Therefore
I would like to propose you a cooperation between your site and www.noxwin.com ,
where both will benefit.

A partnership with noxwin.com has many advantages for you:

* Excellent commission: We pay to our partners a lifetime commission of up to
35%!
* Great Conversion Rates:
-250% Sign up bonus for your users up to 2.500 EUR
-VIP Rake Back Program
-Sponsoring of Exclusive Free Rolls and Poker Leagues
* Reliability: Noxwin is operated by Entraction Operation Ltd (former 24hPAY
Ltd)

How can I become a Noxwin Partner?

To become a Noxwin partner, please open a user account at noxwin.com and send
me your username. Iâ€™m going to set up your affiliate account and
contact you back.

Should you have any further questions or in case you need more information
donâ€™t hesitate to contact me. Iâ€™m looking forward to establish
a long-term relationship with you.

Best regards,

Ivan Dyankov
Affiliate Account Manager

You know what’s sad is that if you type “noxwin” into Google the 7th result is someone writing about their spam. How could anyone ever want to promote a room that you get complaints about their indiscriminate spamming on the first page of the search results?

Hope all of my American friends had a happy and safe July 4th weekend. Now get back to the tables! :-)

Thanks for reading Bill's Poker Blog. You might want to check out his other sites:

Poker Job Search is a resource for people who are looking to get started in the online poker industry.

Rakeback Report Get the best rakeback deals from the biggest online poker sites. Learn how you can make a living playing poker.

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Slow News Day at Bluff

2009-07-03T22:13:17-07:00

I ran across this on Bluff Magazine’s Europe site:

I could understand if they used a headline saying that someone was offering to pay Obama’s way into the WSOP main event but to imply this is even realistic is pretty sensationalistic journalism. Since when did Bluff Magazine become Gambling911?

Thanks for reading Bill's Poker Blog. You might want to check out his other sites:

Poker Job Search is a resource for people who are looking to get started in the online poker industry.

Rakeback Report Get the best rakeback deals from the biggest online poker sites. Learn how you can make a living playing poker.

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Blast From The Past: Best “Heard at the Table” Posts

2009-07-02T01:56:34-07:00

You hear some of the funniest things sitting at a poker table. Stress, boredom, and alcohol often cause people to say the darndest things.

First on the list was a co-worker and good friend who is known for his passionate approach to poker (i.e. he tilts easily) letting me go through his player notes:

Prone to MASSIVE tilt…worse than me

Alicia Silverstone - absolutely f*ckin clueless.

SHIT player…a GERMAN…enough said

muther f*cking son of a bitch. The bloke cant miss when he chases

But best of all he labeled two different players:

uses extemely bad language…sore loser

Watch for abusive language

You can check out the rest of his ranting player notes here.

Grandma Needs an Operation

Here’s some fun chat from a recent game:

Man, I really hope I win this hand.
My grandmother needs an operation.

LOSES HAND

Damn, no boob job for grandma.

More boob humor

Floorman! We need another player over here. Send us a drunk or a chick with big boobs.

– Commerce Casino

Don’t Bluff a Bluffer

“I think you’re bluffing but I can’t beat a bluff.”

Wise Investment Advice

I’m going to move my Charles Schwab account to Party Poker.

Thanks for reading Bill's Poker Blog. You might want to check out his other sites:

Poker Job Search is a resource for people who are looking to get started in the online poker industry.

Rakeback Report Get the best rakeback deals from the biggest online poker sites. Learn how you can make a living playing poker.

Grandma Needs an Operation Here’s some fun chat from a recent game: Man, I...
Heard at the Poker Table “I think you’re bluffing but I can’t beat a...
Send In Your Player Notes One of the guys I work with started reading off...

Understatement is an Understatement

2009-07-01T04:54:34-07:00

This has nothing to do with poker but I was just so blown away when I read it.

Man uses nail clippers in DIY circumcision A man who gave himself a DIY circumcision using nail clippers was taken to hospital for emergency treatment.

That’s the lead-in to a story the gets more and more bazaar by the sentence.

The young man had to be rushed to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The wound was disinfected to cleanse it before he was given a bed in an observation ward.

“This is something we would advise men never to attempt,” a medic said, “The results can be quite horrific and long-lasting and have quite an affect on a man’s sexual performance.

Really? You really felt it necessary to make a point that you don’t advise this? I thought chopping away at your penis with a pair of nail clippers was the recommended way to remove a pesky foreskin. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

“Using a pair of nail clippers must have caused excruciating pain, even if he had had a few drinks beforehand.”

Really? I was wondering if that would hurt. Then I thought, “Well it probably wouldn’t hurt after a few beers,” but again you’ve set me straight on that one too.

Personally, I think this is all part of the main stream medical community conspiracy to keep us from doing minor surgeries ourselves and saving a little cashola. In fact, I’m going to prove it. Hold on while I get my nail clippers. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Okay, maybe he was telling the truth about the excruciating pain part. Wait, should there be this much blood? I’m not feeling so gooooooooooooooooo

Photocred to worak

Thanks for reading Bill's Poker Blog. You might want to check out his other sites:

Poker Job Search is a resource for people who are looking to get started in the online poker industry.

Rakeback Report Get the best rakeback deals from the biggest online poker sites. Learn how you can make a living playing poker.

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