The Poker Affiliate Blog

It’s been a disgustingly long time since I’ve updated the poker affiliate blog! I actually had quite a few people reguarly reading it but, I guess I’m back to square one!

Anyway, the blog is going to be updated at least once a week from now on and is going to be completley redesigned – it looks a bit rubbish at the moment to be honest and is long overdue a face lift.

The blog will probably become a little more personal in nature as we’re just about to launch iPokerVIP News which is a poker news sub site aimed at educated, professional poker players.

The business is doing well (probably not profit wise but, growth wise) and a lot of investment and exciting new things are happening. It shouldn’t be a big deal but, our members can now track their rake – long overdue I know but, you would be suprised at how few sites actually offer this function to their members.

We’re also launching the iPokerVIP store in the next 48 hours and the home page is being given a complete rehaul too. I’ve decided it’s time to go big or go home!

Wish me luck and keep coming back for my next proper update.

Okay, the day is finally here. The new iPokerVIP site is up and running and looking pretty decent. Login area is to follow in the next 2 weeks and now I feel like we’re really competing with the big guys. The old site was letting us down – We could compete on deals, service, innovation and pretty much everything else. It’s refreshing to see that players actually appreciate being told the truth and not having their (valid) questions deflected – that’s something I hope iPokerVIP is always known for.

A few of the pages still need some content but, overall I’m really pleased with things even if it was a bit overdue. I guess that kind of stuff is to be expected.

Anyway, I’ve been back to London and will likely be there a lot more often for a variety of reasons. Which I’m not going to go into. That’s not because I don’t want to share that stuff with anyone reading the blog. In fact I’d happily talk your head off about it but, because I’ve been reading some interesting stuff that basically goes like “don’t tell people about your goals and ambitions because it makes them less likely to happen”. Okay that was a pretty watered down version but, it’s quite an interesting concept. So we’ll see how this stuff goes and then I’ll blog until my fingers fall off!

Anyway, business is going well – always growing! Which is awesome.

I’m also getting my Hep A jab on Friday before I head off to Thailand for 2 weeks which should be awesome. It will be great to see so many people there and some of iPokerVIP’s most loyal players =)

Anyway, I’ll be updating a lot more often from now on!

Good luck guys.

Long time since my last post.

So got back yday from the London Affiliate Conference which was pretty cool actually.

Although stayed up too late and came out in some spots and stuff there which kinda sucked to be honest but, I survived.

I’m not really too sure what there is to report. Just met the people we usually do business with and said hi and had a pretty good time.

I’m feeling a bit uninspired today for some reason but, in general it’s important that the site becomes more automated going forward. At the moment the business is very people driven. If I was to sell iPokerVIP I’d have to sell myself with it!

So the start of 2011 is going to be all about automation; the new software, login area on the site and a few other cool things coming up.

Anyways, I’m going to put more effort into a much better post in the not too distant future.

So it’s 2011. Pretty crazy how fast stuff goes – it honestly feels like yesterday when I was 17 or 18. The majority of my friends are either just about to finish or out of uni. I guess the real world has finally come knocking and we’ve got to go out and face it.

I’m extremely grateful that I’ve got something to show for these “Uni years”. I don’t really mind if it’s socially unacceptable or not – I really believe online gaming will become a much bigger part of all our lives’ in the not too distant future.  I never broadcast what I do (apart from this blog which very few real life people know about) because even if I did I could never fight all the negative connotations and although it’s cliché I really just care about pleasing the people who I care about and respect.

Anyway, I mentioned that online gaming is going to become a bigger part of our life’s’ in the near future. This isn’t based on insider industry knowledge – it’s founded on looking at the path humanity is taking, especially in the last 100 years.

Personally, I don’t believe gambling is immoral – well at least not poker. It’s probably the purest form of business. It’s similarities to trading are uncanny and one thing I’ve began to appreciate is how it genuinely enhances your thought process – even on random day to day matters.

It is however, a fact that there are lots of negative connotations surrounding gambling. We can dress it up all we want but, your parents don’t want you to be a professional poker player. They don’t care if you’ve got an edge and don’t understand sample size. The only way society will listen is if you become so financially successful you force them to and that’s only going to get harder as the game develops. I guess this is why it takes a special kind of person to become a professional poker player – it requires tremendous self discipline, determination and talent. If these few people went down the conventional path of school to university to job I’m certain they would climb to the top. The catch 22 is that these people could never do that. They’re probably a little too impatient and too independent.

A pattern has been emerging in modern society. Morality and principal is constantly being replaced by pragmatism. Marijuana now enjoys near legal status in California and several other US stats – the govt. tax it and very little fuss is caused. Probably because (huge generalisation coming up) the people who usually protest are stoners themselves.

Abortion was something that was considered morally wrong by society and was legalised in ’70′s America.  This kind of stuff happens all the time – The governments of the world hold their hands up and say “We know a lot of people object to this and it might be wrong but, there is so much of it going on anyway we’re better to legalise it, tax it and licence it”.

I guess it’s not such a bad argument. The only problem is that it can be used to justify and legalise anything. Think of a few things – it’s probably already happened.

Naturally an 18 year old is more likely to get into online poker than a 40 year old. This is a guesstimate but, it’s probably fair to say that the online version of the game has been properly established for 6 – 7 years. I mean; good software, marketing, traffic and decent payment processing options.

Every year there are millions more eligible players than the last. The difference is that these ‘new’ eligible players are far more likely to take the game up than those that have passed away. So in 50 years time we might have a far more balanced poker demographic. A good number of the 18 year olds playing today might very well be playing in 2031 – Maybe not a crazy amount but, I’m certain there will be more 38 year olds playing in 20 years time than there are today because they found online poker when they were young and had the time to explore the game. Many of them will become entrenched in poker culture and some of them will be lucky enough to make a respectable living playing the game.  I admit that this argument might not technically be logical. In fact I’m sure there’s some fallacy – I hope you get where I’m coming from with the age thing.

We’re becoming more and more computer savvy every day. Those who are technologically illiterate are passing on and a new generation is coming of age. This is the generation that has been immersed in technology since the day they were born and although this can only be great news for the online gaming industry, I worry that it might not be great news for humanity.

About a year ago I watched a film called “Surrogates” with Bruce Willis at the cinema. The film was about a human race that lived through a surrogate – the surrogate couldn’t get hurt, feel pain and could pretty much do everything we can do but, better. I don’t think a lot of people related to the premise of the film at all but, it’s actually not too far away from where we are today and especially where this latest generation is.

It’s true – instead of going to the park kids play football on their PS3 or xBox. Instead of going around to a friends house they will chat on MSN. Instead of the popularity chain being based on who you really are it’s founded upon who you appear to be on your facebook profile and it’s pretty scary.

I don’t think it’s too long until virtual schooling is implemented to a degree. It will be hailed as revolutionary and the thing that will propel the nation to new standards of excellence whilst driving down costs. Even on the internet today I’ve seen countless adverts for online university courses – some from pretty good Uni’s. I just don’t think this is really the point.  I know one thing I slightly regret about the last year or two is how much time I’ve spent online. For me, the time I spend online doesn’t really get questioned because I’m “working” so the social stigma is gone – it actually become commendable that people spend their life’s staring at a screen.

Anyway, ultimately I think the time I spend online can be slowly but, surely decreased in 2011 as the barebones of the business are finally established. If that is the case the last 2 years or so have been worthwhile.

So… yeah it’s the end of another year. I guess in someways they go by really fast and in other ways really slowly. Reflecting on 2010 I think it’s been really great from a business point of view. Anyway, I’m going to try and list some highlights / defining moments of the year.

1. Dealt –> Contributed @ iPoker

Right off the bat iPoker went from Dealt to Contributed rake which was a big hit for a lot of affiliates. I didn’t really notice much myself. The big slump in turnover came in March or so which didn’t seem related to much apart from a pure reactivation and retention strategy. Player acquisition has never been a weakness for us but, I’d say that this was maybe a small warning sign that I could’ve acted on.

Anyway, dealt –> contributed is defo worth mentioning although in the end it didn’t really amount to much for me. This is pretty reassuring considering iPoker will change to an “Essence” type rake system at some stage in 2011. Hopefully, it doesn’t burn us too bad!

2. Jamie –> iPokerVIP

At the start of the year I was basically a sole trader who exclusively acted as an agent for Victor Chandler. Now the company has a real brand identity and great deals with rooms like; William Hill, Paddy Power, Unibet, Boyle Sports & Bet24.Com

Of course VC is still my personal #1 and represents continues to be the biggest earner for the company but, it’s reassuring to know that we don’t have our eggs in one basket.

The beta version of iPokerVIP.Com was launched in ~April and the site itself has come on leaps and bounds from them. As have the Ads on 2+2 and the company’s general forum persona. Hopefully, by the end of Q1 2011 we will have a website we are really proud of with full CMS.

3. The Thread

It’s quite weird looking back to advertising on 2+2. In my mind it always seemed like an inevitiability that the company would advertise there which is pretty odd when I see other companies deliberating over it for months. I guess it was brave and short-sighted at the same time. I’ve always just been interested in growing the business – not even making more money for myself but, streamlining the operation and making it the best out there. Obviously, it’s a ton of fun giving some of the big guys in the industry a fright or at least trying to, too!

Anyway, I guess a lot of readers will remember the thread and well thanks for reading still! I think the fact people who were supporting the company on the thread are still here 7 or 8 months later reading this post is the reason iPokerVIP is so special.

Here is a link to the thread. http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/51/affiliates-rakeback/official-ipokervip-affiliate-support-thread-760802/
I still struggle to read it because I really consider the way some other companies acted and especially the actions of PokerAddict highly unethical. There are 3 basic things that went wrong on his part:

I’m not going to get myself into what went down on that thread again but, I never thought it would be possible to hate someone so much who you have never met… Well I guess Hitler and stuff but, you know what I mean. Anyway, maybe that says more about me than it does him? Who knows.

I hope I see that guy someday just to see his face because he went out to ruin and destroy me – there is no question in my mind. In the end I’m grateful 2+2er’s didn’t side with the biggest post count or the authority of the moderator and just went with what was right.

4. CRM Software

Throughout the year I’d say we offered our customers a service consistent with other affiliates but, maybe with a bit more of a personal edge. I’ve become great friends with some of them and if any player has a question it will always be dealt with in a quick and effective manner.

This is the problem in my opinion. Sure it’s great that if you’ve got a problem your affiliate or whatever company you’re dealing with will sort it out but, what about customer care? What happens if you stop playing? Or we notice you’ve had a downswing? or you’ve raked a lot in a specific month? How about 30 days after you sign up? An agent should come and check on you after all these events and offer you something a little extra – whether it be some coaching from a pro player, networking with other pros at your stakes or maybe a free sports bet for a bit of fun?

2+2ers are the high turnover, high-end customers but, at the moment affiliates offer a service comparable to that of a bonus code site. We will hopefully change this… Of course we will continue our monthly email mailers but, it’s my #1 priority not to lose site of what got the company to this posistion – which is great personal service.

Anyway, this CRM software has been built which will allow us to keep an incredibly detailed database and will ensure that this kind of high-end service is scalable.

5. VC: iPoker –> Entraction

Midway through December 2010 Victor Chandler announced they were migrating from iPoker to Entraction. Obviously, this was really scary for me but, on reflection it’s incredibly positive.

It forced us to manually reactivate and talk to hundreds of inactive players at VC and made sure that a high number of VC players saught us out to remain on iPoker.

This move effectivley catapults iPokerVIP to one of the Entraction networks biggest affiliates whilst maintaining our strong posistion on iPoker. Of course there are some affiliates on Entraction who are incredibly threatened and are crying cannibilisation at any opportunity.

I think they’re in for a huge fright when we run our VC offer. It will be all over 2+2 and undoubtedly some players belonging to these affiliates will want to try iPokerVIP out. That’s just the way it goes sometimes… Which is going to kill these guys who seem pretty amateurish.

Conclusion

There’s a ton of stuff I’m missing out – like the company’s 1st member of staff and the conferences we’ve been too. Of course there are a ton of exciting new projects too but, this is for another time and when iPokerVIP is finally going smoothly! So much change it’s hard to know when that day will be but, really expecting stuff to come together in Q1 of 2011 which is going to be extremely exciting.

Looking back on it all I can’t actually believe the company is so young. I was desperate to get out of Uni and actually had a business before this which I dropped out for which completley failed and was the kid with the Ebay business etc when I was younger etc. Anyway, I’m pretty happy with where the business is at the moment and see no reason why it wont continue to grow. Structuring my personal life and going out more is a different thing altogether but, I’m sure I’ll get to grips with it!

and it’s hard to pick but, this is probably my favourite song of 2010. Think the lyrics are pretty awesome.

Drave – Over

Today was like 6 degrees and finally the snow has gone. This picture, I guess sums it up but, it was definetley a lot worse. I think there is a lot worse to come – sometimes feels like Day After Tommorow kinda stuff.

Anyway, apart from it being freezing and horrific for my car the weather has been very positive. Games were ridiculously juicy last week which obviously got everyone playing poker and thinking back to the good times when games were better – hopefully this continues over the winter.

VC are moving to Entraction which has definetley temporarily (I hope) hit our stats there. On the flip side this has forced me to personally get in touch with a lot of players I’ve not spoken to in a while and go on a big reactivation drive.

I guess all affiliates consider acquisition as their #1 priority and retention is only done en-masse or when a player comes to them to ask a question. At the end of the day RakeTheRake, Rakeback Lovers & all the rest are high-end affiliates for players who are considered VIP’s by the rooms. The service provided is more like that of a bonus code site – Newsletters and support tickets.

What the high turnover VIP players need is an agent who deals with their questions and checks in with them reguarly. Their play merits a different kind of service and that is something I’m desperate to change in 2011 – I think it’s a real game changed. Thankfully VC’s move has brough this to my attention.

Apart from that things have been incredibly busy and I’m just trying to get a lot of things up and running for 2011 – including several big updates to the site which will see a much more comprehensive sites.

A review video for every single site we offer and a signup instructions vid will be 2 of the big changes. We will also be investing in SEO and adding a lot more new rooms and networks because.. well there is no reason not to!

Anyway, I will try and write some good content updates and hopefully put up a casual end of year review highlighting the big changes and what we can expect to come in 2011 in more detail.

Good luck guys and get grinding these soft games while you can!

As you will probably now know: VCPoker is migrating from iPoker to Entraction on the 15th of December 2010.

Here are some FAQs!

1. What Will Happen to My VC Deal?

No matter what deal you’re on it will stay exactly the same. Payment dates will remain the exact same and in addition to this you will be elgibile for a new 1st deposit bonus and regular reload bonuses which will be non-deductable.

On top of this iPokerVIP will also be running rake races alongside some huge VC promotions.

I agree that Entraction seems reg infested but, the value back our current players can achieve via their new grandfathered deals is unbelievable.

2. I Want to Continue Playing on iPoker What Now?

Contact me or another iPokerVIP member of staff to take up an identical deal with a deposit bonus at a selection of major sportsbooks on the iPoker network.

3. Value on Entraction?

If you think you will ever be interested on playing on Entraction now is the time to signup to VC! Get a grandfathered deal and get rewarded for being on the ball!

4. Is My Money Safe?

Victor Chandler is an international sportsbook where players money will always be absolutley safe.

They’re one of the world’s oldest sportsbooks and were the 1st online gambling company in gibraltar. These guys are experts and you can definitley trust them.

5. Why Did VC Move?

I think everyone can agree that although iPoker is playable and fairly rewarding that its not the future of online poker. Playtech don’t put a lot of time and money into online poker and VC want to be part of something different.

I think in a few months we will see Entraction in a strong posistion and VC not being the only skin to have jumped ship.

MORE TO COME

Yes VC are moving to the Entraction Network.

It looks like they’ll be the first of several iPoker licences – something I’ve been preaching for almost a year now.

If anyone has any questions etc you know where to find me.

Will add more later.

2+2 came out with a new affiliate policy this week – see here.

It basically states that non-advertising affiliates cannot PM members of the forum offerring their deals or services.

To People Who Aren’t Familiar With The 2+2 Setup

2+2 is the world’s largest poker forum with about 250k members. The next biggest is CardsChat with around 75k registered users. Although CardsChat is a little less than a 3rd of the size of 2+2, CardsChat is significantly less valuable. In general the players aren’t as savvy and the average player will rake around 10% as much as the average 2+2er. Obviously, 2+2 is a really valuable forum and from my point of view its not only an acquisition tool but,  a retention tool. Our current player base can be reassured by the fact we have a sponsored account and its a useful bargaining chip when negotiating with poker rooms.

Due to the fact the 2+2 users are generally mature and experienced poker players they’re not taken in by banner advertising, tv ads or any of this.  A professional poker player’s top priority is keeping their bankroll safe  – they want to sign up to reputable rooms, where they can be assured of quick withdrawls and minimum hassle.  Somewhere in the list of priorities, surrounded by software, liquidity and deposit methods is RB % of effective VIP %.

2+2ers looking for new deals will post in the rakeback request thread – which pretty much does what it says on the tin. Obviously, sponsored affiliates reply to the posts with as good a deal as possible but,  the problem comes when other forum members effectivley do the same thing for free. This has been happening for the last few years and its fair to say that ~50%+ of genuine posters go to a non-advertising affiliate.  Aside from the fact thatthis is a bit of a raw deal for advertisers paying a minimum of $2.5k a month it can be dangerous for the player.

1. Rogue Affiliate – The most sacry and obvious problem are rogue affiliates who are out there to make a quick buck. These guys will promise the world and very rarely deliver anything. Scooping the maximum commission, dissapearing into the sunset and coming back next month to do the same thing, on a new account all over again!
2. Ignorant Affiliate – While your low posting,  non-advertising affiliate might have your best interests at heart they often don’t understand what they’re offerring themselves. Under the table deals at Party Poker are quite common and I’ve personally seen several affiliates offer to pay players $3k if they rake $10k which is 30% gross RB. Despite how they dress it up on the PartyPartners site, the 30% they pay affiliates is subject to seral deductions and the player will only be dissapointed in this situation.
3. Small Room - A common trend amongst these affiliates is that they associate with small, unheard of rooms.  These guys tend to have quite a short term mindset and will do literally anything to sign a player up. If that means vouching for a room or cutting their margin down to 1% it doesn’t matter. They’re signup hungry – which is actually exactly how I used to be apart from the fact I always viewed this as a possible route out of education and didn’t vouch for any room I wasn’t comfortable with. I never got asked that much because we only deal with the biggest sites anyway.Anyway,  a lot of these small affiliates offered under the table deals on Potraiser whilst the bigger affiliates were investing into private races on 24hPoker and NOIQ. Inevitably Potraiser was kicked off Entraction and hundreds of thousands of players money was left in limbo for over a week as a consequence of non-advertising affiliates.  Although the players got their money back when Potraiser moved to Cake it was a reminder to players what could happen if they didn’t use their common sense.  iPokerVIP and myself as an individual have never dealt with questionable rooms and in the main I prefer to deal with sportsbooks.  EuroLinx was another room where players signing up through these kind of affiliates suffered. RakeTheRake did offer EuroLinx but, seemed to stop recruiting a while before the majority of these other affiliates.

I’m obviously really pleased that 2+2 have seen the light and decided to punish freeloaders and have actually taken iniative to ensure that advertiser’s get the maximim value. The non-advertisers are obviously fearful for their businesses which I really sympathise with.  However, many of them simply don’t contribute and their indignity really pisses me off.

You don’t contribute, don’t pay and are unaccountable. You guys have had a great run… now pls if you don’t want to pay like anyone else GTFO.  Worse than many of the very small guys are the likes of WebPokerSource and TetleyBoy, I think its ridiculous that they’re posting and complaining about not being able to advertise.  I’m certain that these guys are of comparable size to iPokerVIP. When I decided to pay $7.5k to 2+2 it was a big undertaking and pretty scary. There is no way that these guys don’t have the money to invest – they just seem to prefer to freeload.

I think the bottom line is: If these guys bring such value to 2+2 then why don’t they go elsewhere and take the traffic with them? Many of them can afford it and the ones who can’t are more likely to be illegetimate. Very few players seem bothered and 2+2 will make more money.

Simples…

Just thought I’d post a photo of the back of one of our iPokerVIP t shirts.

At the moment we have black and white t shirts and hoodies. I’ve had the white ones for almost a month now and probably wear them waaay too much. Have one for each day of the week and they seem to be holding up really well. A lot better than I’d expect for something getting printed up – I really didn’t want it to be done cheap and cheerful. Don’t get me wrong its not the finest cotton in the world or anything but, its good quality which is pretty good.

If anyone is going to a live MTT in the near future and would like a little cash to wear the gear and are able to give me a photo just hit me up!