Poker Scammers and Scandals? – Or Not?

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Poker Scammers and Scandals? – Or Not?

It is my greatest interest to try to protect my friends in the poker industry; specifically that of the online industry which has been under the hammer for a long time now.

There have been a few online poker scams or scandals that have been in the news – this is old news, there is no doubt about that. Until another one occurs (which is less than likely) this is hopefully the last time they will be mentioned. I am not talking about these past poker scammers and their unethical tactics and scandals but others that people should be very cautious of at all times.

It is seen with pyramid selling in day to day life and also in “too good to be true deals” that these cults pray on the poker players who are under privileged, the same occur in the online poker industry and it is very sad. Thank fully it isn’t our trusty online poker sites that are doing this; I call it the people doing it the “hidden online hustlers”.

I have tested out all the “free bankroll deals” as an example of in my opinion of invisible online hustlers. Let me tell you my analysis. My analysis ends with – good luck cashing out your winnings, you are going to spend endless hours trying to gain enough points to do so. When you are talking $25 no deposit deals (as an example) you are going to have to spend weeks on end playing at very low limits to get anywhere and I mean WEEKS. You will in reality be very lucky to ever get the points required to cash out if you play by the book and stick to bank roll management. Poker Scam in my opinion – you may as well go and play on a play money site or deposit $20 and be done with it! At least if you win $1200 in a tourney you can get your cash depositing.

This doesn’t apply to every person who gets a free bankroll of course. Some WILL pass the requirements of the “promotion” eventually and cash out. There is always the minority. If you are one of these people please let me know. There isn’t anyone I have spoken to yet though that has cashed out (there are millions of players out there though).

So why do they do the whole “free bankroll deal” promotion? Why do they advertise $30 No Deposit at “whatever the site is”? They do it so they can make money from your rake. The offer is only available to clients who haven’t been a member of “whatever site it is” before and sign up through their affiliate links. People get frustrated playing at low, low limits and eventually make deposits if they like the site and WALLA! The free bankroll provider is in the money! Of course the more you play the more they earn.

I have some advice on using these promos for your best interest if you really want to use them. Choose a site, choose a free bankroll AND deposit. Do this if you plan to play higher stakes just to take advantage of a little bit of extra cash (although if playing higher stakes this isn’t much money to you) and the deposit bonus that comes with it. You see; with deposit bonuses you need to earn points to claim them anyway.

Additionally you could of course play the low limit stakes, earn as much as you can for a bit of fun and eventually make the point’s quota if you do it within their sometimes impossible time qualifying timelines.

For the right person, these deals are not all bad. They are not for me though!