Re: This needs to be settled, vote on Empire here
 

Empire is only getting rid of players who are costing them money. These bonuses are supposed to attract players to keep playing on Empire even without a bonus, and Empire will profit off of that. They are just cutting out all the players who do not get "hooked" onto their marketing idea.

If you were only a bonus-chaser there before, you obviously regularly play on a different site, so Empire doesn't really care about you when you are just costing them money.

+EV for Empire.

Re: This needs to be settled, vote on Empire here
 

This is a great debate, either way!

I used to play Empire and nothing else when I was playing for a living. Now I'm back in the corporate world and have very little time for online poker. I could see in the future this meaning I play Empire only during bonus time. And I'm afraid I'll be one of those who are banned. I just won't agree, it is not ethical to practice business this way and the result will be many lost customers.

The vote is getting closer, 53-47 now [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: This needs to be settled, vote on Empire here
 

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I'm starting to get worried that PP and skins have many players brainwashed into thinking they can do whatever the hell they want to and players must just go along with it or get banned.

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Actually they can do whatever they want and ban anyone who doesn't go along. I would have thought that was abundently clear by now.

Re: This needs to be settled, vote on Empire here
 

so this means that Party, Stars, crypto, UB, paradise and other rooms all have bad business plans because they keep trying to win over the business of the players on the other sites via bonuses.

Perhaps you are correct...but if so then Empire is the ONLY site to have figured this out (not even party does this).


even if 1 out of 10 of those banned bonus-chasers were to change their mind and bring the bulk of their play to empire they could turn a profit.

They really aren't losing that much on the bonus-chasers...

they could have gotten some of them to play a bit more on their site by simply telling them ahead of time that they were now having issues with this...

they could have changed the bonus-structure or simply not invited the bonus-chasers to take part in the bonus.



If you don't want someone playing for a bonus then don't offer them the freaking bonus in the first place.


This really isn't that hard and those who think that empire is actually helping their EV by banning players who could have proved profitable sometime in the future are really missing the boat here.

Re: This needs to be settled, vote on Empire here
 

"even if 1 out of 10 of those banned bonus-chasers were to change their mind and bring the bulk of their play to empire they could turn a profit."


Very true...Empire management are morons....Banning a few potential gold mine players is idiocy.

Re: This needs to be settled, vote on Empire here
 

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The vote is getting closer, 53-47 now [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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You have the remember that the sample is hardly unbiased here. Most of us found Empire bonuses profitable and if we got to decide we would have liked to continue doing them and dislike Empire for removing that opportunity. Despite of that the majority thinks it makes sense to ban bonus hunters.

Re: This needs to be settled, vote on Empire here
 

Empire perhaps can afford to take unpopular decisions because they have so many high volume players (due to that-we-don't-speak-of).

But Party also has taken some unpopular decisions (banning individual trackers, messing with PokerNow).

I get the impression that Party-network isn't feeling particularly threatned by the competition and will continue to push things to increase profitability. It may come back to haunt them, but up to now they seem to get away with it.

Re: This needs to be settled, vote on Empire here
 

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Who could possibly vote that this is good business policy? The far better solution...

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60% of the voters so far. I really can't believe it either! Not too many marketing or business majors out there it appears... I'm starting to get worried that PP and skins have many players brainwashed...

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cute, put up a "poll," supposedly to get feedback, and then denigrate those who respond to it differently than what you wanted to hear.

classy!

Re: This needs to be settled, vote on Empire here
 

Empire makes more off of the bonus-only players as a whole than they would without them.

Stupid.

Re: This needs to be settled, vote on Empire here
 

I agree with basically everything you say here, Microbob.

I was signed up through an affiliate, and despite the fact that my MGR was approximately break even, considering the bonuses (may have been slightly negative, we're talking under fifty dollars TOTAL, and I cleared at least $500 in Empire bonuses), I was banned.

The real point is, I would have played ball with basically whatever restriction they wanted to put on me. For example, since the Empire banning, I signed up for the stars bonus. I've been playing 3 tables there consistently, and have alternated a fourth table at Party / Pokernow, trying to give action at my other sites.

I am slightly less optimistic that this Empire nonsense isn't the beginning of the end for bonuses, so I'm trying to avoid the "whore" stigma by spreading my rake dollars around.